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PARDUBICE, Czech Republic — When Wayne Gretzky gave the Canadian juniors a conference-call pep talk earlier this month, No. 99 concluded his discourse by saying "good luck to everybody and good luck to Kyle Turris."
Turris, 18, received special treatment because the Great One has a rooting interest in the youngster's development. Gretzky's Phoenix Coyotes made the native of New Westminster, B.C., the third overall selection in the NHL entry draft last June.
Turris certainly provided his future employers with a glimpse of his potential yesterday when he scored two power-play goals to lead Canada to a 2-0 victory over Slovakia at the world junior hockey championship.
"When we were told that we were going to have a surprise guest calling us just before we came over here, a lot of the guys were guessing who it would be," Turris said. "Someone said Wayne Gretzky and he was right."
Canada's Zach Boychuk and Slovakia's Michal Kozak battle for the puck during first period hockey action at the 2008 IIHF U20 World Junior Hockey Championships in Pardubice, Czech Republic on Thursday. (Shaun Best/Reuters)
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The uplifting call energized Turris and his teammates before embarking on their long journey to Europe.
But imagine how many goals Turris would have scored if he was on last year's team when Steve Yzerman placed the good-luck phone call to the team. The answer is the youngster would have been over the moon because the former Detroit Red Wings captain has always been No. 1 with Turris.
Last May, a few weeks before the NHL entry draft, Turris confessed he wanted to meet his childhood idol, Yzerman. The latter told The Globe and Mail a few days before the draft that he was aware of Turris's craving and was hoping to catch up with Turris in Columbus where the draft was held.
As Turris, his family and future adviser Kurt Overhardt, who through another party told Yzerman about Turris's wish, sat in the stands waiting for the draft to begin Yzerman walked over and introduced himself, putting Turris into a tizzy.
"I just about crapped in my pants," he said. "I couldn't believe it. I was in shock.
"He was such a great guy, real down to earth. It was one of the highlights of my career."
The way Turris gushed over Yzerman, the junior standout was asked which was the bigger thrill, scoring twice against Slovakia or meeting Yzerman?
"They were both incredible moments," Turris said, smiling.
Turris, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin, grew up in a lacrosse family. His father Bruce, now a fishery consultant, was a star box player in Burnaby, B.C., and was later inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
But in between lacrosse and hockey games, Turris has been all about worshipping everything Yzerman. He has always worn Yzerman's No. 19 and he would often watch the three-time Stanley Cup winner on television and then attempt to emulate his moves on the ice the next day.
"I had everything about him, posters of him in my room, Don Cherry's videos of his big goals, the big slap-shot goal [in the 1996 playoffs against the St. Louis Blues]," Turris said.
Turris is a skilled, intelligent player as was a young, budding Yzerman when he played for the Canadian junior team 25 years ago. Turris also has a similar build at 6 foot 2 and 170 pounds, and Turris definitely possesses that Yzerman humility.
The kid wasn't even invited to the selection camp last year, but took the disappointment in stride.
"I wasn't very disappointed because I didn't expect to get invited," he said. "I was an under-ager and the team was phenomenal. There are hundreds of unbelievable players in Canada and just to have my name mentioned in Canada in that category was an extreme honour."
Canadian head coach Craig Hartsburg, who coached last year's team, has been impressed with the future NHL star because of Turris's intelligence and hunger to learn.
"His eyes are wide open, always asking questions," said Hartsburg, who played with Gretzky on the 1978 Canadian junior team. "He's going to be a great player."
