Some of the members of Team Canada’s gold medal-winning hockey team and their assistant coach were honoured at the Bell Centre Tuesday night prior to the Montreal Canadiens taking the ice to compete against the Winnipeg Jets.
Team Canada won their second consecutive gold medal in the World Junior Hockey Championships on Jan. 5. For players, the thrill of victory continues.
”It’s a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life. There are a lot of kids (who) dream of just wearing the Canada jersey and we won the gold so it was just amazing,” Joshua Roy, forward, told Global News.
Canada defeated the Czech Republic 3-2 in overtime, clinching the game and bringing home gold.
”The golden goal in OT was incredible. The fans out there in Halifax too, was amazing,” said Tyson Hinds, a defenceman for Team Canada.
Stepping onto centre ice at the Bell Centre to be honoured in front of thousands of fans is something memorable for these players.
”When I (was) growing up I was watching the Montreal Canadiens … was my dream team and just to be here and get honoured like that, it’s incredible,” Hinds said.
The thrill of victory comes at time when Hockey Canada, the governing body that oversees the juniors and grassroots hockey in the country, is mired in controversy following allegations of sexual assault by players in 2018 and 2003.
But assistant coach Stéphane Julien says the under-20 players on his team want to change the culture of Hockey Canada and get the focus back on the ice.
”They want to be part of the solution,” Julien told Global News.