Report: Potential draft, free agency dates emerge for 2020-21 NHL season

Now that the NHL and NHLPA have tentatively agreed on a framework for the upcoming 2020-21 season's 56-game schedule, some key dates have begun to emerge.

The impending campaign would begin on Jan. 13 and would conclude on May 8 under the proposed format, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie, with free agency beginning on July 28, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports. The 2021 trade deadline would be April 12, while the 2021 NHL Draft would take place on July 23 and 24, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

Players would have the option to opt out of the approaching season. The opt-out deadline is Dec. 24 for players on teams that didn't make the 2019-20 playoffs and Dec. 27 for players on playoff squads, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Each team will need to carry at least three goaltenders at all times this season between their active roster and taxi squad, reports Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Additionally, clubs must sign Group II restricted free agents by Feb. 11 for them to be eligible to play during the season and players on one-year deals can sign extensions as of March 12, Friedman adds.

The NHL has a call scheduled with the Board of Governors for 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. A separate call is also planned with the league's general managers for 2 p.m. ET, LeBrun adds.

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Report: Seattle expansion draft set for July 21

NHL fans will soon be able to circle a date on the calendar for the upcoming Seattle Kraken expansion draft.

Under the tentative agreement for the upcoming 2020-21 season, teams will need to submit their protected lists on July 17 with the expansion draft set to take place on July 21, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

The event would take place just days before the 2021 NHL Draft is reportedly set to begin on July 23.

Seattle will follow the same rules the Vegas Golden Knights did for their expansion draft in 2017. The organization will be allowed to pick one player from each team excluding the Golden Knights.

Each team will have the option to protect either seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie or eight skaters and one goalie. The rest of the players on the roster will be exposed, except first- and second-year players and all unsigned draft choices.

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Canadian Gold: Remembering the 2007 World Junior Championship

In the lead-up to the 2021 World Junior Championship, we're taking a look back at each of the 18 Canadian teams to capture the gold medal, culminating Dec. 25 with the start of the latest edition of the tournament.

The 2007 world juniors were held in Mora and Leksand, Sweden. Canada traveled overseas in search of its third consecutive gold medal, and the tournament favorite delivered by going 6-0-0 and claiming its first championship on European soil in a decade.

The IIHF made some modifications to the structure of the tournament in 2007, as teams received three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime win, and one point for an overtime loss. Other changes included four-on-four sudden-death overtime during the round robin, as well as shootouts - which played a big role for Canada - in medal games if overtime didn't produce a winner.

The roster

Player Position Age
Kenndal McArdle F 19
Dan Bertram* F 19
Darren Helm F 19
Tom Pyatt* F 19
Marc-Andre Cliche F 19
Steve Downie* F 19
Ryan O'Marra* F 19
Andrew Cogliano* F 19
James Neal F 19
Bryan Little F 19
Jonathan Toews* F 18
Brad Marchand F 18
Sam Gagner F 17
Marc Staal* D 19
Luc Bourdon* D 19
Ryan Parent* D 19
Kris Letang* D 19
Kris Russell* D 19
Cody Franson D 19
Karl Alzner D 18
Carey Price G 19
Leland Irving G 18

*Denotes returning player
All ages are as of the start of the tournament

The tournament

Canada used its experience to its advantage in 2007, bringing back 11 players from the previous year's gold-medal-winning outfit. Five of the club's seven defenders were returnees, and it paid dividends, as Canada's offensive firepower was lacking relative to some of its previous championship teams.

The first game on Canada's schedule was a stiff test versus host Sweden, but the defending champs pulled out a 2-0 victory. Next up was another high-stakes clash with the United States, which resulted in a 6-3 win. The Canadians closed out the round robin with 3-1 and 3-0 decisions over Germany and Slovakia, respectively.

Canada earned a bye to the semifinals, in which it met the U.S. for a second time. The tilt was one of the most memorable in tournament history, as Canada squeaked out a 2-1 shootout win. The Canadians took on Russia - their oldest rival - in the final and won 4-2 to seal yet another flawless run to gold.

