While the holiday season is largely about good will to all, overeating and presents, in Canada it has become about hockey too.
As we relax Boxing Day in a turkey induced stupor we have also gotten in the habit of tuning into the World Junior Hockey Championships.
Thanks largely to sports specific TV channels, the annual Junior event has been elevated to far greater importance than I recall in my younger days.
It probably holds greater importance today than it frankly deserves. Here in Canada we tend to measure the entire hockey program in the nation based on the success, or lack thereof, of a group of players still in their teens. It’s a great deal of pressure on their shoulders.
It’s also hockey fans reading more into the results of the event than is really there.
That all said it is still some highly entertaining hockey over the holidays.
This year’s event is in the Czech Republic, and action for Canada starts Boxing Day with a game that should be a beauty, taking on the rival United States.
Then on Saturday, it’s Canada versus Russia, another rivalry which typically produces very entertaining hockey.
Also in the same pool with Canada are the host team, and Germany.
The games are must-watch for me, although I won’t see the sky falling if the team fails to win a medal, although gold is always something this country can be proud of if it happens.
Also starting Boxing Day and running through the holiday season is the Spengler Cup, which is held in Davos, Switzerland. The tournament is a storied one, with a long history, the first event held in 1923.
Canada’s first game will be against HC Ocelari Trinec a team in the top Czech league.
This is a fun one to watch as it brings Canadians playing in various European leagues together to represent their country. Often the players are familiar having played in the National Hockey League, and that added to the rather unique atmosphere of the Spengler Cup makes it a lot of fun to watch. It never seems to have the ‘win to save Canadian pride’ pressure of the World Juniors, leaving it to be more about the coming together of international teams to simply play hockey. In that respect I tend to prefer the event as it seems more about the sport and less about the ‘political’ structures of hockey here in Canada and their ability to produce gold medals.
All that said, the dual international events are certainly a highlight of the next couple of weeks in sports, so here is wishing everyone a very hockey holiday season.
