Winning a silver medal in the world’s most prestigious international junior hockey event is something Taylor Gauthier will cherish throughout his life.
It will also stand as one of the most gut-wrenching memories of Gauthier’s hockey career for the way it all ended for Team Canada Tuesday night in Edmonton.
Their expedition to Everest stalled abruptly on the Hillary step, close but not close enough to the summit, in a 2-0 loss to the United States in the gold-medal game.
As Canada’s third goalie throughout the 12-day tournament, Gauthier lined up with his teammates and waited for his name to be called while captain Bowen Byram fought back tears as he handed out the medals.
Silver, not gold.
“Winning a silver medal means you’ve lost gold, but looking back on the tournament now it’s something I’ll hold special to my heart and I know my family and everyone who supports me are still super-proud of everything myself and the team have gone through,” said Gauthier.
“You look at all the adversity we had to deal with, being in quarantine for two weeks right at the start of our selection camp and not playing any games, to come out and put on the performance we did, even though we didn’t finish it off with a gold-medal performance in the final game, it doesn’t take away how special the group of guys were and how special the tournament was to all of us,” he said.
“That medal definitely means a lot to me. It obviously isn’t the same as a gold but it’s still pretty special knowing that we were one of the top teams in the world.”
As perennial gold-medal favourites, the pressure is for Team Canada to win throughout the tournament. That weight put on their shoulders was finally lifted as a group of heartbroken teenagers said their goodbyes to each other in the dressing room after Tuesday’s final.
“Everyone (was) able to be vulnerable and be a human again,” said Gauthier. “We go there focused so much on hockey you almost turn into a robot, so knowing that pressure was off and just being allowed to feel those emotions is something not a lot of people understand. I think you have to be in that positon to really understand how that feels.
“Our expectation was the gold medal and we were all so focused and dialed-in on making that a reality. Knowing we didn’t get that done was pretty painful for a lots of us, lots of tears, lots of hugs, knowing that was the last time that team would play with each other.”
What began in the summer with virtual camps and Zoom meetings among the players and staff ended nearly seven months later with Team Canada’s seeming invincibility after six dominant wins shattered by a convincing loss to their archrivals from the U.S.
To get the final, the Canadian team spent 51 days together in the protected from the pandemic in their bubble, first in Red Deer, where they began their training camp in early November, and then in Edmonton, where they successfully warded off the virus for three weeks. Before the first puck was dropped on Boxing Day they each had endured 19 days of solo isolation in their hotel rooms.
“Most of us were fortunate enough to be able to play with most of the guys on the team in the past, at the U-17 and U-18 level and I think we took advantage of that lengthy time to really bond as a team and get ready for the tournament,” said Gauthier, who wore the maple leaf three times before he made the world junior team in his last year of international junior eligibility.
“You go to the world juniors as Team Canada and your expectations are to come home with gold every year. I just didn’t work out for us this year. The bounces didn’t go our way in the gold-medal game. Regardless of the result it was obviously a really special moment being with 24 of the best guys in Canada. Just getting that last kick at the can with Team Canada was something that I’ll never forget. Being a part of the world junior team is something you dream of ever since you’re a kid.”
Devon Levi arrived from Northeastern University and earned the starter’s role in net, with Dylan Garand of the Kamloops Blazers the designated backup throughout the tournament. Gauthier said he was told after practice two days before a pre-tournament game against Russia that he was No. 3 on the depth chart. Levi proved to the coaches they made the right decision when he posted three shutouts and set tournament records for lowest goals-against average (0.75) and highest save percentage (.964) over seven games.
“Obviously it would have been nice to play in the games, you always want to do the best you can and you always want to push for more,” said Gauthier. “But at the end of the day it’s something pretty special to be considered one of the top three goalies in Canada at the junior level. I thought I did all I could as the third goalie. I was put in that position for a reason. I’m very thankful and honoured to have that jersey in my closet and say I was part of that team.”
Gauthier, the only undrafted player on the 25-player Canadian roster, didn’t see a minute of playing time but got his share of staring down the country’s best young shooters every day the team practiced and he hopes to put that experience to use if and when returns to Prince George to play his fourth season in the WHL.
“Those are the top guys in the world for our age group and to see those guys shoot and their whole skill level for the last two months, I think it did boost my game and I’m looking forward to bringing back all the things I learned from practice and video and all the things we did as a team,” he said.
“It’s kind of up in air when we’re going to start but I’m looking forward to bringing that experience back to the Cougars. Making that team was huge, keeping my name in the (pro scout) conversations. I don’t have NHL camps to go to so it’s just getting back to the off-season grind and being ready to go whenever we get the call-back.”
There were no fans allowed in an arena built to hold nearly 19,000 and the eerie quiet of the rink during games was unprecedented in the tournament’s 45-year history. Gauthier waved to flag-waving fans dressed in Team Canada jerseys on the street below as they passed by on the elevated walkway to the rink.
“It was something pretty special knowing people were going that much out of their way to show that they’re behind us and the support on social media was huge as well,” Gauthier said.
While there were a few positive COVID-19 tests during the first week for some players and staff involved in the 10-team tournament, aside from a handful of pre-tournament games, the bubble approach worked and all tournament games were played without any glitches. Gauthier said Hockey Canada and the International Ice Hockey Federation deserve the credit for making that possible.
“The support staff and all the volunteers at the rink worked countless hours to make sure this tournament went on smoothly - they did do much for us just so we could wake up and be focused on hockey and trying to come home with a medal,” Gauthier said. “We’re forever grateful for that. This tournament easily could have been canceled like the majority of things in the world have been.”