The stars

Dave Sandford / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Goaltending was the primary difference-maker for Canada in 2007, as Price put forth arguably the most dominant effort in tournament history. Two years after being drafted fifth overall by the Montreal Canadiens, Price stood on his head for his country, posting a .961 save percentage and 1.14 goals-against average across six wins. He was named tournament MVP and kicked off an international career that remains unblemished 13 years later.

Toews led the team in scoring with seven points and played a gigantic role in the shootout victory over the U.S. He and Letang - who captained the squad - both earned spots on the media All-Star team for their performances.

The key moment

Part of the aforementioned tweaks to the overtime rules included implementing a three-player shootout to mirror the NHL's rather than the five-shooter rule generally employed by the IIHF. However, there was one significant twist: once the first three shooters were used, teams were allowed to send out whoever they wanted, including repeats. Enter Toews.

In the nail-biting semifinal versus the U.S., the future Chicago Blackhawks captain scored three times in a seven-round shootout. It remains one of the tournament's indelible moments, and his heroics came after an overtime period in which the Americans registered 12 shots to Canada's two. Toews' coming-out party paved the way for Canada to carry its momentum to another gold medal.

The fallout

Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Several of Canada's 2007 champions turned out to be role players at the NHL level, but a small group went on to have dominant professional careers. Price won Olympic gold with Canada in 2014 and a World Cup of Hockey title in 2016. He's also won a Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy.

Toews carried his clutch gene with him to the pros, winning three Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe, a Selke, and two Olympic golds after making a name for himself in Leksand.

Letang and Marchand - who won gold again with Canada in 2008 - also went on to become NHL All-Stars and Stanley Cup champions.

Canada won gold again in 2008 and 2009 to run its streak to five in a row.

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Report: British Columbia government denies NHL travel for Canucks

The British Columbia government remains unwilling to allow NHL teams to travel in and out of the province for games, reports TSN's Ryan Rishaug, who adds discussions are ongoing.

The NHL and players' association reportedly came to a tentative agreement on a 56-game season Friday night. The plan includes an all-Canadian division with each team playing out of its own building, pending approval from health officials.

A report Thursday suggested all seven teams based north of the border could play in the United States if Canadian health officials don't sign off on the proposal.

The San Jose Sharks are reportedly beginning their campaign in Arizona due to Santa Clara County's ban on contact sports. It's plausible that the Vancouver Canucks could follow suit and play in a Canadian city outside of British Columbia.

The NHL's travel plan includes very strict protocols for road teams, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.

Training camps for 2020 postseason clubs, including the Canucks, are set to open Jan. 3. The league is still aiming to begin its season Jan. 13.

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Report: Sharks to open season in Arizona due to COVID-19 restrictions

The San Jose Sharks will host training camp and start their regular season in Arizona due to local COVID-19 restrictions, a source told John Wawrow of The Associated Press.

California's Santa Clara County has banned contact sports through at least Jan. 8. The NFL's San Francisco 49ers have also relocated to Arizona due to the government mandate.

The NHL and NHLPA reportedly agreed on a tentative 56-game campaign with training camp opening Jan. 3 and the regular season starting Jan. 13. Since the Sharks were one of the seven teams to miss out on the expanded playoffs over the summer, the team will be permitted to open camp Dec. 31.

The league's board of governors still needs to vote on the agreement before the campaign is set in stone. Their decision is expected over the next few days.

The NHL's placement of Canadian teams is one significant obstacle facing the league's potential return. A seven-team division solely north of the border was the original plan, but provincial and municipal health units have recently questioned the idea and will need to approve anything before the NHL can finalize decisions.

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How 2020 changed the experience and the future of sports fandom

The fan who scolded the Houston Astros through a megaphone this October was radicalized by the franchise's stealing of signs, an ethical breach that Tim Kanter, like many people in baseball, considered unforgivable. He only thought up his response, though, because a different antagonist set him off first.

