If you ask most children about their favourite part of the holidays, they'll most likely tell you it's getting presents and/or the time off school. If you ask an adult, the response will probably have something to do with spending time with family and loved ones.
While I do enjoy the above aspects of the holidays, I must admit that since I was a kid my favourite part of Christmas has always been the IIHF World Junior Hockey Tournament. I'd almost go as far as to say I enjoy it more than the NHL playoffs.
There's just something about the tradition of the world juniors over the last week of December and first week of January that grabs my full attention. Maybe it's the passion and exuberance these teenagers play with in order to win the gold and have their country's national anthem played after each win. After all, there aren't many prouder moments in the life of a Canadian hockey player.
You would be hard-pressed to meet any young hockey players in this country that don't dream of donning the Maple Leaf and representing Canada at the world juniors, even if it means being apart from their family over the holidays.
In recent years the tournament has been held in Canada more and more often, and Vladislav Tretiak, president of the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia, wants it to be held here every year because we do such a good job as hosts. I couldn't disagree more - not that we're good hosts, but that the tournament should have a permanent home here. I love waking up at 4 a.m. to watch Team Canada play in Prague or Helsinki or another European city.
Sure the stands are half-empty, but it's still great to watch on TV. What with all the advertising on the ice and the Skoda cars in the corners of the arena - it's something different. And who doesn't love to see Canadians living abroad or die-hard fans that have travelled halfway across the country, at Christmas no less, cheering on our boys in white and red?
This year with the tournament in Buffalo, N.Y. Canadian hockey fans didn't have to travel as far and that's fairly evident. The stands are filled with Canadian jerseys, even in the games that don't involve Team Canada. It's easy to see that 80 per cent of the ticket sales came from north of the border.
Hockey is Canada's game and it always will be.
