LEKSAND, SWEDEN — Talented Czech Republic forward Martin Hanzal may be a little biased. After all, he plays for the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League and his coach is Brent Sutter, who guided Canada to back-to-back world junior titles.
But as he was watching Canada practise Thursday, Hanzal was asked which team he would take in the 2007 world junior final, Canada or Russia. The Phoenix Coyotes prospect quickly replied, "Canada, because I think they have the better team."
Hanzel and the Czech Republic came the closest to defeating the Russians in this tournament. Back on opening day, the Czechs grabbed an early 1-0 lead, but after Russia scored twice in the opening three minutes of the second period for a 2-1 advantage, the Czechs found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-2 game.
"We got off to a good start," Hanzal said. "We were feeling pretty good about our game, but we didn't play hard in the second period. We came back with a good third period, but it was too late."
Team Russia coach Evgeni Popikhin explains a drill during a practice session Thursday in Leksand, Sweden. Canada will play Russia for gold on Friday. (Jacques Boissinot/CP)
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It is difficult to predict how well the Canadians will match-up with this Russian club, when the two countries meet Friday in the world under-20 final for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in five tournaments.
The Russians have gone 5-0 and have outscored their opposition 24-5, but they played in Pool B, which was considered the weaker of the two pools. Canada was in Pool A, which featured Sweden and United States, which will meet in the bronze-medal game Friday.
The only common opponent for Canada and Russia in this tourney was Sweden. Russia defeated the Swedes 4-2 in the semi-finals on Saturday. Canada upended the hosts 2-0 on the opening night.
This Russian team came in lacking the star power of the past four teams. Alexander Ovechkin played in three tournaments (2003-05) as did Evgeni Malkin (2004-06).
"These players have come together as a team and they are playing each other," said former National Hockey Leaguer Sergei Nemchinov, an assistant coach with the Russian senior national team who is in Sweden as the team leader of the Russian juniors.
This Russian team has balance. There is no weak link in the balanced four-line attack, and something the Russians have lacked in past world junior tournaments - goaltending - has not been a problem.
Semen Varlamov, a Washington Capitals draft pick, has stopped 102 of the 107 shots he has faced in five games. Along with Canada's Carey Price, the two have been the tournament's top goalies.
"[Varlamov] has been a great goalie for us," Nemchinov said. "He's made some big saves."
Varlamov, 18, is a compelling story. He idolizes Hall of Famer Patrick Roy, but wondered if he would ever get a chance to play goal at a high level. He grew up poor and initially played goal without pads and with a bandy stick. Bandy is a game that is best described as field hockey on ice.
When Varlamov was finally given a chance to slip into real goal equipment, his career took off. He now plays for Yaroslavl Torpedo of the Russian Hockey League.
Most of this Russian team plays earn six-figure salaries in the RHL, including sensation Alexei Cherepanov, who turns 18 on Jan. 15. The youngster, who will emerge as the top European prospect for the 2007 NHL entry draft after the tournament, leads the world junior with five goals and eight points.
"He has shown that he belongs on this team," said Nemchinov, who played against Canadian coach Craig Hartsburg in the 1987 Canada Cup.
Another Russian born on Jan. 15 is 16-year-old defenceman Vyatcheslav Voynov. The underage junior also has not looked out of place on a team that has four returning players from last year's silver-medal team.
One final Russian team tidbit is about forward Igor Makarov. He is indeed the son of Sergei Makarov, but not the Sergei Makarov from the famed KLM line who played for the Calgary Flames. This Sergei Makarov did play in the Russian Hockey League, but never internally for mother Russia.
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