For that, the Astros can blame Matt Kemp. In 2014, the veteran outfielder was traded to the San Diego Padres and soon developed a reputation among the Petco Park faithful for trying, let's say, less than his hardest. Memories of Kemp dogging it stuck with Kanter, a transplanted Chicagoan and a White Sox fan since childhood whose workplace overlooks the Padres' stadium. He was out on the office balcony this summer when Kemp, now with the Colorado Rockies, stepped to the plate about 700 feet away, an open invitation for disgruntled onlookers to jeer him. So Kanter started booing.

"The left fielder turned around and looked up at me," Kanter recalled recently.

Tim Kanter's balcony view of Petco Park.

As COVID-19 marauded the globe this year, no spectators were allowed inside Petco Park or any MLB venue until late in the postseason, magnifying the sounds of the game for players and coaches: the crack of the bat, the thud of ball meeting mitt, taunts bellowed from 13 stories above street level. Playoff series were held at neutral sites, including the ALCS in San Diego, and the Astros were among the last clubs standing. If one player had heard Kanter heckle Kemp without amplification …

That train of thought leads to the top of the fourth inning on Oct. 14. Game 4 between the Astros and Tampa Bay Rays was underway in front of zero paying fans. Kanter was alone on the balcony with sunflower seeds and a can of .394, a locally brewed pale ale named after Tony Gwynn's best single-season batting average. He held his cellphone, on which he'd typed a short script, and a $200 megaphone, purchased with the help of family and friends.

Confident in the appliance's power - Kanter had tested the megaphone by shouting down a canyon - he stood when the Astros took the field in the fourth inning. It was nighttime in Chicago, but not so late that his buddies there had gone to bed. Kanter was nervous but spoke clearly. “You all are a bunch of cheaters," he read, loud enough to break through the silence the pandemic imposed.

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"What is the word 'sport' without 'fan'?" asked LeBron James. It was late March, a couple of weeks into the NBA’s coronavirus hiatus, and the Los Angeles Lakers superstar was speaking from his wine cellar to Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye, the retired players who headline the "Road Trippin'" podcast. James had proclaimed right before the shutdown that he wouldn't compete in empty arenas, only to walk that back when it became clear the season couldn't be completed otherwise. He had a sense of the spirit these games would lack: the crying, the joy, the motivation to quiet a wrathful road crowd.

"That's what brings out the competitive side in players: to know that you're going on the road in a hostile environment," James said to Jefferson, Frye, and show host Allie Clifton. "Yes, you're playing against that opponent in front of you. But you really want to kick the fans' ass, too."

LeBron James (23) and Anthony Davis are shown on court in the NBA bubble. Nathaniel S. Butler / NBA / Getty Images

Deprived of the feeling, many teams spent months vying for wins and titles in sealed venues, showing viewers how weird it is to consume sports in a pandemic. The only seatholders in the NBA bubble were beamed into the building on 17-foot video screens. The only fans on hand for the NHL playoffs were the machine kind, masked to suit the occasion. Cardboard cutouts - of celebrities, of pets, of "South Park" characters in Denver - filled space at NFL and MLB games. Barred from the arena, fans lost the role they play in the theater of pro sports.

"No one was really able to speak for the people who (wanted to shame the Astros)," Kanter said. "Except for, you know, the yahoo with the megaphone."

Across North America, sports' biggest leagues and events were forced for the first time to anoint victors in sterile environments. No one got to attend the tennis US Open this summer, nor the rescheduled Masters in November. Some NFL and college football teams have welcomed spectators in limited numbers, and MLB sold 11,500 tickets to NLCS and World Series games in Texas. Far more often, though, canned chatter was broadcast to conceal stillness, and legendary venues or sparkling new sports palaces, from Lambeau Field to L.A.'s SoFi Stadium to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, were shut for the year.

