The first time I recall paying attention to the World Junior Hockey Championship was when the tournament was held in Saskatoon in 1990-91.
My family was in Saskatchewan for Christmas holidays, and there was a lot of talk about this tournament happening in Regina and Saskatoon. Canada had won the event the year before, and people were hopeful we could win for the second straight year.
I knew about the infamous Punch-Up at Piestany – a bench-clearing brawl between Canada and the U.S.S.R. in Czechoslovakia in 1987 that resulted in both teams being disqualified – but I didn't know the incident was at the World Juniors, and the tournament name didn't resonate with me.
I don't think I'm alone when I speak with reverence for the Saskatoon tournament. It was expected to be a showdown between Canada, led by Eric Lindros, and the Soviets, led by Pavel Bure, for the gold medal. And that's what happened.
There wasn't a gold-medal game back then. Just a round robin. The team with the best record wins gold. Canada needed to win to capture gold again. A tie would mean a Soviet championship. And if we lost, we might not win a medal. The tournament was so tight that year.
The game wasn't just an instant classic, it might be the best hockey game ever played in Saskatchewan. Not necessarily the best, but when you consider everything, I'll argue it's the greatest.
Canada won 3-2. Defenseman John Slaney, who went on to score 22 goals in 268 career NHL games, was the hero with the game-winning goal with about six minutes to play in the third.
I was hooked. So was much of Canada. I think it was the highest-rated program ever on TSN to that point. And it would remain the top-rated program on TSN for 12 years, until a gold-medal game between, you guessed it, Canada and Russia at the World Juniors in 2003.
When ESPN Classic Canada went off the air earlier this year, the final program it ever showed was the Canada-Soviet Union game at the 1991 World Juniors.
The tournament has become a Christmas tradition for millions of Canadians. Regardless of whether the games are in Canada, the U.S. or Europe, people will be watching. I won't be up at 5:30 a.m. in B.C. on Boxing Day to watch Canada open this year's tournament against Finland, but I'm sure many will be awake. (The game starts at 7:30 a.m. in Saskatchewan). If Canada's in the gold-medal game on Jan. 5, millions will stop what they're doing, even though the game will be in the middle of the day.
There's still something beautiful about the tournament. It's kids who are typically 18 and 19 years old sacrificing the middle of their junior hockey seasons and the Christmas break to play for their country.
They don't get paid big money to play for us. I'm guessing they get room, board, travel and equipment. The pressure they face is immense and the expectation is always to win, but we have to remember they're not 20-something professionals getting big bucks to play.
TSN will hype this tournament as the chance to watch the stars of tomorrow today, and that is a big draw. Anyone who watched it last year marvelled at the greatness of Connor Bedard at age 17, playing against those two years older.
But for me, the wonderful part is often the players for whom the tournament becomes their moment of fame and possibly their one chance to play for Canada. Slaney didn't become an NHL star, but people remember him for scoring to beat the Soviets in 1991. Martin Gendron, Yanick Dube and Rick Girard were our top scorers in 1994. Justin Pogge was unforgettable for Canada at the 2006 tournament in Vancouver. Matt Halischuk scored the overtime winner for Canada in 2008 in the gold-medal game against Sweden.
Yes, the tournament lost some of its lustre with the sex scandals involving the 2003 and 2018 Canadian junior teams. Those incidents can't be swept under the rug.
But when the tournament begins on Boxing Day, we're going to be treated to some great hockey. And should Canada win for the third straight year, there will be millions of Canadians thrilled with the victory.
