The scene was familiar: a boisterous sea of red celebrated as the players who brought them this moment of joy crowded the crease. Winning a major hockey championship on home soil is both common and expected in Canada. The setting for this moment, however, was foreign territory. Considering its reputation and history, it was hardly recognizable.
The Air Canada Centre is many things: one of nicest building in the NHL, located in a world class city and a financial goldmine. What is isn’t, at least when hockey is being played, is a provider of a good atmosphere. Toronto is a big city invested in big attractions, and as the city’s biggest sporting attraction the Leafs have seen their arena overtaken by the city’s biggest spenders. While their bank statements may be loud, the suited fraternity in the arena are not.
Initially, there were legitimate concern about whether or not the setting would be ideal for the aforementioned scene. Whether the Air Canada Centre, and Toronto, would be a good fit for the 2015 World Junior Championships. As a city that likes big attractions, Toronto has always been a graveyard for Junior Hockey. Even teams in the surrounding area have always failed to draw interest. With Canada playing all of their group stage games in Montreal there were questions as to whether the Air Canada Centre would be empty until the headliner arrived.
It could not have been further from the truth, as the city demonstrated with each and every game that they were going to show up regardless of the teams playing. Sure, they may have showed up dressed fully in Canadian gear to take all these games in, but that didn’t stop them from cheering for teams with whom they had little to no affiliation.
Canada was not the only storyline that will be remembered from this tournament, and at home in a tournament in which they won gold that is a big statement. It began on Boxing Day with Denmark, at team who had never won a game at this level before. After seeing the Danes open the tournament by dominating the Russians before ultimately losing in the shootout, the team became an instant favourite with the home crowd.
Until Canada thumped them in the Quarter-Finals, they were Toronto’s second team. When they played against Sweden the day after falling to Russia, the crowd roared when they scored their lone goal. One of the best moments in the tournament came when Denmark broke their aforementioned slump, winning their first game ever at the World Juniors against Switzerland. For the Danes, this was their championship and both they are the crowd celebrated as such.
Sweden was another nice story as Leafs draft pick William Nylander attracted attention from the team’s faithful fans. Other than Jack Eichel, Nylander was the most watched player who wasn’t Canadian at the tournament. With the future Leaf leading the way, the Swedes played an entertaining and beautiful brand of hockey all the way to their elimination in the Semi-Finals against Sweden. The whole way Toronto not only cheered on their adopted Swedish son, but his teammates as well.
Last but certainly not least considering how they finished the tournament, Slovakia had an inspiring tale of their own to tell. When the team was trounced 8-0 by a relentless Canadian team squad in the first match most instantly crossed them out as medal contenders. That’s when tournament MVP Dennis Godla took over.He made 37 stops in the next game to give Slovakia a shock 2-1 victory over Finland. In the quarterfinals he stopped 34 shots to blank the Czech Republic.
His best game of the tournament, however, may have come in the slightly lopsided 5-1 loss to Canada in the semi-finals. Godla stopped 39 shots, many of which had those in attendance shaking their head with disbelief. After the game, to the surprise of the fans, Slovakia’s player of the game was awarded to Pavel Skalicky. Instead of just standing by, in one of the moments of the tournament, the Air Canada Centre crowd chanted “Goalie, Goalie” as Godla acknowledged their support. Slovakia would go on to win their first medal since 1999, a bronze over Sweden.
Toronto’s crowd performance at the tournament was so outstanding that it completely eclipsed their co-host, Montreal. Even for games that featured the Canadian team, Montreal failed to fill the Bell Centre. Not even the New Year’s Day classic between Canada and the US could fill the venue. The IIHF blamed Canada for setting the ticket prices too high, but that certainly didn’t seem to be an issue in Toronto. While it doesn’t seem like it will be the case, there was even talk of retracting Montreal’s position as host when the two cities welcome the tournament again in 2017.
From the opening game where Denmark surprised the hockey world by pushing the eventual silver medallist Russians to the brink, to the storybook ending of Canada claiming gold, the 2015 World Junior Tournament had no shortage of memorable moments. One city, however, created considerably more than the other. In the process Toronto reminded the World that while their NHL team may be a laughing stock, they city is still the centre of the hockey world.
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