2020 changed what it feels like to be a fan in the ways James forecasted. People couldn't congregate with pals or by the tens of thousands to yell, despair, and berate opposing stars. James' Lakers, like the Tampa Bay Lightning, triumphed in the postseason without once playing in their home city; the L.A. Dodgers took their last two steps on the championship ladder 20 miles west of Dallas. Everything was televised, but those among us who prize being in the stadium, bedecked in team gear or customized costume, endured a visceral loss.

"It's like watching a commercial on TV for a steak restaurant," said Mark Acasio, the Las Vegas Raiders superfan who goes by the nickname Gorilla Rilla. "You're hungry and you can taste that food, but you can't eat it."

Mark Acasio, aka Gorilla Rilla, in 2019. The Mercury News / MediaNews Group / Getty Images

In recent weeks, theScore spoke to prominent fans and sports fandom scholars about the thrust of James' question: How is engaging with sports different when everyone is holed up inside? Some noted that we still could witness games as they happened, preserving the spontaneity, and maybe much of the allure, of the experience. Before sports came back, market research company MRI Simmons concluded in June that U.S. fans felt disconnected without live action to watch, and that they missed the ready-made excuse to gather with family and friends.

If the resumption of games eased the first feeling, it didn't restore interest to pre-COVID levels. With the exception of the National Women's Soccer League, the first league to return to play in a bubble, TV sports ratings have been down across the board since the summer. Until things return to normal, we won't know if this is the beginning of a trend or a reflection of how 2020 altered our usual patterns.

The coronavirus pauses that took hold in March utterly discombobulated everything in sports. LeBron won his fourth ring when NBA training camps are usually in session. Dustin Johnson slipped into the green jacket at Augusta during Week 10 of the NFL season. Indeed, every major team sport played high-stakes games opposite the NFL this fall, disrupting viewing habits like never before.

"That kind of compression basically causes an upset stomach," said Joseph L. Price, a Whittier College professor emeritus who has studied the intersection of sports and religion. "The regularity is gone."

Gone, too, when objects were all that populated the bleachers, was the pretense that the games were normal. Only the 2020 baseball season could have opened, in Los Angeles, with the destruction of Austin Donley's cutout at the left-field wall.

Weeks later, it happened again. Donley, 25, is a Dodgers devotee whose family usually attends up to 70 home games a year, and during L.A.'s first series in July, catcher Will Smith beaned his cutout with a home run. The likeness was left halfway decapitated, and Smith mailed Donley a signed bat for the trouble. Then, early in September, Mookie Betts deposited another dinger in Donley's virtual lap.

"To have been even a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the story of the year is so cool to me," said Donley, whose tweets about the homers went viral.

There are advantages to tuning in from afar. Acasio prefers the frenzy of the Black Hole, but removing his gorilla mask to watch the Raiders on TV has let him see and analyze the game better. Taylor Soper, a Portland Trail Blazers fan and the managing editor of the tech publication GeekWire, wrote favorably in August about his night as an NBA virtual spectator, in which his upper body appeared via LED monitor near center court of a Blazers-Lakers playoff matchup. The stream he watched was smooth, Soper said in an interview, and he liked chatting with his section mates from the comfort of his apartment, which approximated the camaraderie of the arena.

As James divined from the start of the NBA break, it's harder to recreate a crowd's excitement, or nerves, or the noise that swells when pressure mounts. Reflecting on baseball's pandemic summer, Price said the cardboard interlopers in the stands lacked a crucial third dimension: "I think the passion that fans show is much deeper than length and width." Lethargy is all the more apparent when, say, 65,000 chairs go unused at Allegiant Stadium, as Daniel Wann noticed when he turned on the Raiders game one recent Sunday night.

"(Teams build) these stadiums with tens of thousands of seats," said Wann, a psychology professor at Murray State University whose research focuses on sports fandom. "That tells you all you need to know. They expect fans to be a part of it, and when they're not, it just feels like something is missing."

