Team Canada brings tested tandem to World Juniors

TSN SportsCentre Reporter Mark Masters reports on the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. Team Canada travelled to St. Andrews, N.B., on Tuesday. The team will hold practices in nearby St. Stephen, N.B., the rest of the week as part of a training camp. 

Thomas Milic thought his World Junior dream was over for one sinking moment on Monday afternoon. 

"It was a pretty nerve-wracking process just waiting in the hotel room and hoping not to get a knock on your door," the Seattle Thunderbirds goalie said. "Funny enough, the hotel maid actually came by and knocked on my door. I was freaking out. I opened the door and she just asked if I wanted a couple towels. I said, 'Thank you.'"

Minutes later, Milic learned he had cracked Team Canada's roster. 

"Oh man, it's incredible," he said. "Calling my parents last night and seeing how happy they are for me makes it all worth it."

Down the hall, Ben Gaudreau watched his roommate, Quebec Remparts defenceman Evan Nause, get cut. 

"It kind of sucked when they told him the news," the Sarnia Sting goalie said. "At first, like, when everything went down with Evan, I didn't know if that meant I made it or not. I was sitting there stressing so I called my dad and I was talking to him. I said, 'I don't know if I made it or not. There's a meeting in 10 minutes. Do I go?' He was like, 'Well, if you walk in and there's two goalies you know the answer.'"

Moments later, Hockey Canada goalie consultant Kelly Guard delivered the news that Gaudreau had won one of the two jobs in the crease. It was William Rousseau of the Remparts and Prince George's Tyler Brennan, who got released. 

Milic and Gaudreau built up trust with Hockey Canada by backstopping the under-18 team to gold at the 2021 World Championship in Texas. What works well between the two? 

"The healthy competition we have," Milic said. "We both push each other in practice to always be better. We get along off the ice. We're best friends pretty much. We keep in touch in the summer." 

"Milly and I get a long real well," Gaudreau said. "One of the guys I train with in North Bay [Matt Marquardt] actually coaches him in Seattle so having that relationship as well brings us a little closer. To be able to do this with him again is awesome."

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Gaudreau played five of the seven games at the under-18 event, including the gold-medal game. He posted a .919 save percentage and was named the tournament's top goalie. 

"I just really dialed it in," he recalled. "It's something that I got to bring back. It's been a little bit of a rough year in Sarnia. Just trying to bounce back from that and gain some confidence here, which has already started with my game the other day.

Gaudreau stopped 17 of 19 shots in his selection-camp start on Monday.

"Other than scoring on myself, I thought I had a pretty good game," the San Jose Sharks prospect said with a smile. "I went to go reach back and knocked it right in the net."

The bounces haven't been going his way in the Ontario Hockey League this season. Gaudreau's got an .868 save percentage over 22 games with a struggling Sarnia side. 

"A lot of guys have been injured," Gaudreau points out. "Four of our six starting D core was out for a while so that takes a toll on a team. We haven't really played a full-roster game since the first game and our captain [defenceman Nolan Dillingham] got hurt that game. It's taken a toll on a lot of guys."

Gaudreau believes the presence of Sarnia's head coach, Alan Letang, on Team Canada's staff will give him a boost as he aims to maintain the right mindset. 

"If you start dwelling on the last goal or anything like that, it can go really bad and really south real quick," he said.

While he's listed as "Benjamin" on the Hockey Canada and OHL websites, Gaudreau prefers "Ben." Since when? 

"The day I was born," the 19-year-old from Corbeil, Ont., says with a chuckle. "I can't stand Benjamin. My mom always says that when I'm in trouble."

As for his last name, it is pronounced Go-dreau. 

"I think the French pronunciation is probably Goo-dreau," he said. "We got some French in [the family bloodlines] but my current family, we can't speak any of it. So, we've transitioned out of the French way and into the English way."

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Milic got passed over in the NHL draft, which is something he uses as motivation. 

"It's always in the back of my mind, you know, just that idea of proving teams wrong and getting to that next level," the 19-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C., said. "There's a lot of paths to get there. I'm on my path and focusing on what I can control now."

Milic's path took him to the Western Hockey League championship series last season. He was stellar during the playoffs with a .925 save percentage in 25 games.   

"We had a pretty long run and that's the first time I was able to push myself like that," he said. 

Milic has been splitting starts with Scott Ratzlaff so far this season in Seattle. He has a .919 save percentage in 14 games and seems to be back in a groove of late. 

"My game's in the best place it's ever been," the 6-foot, 175-pound goalie said. "Coming off the last few weeks, I've strung together a few good games in Seattle. I'm coming into this training camp and into the next fews weeks before the tournament really strong."

Milic stopped 150 of 156 shots (.961 save percentage) in his last six WHL games. He stopped 25 of 28 shots in Monday's selection camp start.

Now, he'll get to wear the Team Canada sweater at the World Juniors. 

"Even doing all the media stuff today, you know, just wearing the sweater and taking headshots, it's just an incredible feeling," Milic said. "As soon as you put that sweater on, just, something switches and you feel so proud of everything you've accomplished and proud of everyone that's supporting us back home as well. It makes me think of my family a lot." 

Milic stopped 39 of 40 shots in his two starts at the 2021 under-18 World Championship. 

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There are eight Canadian players back from the summer team, including winger Zack Ostapchuk, who has his gold medal hanging up in his room. 

"I actually gave it a kiss goodbye when I came here," he said with a smile. "I told it to wish me luck."

Ostapchuk learned a lot from his World Junior debut in Edmonton where he picked up a goal and two assists in seven games. 

"It was very fast," the Ottawa Senators prospect recalled. "I mean, it kind of caught me off guard a bit how fast it was. It helps me with this year. I'll be a little more comfortable ... I can bring a powerful game. I want to be that guy who can get in those hard areas and get our skill guys the puck. I can use my speed to my advantage and my strength and drive pucks to the net. That's what I'm planning to do." 

Ostapchuk has 10 goals and 19 assists in 21 games with the Vancouver Giants this season. 

"I like where my game's at," he said. "I think I'm playing a good 200-foot game."

The feedback from the Senators has been positive. 

"They like how I've been playing," the 19-year-old from St. Albert, Alta., confirmed. "They've came to a couple games in Vancouver. They want me to continue to work on my 200-foot game and being reliable in my own end and just play a hard, heavy game."

How does he work on it? 

"The Sens will send me film," Ostapchuk said. "In Vancouver, my coach Michael Dyck works on it a lot with me. Just little net-front stuff and coming out of the corners and all those little things to be a big powerful guy."  

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Team Canada will hold its first post-cuts practice at the Garcelon Civic Centre in St. Stephen, N.B., on Wednesday.