Canada National Junior Team head coach Dave Cameron instructs his players during practice in Toronto December 16, 2010. Team Canada is preparing for the IIHF World Junior Championships to be played in Buffalo, New York from December 26, 2010 to January 5, 2011. REUTERS/Mike CasseseMIKE CASSESE/Reuters
The head coach of Canada's national junior men's hockey team expects to see several family members in the stands at the world junior championship in Buffalo, N.Y.
The family member Dave Cameron's most anxious to see there, though, is his 25-year-old niece, Kristen Cameron. He's a brother of Kristen's dad, Brian, and the Camerons grew up in Kinkora, P.E.I.
"It's going to be a bit of a longer excursion, but we're keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that she's strong enough that she's going to be able to get down for at least one game," he said.
Canada opens round-robin play against Russia on Sunday.
It's been more than three months since Kristen Cameron suffered a broken spine when struck by a car driven by a suspected drunk driver while cycling in Erie County, Pa.
Dave Cameron tries to visit her once or twice a weekend in Toronto's Lyndhurst Centre for spinal cord patients.
"I think she's getting stronger everyday in terms of her body dealing with this trauma of a very severe accident," he said.
A former defenceman at Bowdoin College in Maine, Kristen has already attended an AHL game between the Toronto Marlies and Abbotsford Heat.
Crossing the border into Buffalo might take some extra preparations, though.
"Everything, in terms of improvement, is going to be slow," Dave Cameron said. "But I'm a big believer that the No. 1 factor in helping us deal with anything in life - certainly anything that's considered a setback - is attitude."
Kristen was pursuing a master's degree and in her second season as assistant coach with the Mercyhurst College women's hockey team when tragedy struck.
"I think an attitude determines and helps you get through any type of curves that the world throws you, and she certainly got dealt a very raw blow," said Dave Cameron. "But her attitude is terrific. It's exceptional.
"This girl just embraces every day and does everything in her power regardless of how she's feeling that day to work to get better, stronger and more independent. It's just a real inspiration to watch her do that."