EDMONTON | William Dufour and Joshua Roy hardly knew each other before the start of the Junior Ice Hockey World Championship. However, the chemistry was immediately on the ice and was also transferred to the ice on Thursday against the Slovaks.
• Also read: Jan Mysak praises Mason McTavish
• Also read: The third time is good for Thomas Bordeleau
The two hockey players from the greater Quebec City area – Roy hails from Saint-Georges-de-Beauce and Dufour from Quebec City – had first met briefly during Team Canada’s junior selection camp for the December tournament and finally canceled.
“We played each other a few times growing up, but he was from Beauce and I was from Quebec and I was a year older. I think that we had to face each other six or seven times in total,” Dufour explained yesterday when he met in the lobby of the hotel on Saturday night where ECJ and he were enjoying a day off on the eve of their confrontation with the Czechs.
However, since their arrival in Edmonton, the two ice hockey players have formed a great friendship.
“He’s probably my best friend on the team. We’re the only two who are from Quebec, so we sat on the plane together. We often said to each other on the bench that we would like to play together. »
INSTANT CHEMISTRY
Her wish was granted on Thursday night when head coach Dave Cameron decided to experiment as the game was in the bag for his side, leading 8-1 after 40 minutes.
Roy was thus removed from the first line, which was completed by Mason McTavish and Connor Bedard to find himself with Dufour and Zack Ostapchuk in what was theoretically a third attacking unit. They scored two goals.
“I think we’ve had chances to score in every one of our performances. That’s what we said to ourselves on the bench, we wanted to create something with every presence. It is certain that we want to play together again tomorrow [samedi soir] but it’s not our decision. »
On the TSN mic yesterday, head coach Cameron gave no details on the identity of the player who would complete the McTavish-Bedard duo on Saturday night – it was Brennan Othmann, who did it in Thursday’s third period.
However, the latter confirmed that goalkeeper Dylan Garand will play against the Czech Republic.
OPTIMISTIC
After a poor start against Latvia on Wednesday, Canada made their mark on Thursday by beating Slovakia 11-1.
“We didn’t have the start we expected,” admitted Dufour, and many have wondered about us. On the other hand, we did so well against Slovakia that I think people’s questions have been answered. The Czechs are an excellent ice hockey club and offered Finland good competition [une défaite de 4 à 3 en tirs de barrage]. We’re not stressed, we know they have a good team, but we have confidence in our abilities. »