‘It’s historic’: Canada needs to change development program after World Juniors loss, experts say

Team Canada’s 4-3 loss to Czechia in the world junior hockey championship, eliminating the team from medal contention for the second straight year at the hands of the same opponents, has some hockey analysts questioning whether Canada needs to retool its player-development program in order to keep up with other powerhouse countries.

The quarterfinal elimination Thursday marked the first time since 1981 that Canada’s junior squad has gone two years without cracking the top four. It also is the first time the team was eliminated this early in consecutive years since the national junior player development program was created, according to one hockey historian.

“We went to a national program in 1982, and this is the first time since then we have finished back-to-back years out of medal contention since the development of the national junior program,” said hockey historian and author Liam Maguire in a Zoom interview with CTV News Friday. “It’s historic, in that sense.”

Now, some hockey analysts are putting the spotlight on Canada’s junior development program, arguing it needs to be changed to catch up with other countries that are retooling their strategies.

“This has been building for the last decade; this is systematic issue,” said Tony Ferrari, an NHL draft and prospect analyst for The Hockey News, over Zoom Friday. “Canada certainly has the most hockey players, but the way they develop those players has been passed by leaps and bounds by other countries.”

Ferrari points to Sweden and Finland’s international programs, but specifically highlights the U.S. development program’s efficiency — which is creating a lot more results with fewer talent.

“Canada’s almost become too watered down on the top level of junior hockey,” added Ferrari. “The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) has sixty teams. This is a big country, with a lot of players playing hockey. You’re spread a little bit too thin”

“But when you look at the U.S., there’s maybe 20 teams in the USHL, and with that, they take their best players, they put them in one training camp and for their under-17 and under-18 years, they play on one team, together. That team goes and represent them [internationally] and they play together for two years; they develop, together.”

Hockey fans have also been critical of Canada’s roster leaving top-scoring prospects off the team and choosing to insert more players with a physical presence.

The team also had plenty of trouble scoring, and were criticized for their lack of discipline. Canada had the most penalized team at the event, by a large margin.

Other hockey analysts warn not to push the panic button just yet, instead arguing that reinserting some of the coaching and roster-preparation strategies from previous world junior tournaments is the answer.

“The infrastructure of Canadian hockey is more solid than it’s ever been,” said Maguire, who added that it’s a matter of time until Canada wins a medal at the world juniors again.

“You have to stay par-for-the-course… part of the problem is that most of our best teenagers are in the NHL,” he said.

“It’s disappointing; it’s not great, but I don’t think it’s about a lack of talent and we have to reassess the program and throw everything out the window; it’s just two bad years,” added hockey historian and sports reporter Andrew Podnieks over Zoom Friday.