––––––––––

Just as the year's oddities have influenced the feel of fandom, so too will 2020 shape its future. This summer, as COVID-19 hiatuses ended, 75% of respondents to a Fan Three Sixty survey said they'd only attend live games again if venues established new safety protocols, be they "extreme" or as basic as installing more dispensers for hand sanitizer. Personal mileage will vary, but those results suggest it'll take some convincing for the masses to return.

The next time spectators are able to flock to Allegiant or Lambeau, to Petco Park or basketball and hockey arenas everywhere, the operators of these venues will have to balance substance and perception, industry executives said in interviews. That means implementing sound safety measures and making it obvious those measures are in place.

"When you're coming back from COVID, the really important thing that you need to have as a fan is clear information," said Adam Goodyer, the founder and CEO of Realife Tech, a data-aggregation platform that's designed to streamline how spectators move through live events. "Where do I go? How do I get there? How do I stay safe?"

Chandon Sullivan (39) executes a fanless Lambeau leap. Dylan Buell / Getty Images

From security lines to concession stands, we probably can expect many aspects of the live experience to become increasingly touchless.

Cash and paper tickets may soon be relics. The same goes for food and condiment buffets, as well as the practice of vendors and strangers passing beers down a long row. (At Tottenham home matches in London, Realife's technology coordinates mobile orders through the team app, notifying people where and when to collect their order.) Hygienic changes could include the removal of restroom doors; sinks could be configured to time handwashes in line with health advice. Venues might hire more janitorial staff and, during games, have them stand and work in plain sight.

While cardboard cutouts and pixelated faces tend not to move much, actual spectators meander and queue around the concourse, creating logjams. Stadiums of the future could be built to maximize spaciousness and physical distance, but adjustments are likely to take hold in the meantime. To prevent free-for-all circulation, people could be instructed to walk in aisle formation and restricted to certain zones of the building. Software can be used to monitor the number of people in a given space, alerting venue staff to excessive crowding.

"They have to have this insight now in terms of where crowds are, how they're moving, where to push them in terms of distribution," said Zachary Klima, the founder and CEO of the AI startup WaitTime, which fulfills this function for the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Heat, and Buffalo Sabres, among other clients. "Everything that was once a 'nice to have' is now a 'need to have.'"

The 2020 Stanley Cup final ends in an empty arena. Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

COVID-19 precautions forced people to live digitally, and post-pandemic, away from stadiums, emergent technology could change how we tune into sports. Soper sees potential for the NBA to expand its foray into virtual spectatorship - by enabling food orders through the platform, for instance, or by charging people to watch that way. James Carwana, the general manager of Intel Sports, sees potential for volumetric video to upend the traditional sports telecast. He envisions a future where this 3D tech, which Intel has installed at NFL and NBA venues, captures the action from 360 degrees and lets fans personalize the perspective from which they consume games: the quarterback's, the defense's, innumerable others.

More than usual this coming season, NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer said, his league is going to try to entertain fans with clever material on social media. Over the summer, Mayer was in charge of managing hockey's 2020 playoff hubs, where game operations staff were given rein to experiment with in-arena messaging. "At the conclusion of tonight's game," one note on the video board in Edmonton read, "please exit your couch safely."

Words to live by in 2020. In September, when the Lightning blanked the Dallas Stars to win the NHL final in six games, the workers who kept the bubble running were the only people there to see it up close.

"One day," Mayer said, still processing the reality months later, "we'll (remember) there were maybe 100 people who were actually physically in the bubble watching the Stanley Cup Final happen."

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Seventy-two days after the NBA's own title series ended, the 2020-21 regular season is set to start Tuesday, with the NHL's expected to follow in January. Early games won't be as tense as those that unfolded in hubs, and rather than be isolated from society, players will live at home and stay at hotels in road cities. But one fact of bubble life persists in the immediate term. In many cases, teams don't plan to permit spectators.

