CBC-Sports

To loan or not to loan?

December 4, 2009 07:10 PM | Posted by   Cassie Campbell  

Team Canada’s world junior camp roster of 36 players was announced this week and unlike last year at this time, there is no help coming from the NHL.

If you think back and remember last year, there was a chance Team Canada would get some NHL players loaned to them to participate at the world juniors in Ottawa.

Players such as Colton Gillies with Minnesota, Kyle Turris of Phoenix and Luke Schenn of Toronto, but all stayed with their respective NHL teams. Even Edmonton’s Sam Gagner, who was struggling this time last year, could have played but the Oilers decided that it would be in his long-term best interest to stay up with the big club.

This year’s edition of Canada’s world junior team - nine age-eligible players started the NHL season this year: Evander Kane from Atlanta, Alex Pietrangelo in St. Louis, Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly from Colorado, John Tavares of the Islanders, Steven Stamkos and James Wright from Tampa Bay, Michael Del Zotto of the Rangers and Tyler Myers of the Sabres.

The St. Louis Blues and their brain trust of Larry Pleau, Doug Armstrong and Al MacInnis are the only team that have decided to loan their age-eligible player, Pietrangelo, to Team Canada for this year’s world junior championship in Saskatchewan. Hats off to the Blues!

Now, based on the way these all of young gentlemen have played so far in this season, I understand the reasoning behind each of the other eight NHL GMs wanting to keep their player(s) who are world junior eligible with their respective clubs. Based on the information they have now, the decisions seem more than fair – all of their players are playing a good number of minutes and contributing.

Best interest in long term?

However, as I put my “hindsight is 20/20 vision goggles” on, let’s look at where last year’s potential invitees are right now in their careers. Maybe if those NHL teams had loaned their players to Team Canada last year - where they would have had the chance to lead their country to a gold medal performance in Ottawa - maybe, just maybe, it could have helped their overall confidence and development as NHL players?

Sure, Canada was able to win their fifth consecutive gold without those NHL players last year, but looking back, would their careers – and more importantly, their overall development - be farther ahead of where they are now? Based on where some of these players are this year, the answer is yes.

Colton Gillies – Minnesota decided to keep Gillies last year despite having played a limited role with the club. This year he’s playing in their minor system. Gillies never got that chance to be part of a gold-medal winning team in Ottawa. Based on the Wild’s decision last season perhaps the confidence boost of performing on the world junior stage would have helped him instead of keeping him in the press box for most of last season.

Kyle Turris – No question this young man has the potential to be a great two-way NHL hockey player, but this year he didn’t end up with Phoenix Coyotes and was sent to their minor system. He was part of the 2008 world junior team that won gold and had the potential to be captain of last year’s team in Ottawa. Would that experience have helped him and his overall development if the Coyotes had released him to Team Canada last year?

I understand the cap system and how it has affected so many decisions when it comes to developing young players. But I still think NHL teams that have these young players on their roster need to give these young kids more time to develop physically and mentally.

A chance of a lifetime to play for your country with kids your own age and excelling on the world stage has to be worth more than a sub-par year or a year in the minors.

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