Following Canada's elimination from the world junior hockey championship at the hands of Czechia for the second year in a row, some analysts are calling for a retooling of the country's player-development program.
Team Canada 's 4-3 loss to Czechia in the world junior hockey championship, eliminating the team from medal contention for the second straight year at the hands of the same opponents, has some hockey analysts questioning whether Canada needs to retool its player-development program in order to keep up with other powerhouse countries. The quarterfinal elimination Thursday marked the first time since 1981 that Canada 's junior squad has gone two years without cracking the top four.
It also is the first time the team was eliminated this early in consecutive years since the national junior player development program was created, according to one hockey historian.'We went to a national program in 1982, and this is the first time since then we have finished back-to-back years out of medal contention since the development of the national junior program,' said hockey historian and author Liam Maguire in a Zoom interview with CTV News Friday. 'It's historic, in that sense.' Now, some hockey analysts are putting the spotlight on Canada's junior development program, arguing it needs to be changed to catch up with other countries that are retooling their strategies. 'This has been building for the last decade; this is systematic issue,' said Tony Ferrari, an NHL draft and prospect analyst for The Hockey News, over Zoom Friday. 'Canada certainly has the most hockey players, but the way they develop those players has been passed by leaps and bounds by other countries.' Ferrari points to Sweden and Finland's international programs, but specifically highlights the U.S. development program's efficiency — which is creating a lot more results with fewer talent. 'Canada's almost become too watered down on the top level of junior hockey,' added Ferrari. 'The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) has sixty teams. This is a big country, with a lot of players playing hockey. You're spread a little bit too thin' 'But when you look at the U.S
HOCKEY CANADA JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
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