Two scenarios would allow fans to return to arenas safely, Zachary Binney, an epidemiologist at Oxford College of Emory University, said in a recent interview. In one, attendance is limited to those people who've received a COVID-19 vaccine. Short of that requirement, he said, some critical mass of the population has to be vaccinated or immune to be sure that indoor games won't spark or compound an outbreak.

Virtual spectators watch the NBA Finals. Garrett Ellwood / NBA / Getty Images

No other option is prudent right now, Binney said. If positive case counts are low in a given area, and if rapid, accurate tests can be deployed on-site to screen spectators for COVID-19 right before they enter, maybe it'll be safe in the spring for some arenas to open at limited capacity. For the moment, he preaches caution and patience.

"You can always get sick from going to an NBA game. What we want to do is make sure that we're getting back down to that risk that we had all agreed - before (COVID-19) - was acceptable," Binney said. "Not 100% of people have to be vaccinated to get to that, but some appreciable portion that will take months. Very possibly through the end of the next NBA and NHL seasons."

Baseball season is still a ways off, leaving time for diehards like Donley to think about how 2020 redefined their fandom. Once the domain of streakers, fair-ball interferers, and escaped cats, fans no longer had to visit the field to blow up for 15 minutes. As the man behind the magnetic Dodgers cutout wrote in October, in a blog post for the website Simply A Fan, "I've joked with people that this is the least possible effort one could expend to go famous: having a picture of yourself getting hit by a ball at a game you were never at."

Donley was at home with his parents and girlfriend the night of Oct. 27, when Julio Urias struck out Willy Adames in Texas to seal the Dodgers' first championship since 1988. That they hadn't played in L.A. since the wild-card round didn't dampen his joy, Donley said, considering the glum alternative that the pandemic could have wrought: the season being canceled, Betts leaving in free agency, the title drought continuing unabated.

The Dodgers win the World Series on Oct. 27. Tom Pennington / Getty Images

Randi Radcliffe, a Dodgers podcaster and superfan who went to more than 100 games in 2018 and 2019, didn't expect to kneel on the ground, her hands shaking and tears falling, as Urias hurled his last, triumphant strike. Following this season from afar was hard, she said, without friends by her side or fans anywhere in sight. Yet she looked forward to every game, and familiar emotions surfaced for the World Series. Anxiety about the stakes. Anger when the Rays walked off with Game 4. Dread that this, again, wouldn't be the Dodgers' time.

In the end, one thing made a surreal year feel real, Radcliffe said: "Seeing them finally hold that trophy above their heads."

Before the Dodgers and Rays descended on Texas for the World Series, when Houston still had championship ambitions, few viewers got as near the playoffs as Kanter. On his San Diego office balcony, over his megaphone, he called out Jose Altuve for cheating, and then Carlos Correa, and George Springer, and Alex Bregman. It caught the attention of reporters covering the ALCS, and he got to explain his actions to The New York Times.

Not that personal notoriety was the point, he said: "The point was for the Astros to hear it." Once that happened, Kanter set down his megaphone and took a seat, content to savor his sunflower seeds and perch above the park.

"I felt incredibly fortunate to be able to have that vantage point," Kanter said. "I figured I may as well enjoy watching the game for as long as I could."

Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.

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Canadian Gold: Remembering the 2006 World Junior Championship

In the lead-up to the 2021 World Junior Championship, we're taking a look back at each of the 18 Canadian teams to capture the gold medal, culminating Dec. 25 with the start of the latest edition of the tournament.

Fresh off its first world junior gold medal in eight years after the 2005 dream team's triumph, Canada was looking to repeat on home soil in British Columbia. However, going back-to-back wouldn't be easy, as there was just one returning player from Canada's loaded 2005 squad on the 2006 team.

The 2005 roster contained just two players under the age of 19. The 2006 squad, meanwhile, featured 11.

The roster

Player Position Age
Dan Bertram F 19
Michael Blunden F 19
Dave Bolland F 19
Dustin Boyd F 19
Kyle Chipchura F 19
Andrew Cogliano F 18
Blake Comeau F 19
Steve Downie F 18
Guillaume Latendresse F 18
Ryan O'Marra F 18
Benoit Pouliot F 19
Tom Pyatt F 18
Jonathan Toews F 17
Cam Barker* D 19
Luc Bourdon D 18
Kris Letang D 18
Marc Staal D 18
Ryan Parent D 18
Sasha Pokulok D 19
Kris Russell D 18
Devan Dubnyk G 19
Justin Pogge G 19

*Denotes returning player
All ages are as of the start of the tournament

The tournament

Dave Sandford / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Despite lacking the star power of the 2005 squad (eight players who suited up for Canada at the 2010 or 2014 Olympics anchored that team), the 2006 edition of Team Canada was nearly just as dominant, even with just one future Olympian in Jonathan Toews - who was still 17 and draft-eligible - on its roster.

Canada went 4-0-0 in the round robin, defeating Finland 5-1, Switzerland 4-3, Norway 4-0, and the United States 3-2 (although Canada's game-winning goal against the USA was an empty-netter because the Americans needed a win to earn first in Group A).

The Canadians played their best as the tournament proceeded, beating Finland 4-0 in the semis before taking down the Evgeni Malkin-led Russians 5-0 in the gold-medal game.

The stars

Dave Sandford / Getty Images Sport / Getty

This tournament is probably best remembered as the Justin Pogge show. The Toronto Maple Leafs' third-rounder posted a 1.00 goals-against average, a tournament-best .952 save percentage, and three shutouts while starting all six games for Canada.

However, partially because the awards are voted on prior to the gold-medal game, Finland's Tuukka Rask was named the tournament's top goaltender. Rask, another Maple Leafs draft pick, was traded six months later because Pogge was deemed Toronto's goalie of the future. It was a terrible, shortsighted decision, but that's how well Pogge played in this tournament.

Other contributors also propelled Canada to the top of the podium. The shutdown pairing of Ryan Parent and Marc Staal was fantastic, with the latter named the event's top defenseman despite recording just one assist.

The rest of Canada's blue line was also exceptional, as returnee Cam Barker and the late Luc Bourdon - who was named to the Media All-Star Team - each tallied six points in seven games. Kris Letang also notched four points.

Canada didn't boast much firepower up front, but Steve Downie provided plenty of heart, grit, and physicality, and he was also named to the Media All-Star Team with six points in as many contests.

Lastly, head coach Brent Sutter should be considered a star. This squad was incredibly well-coached, especially on the defensive end.

The key moment

Dave Sandford / Getty Images Sport / Getty

There wasn't a specific key moment in this tournament, as the New Year's Eve game against the United States lacked drama, and Canada blew out its opponents in the semifinals and finals.

However, Canada's biggest key to victory was somehow shutting down Malkin in the gold-medal game. The 19-year-old was easily the best player in the world outside the NHL. The 2004 second overall pick registered 47 points in 46 games in the Russian Superleague (later known as the KHL) that season, and a year later he won the Calder Trophy with 85 points over 78 NHL games.

Russia entered the gold-medal contest with a 5-0-0 record and a plus-19 goal differential (Canada's differential was only plus-14), and the team was fresh off a 5-1 win over the United States in the semis. Malkin came into the matchup with four goals and six assists in five games, but Canada completely shut him down.

The fallout

Dave Sandford / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The 2006 victory marked the second of five straight world junior gold medals for Canada - the second time the nation has won five straight. A remarkable 11 returning players took to the ice for the 2007 squad that won gold in Sweden.

Several players on the 2006 team have produced long pro careers, including active NHLers Toews, Comeau, Cogliano, Letang, Russell, Staal, and Dubnyk. As for Pogge, he played in just seven NHL games, registering a .844 save percentage and a 4.36 goals-against average.

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