rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
He may be the youngest player on Canada Black’s roster, but you’d never know Shane Wright is only 15 years old.
The 6-foot, 183-pound centre was named captain of Team Canada Black on Friday ahead of the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, and head coach Jody Hull says Wright simply exudes the positive traits of a leader – from top-notch talent to the maturity and poise of someone who’s been there before.
“I called him in the summer and as soon as I got off the phone to him I looked to my wife and said ‘I thought I was talking to a 30-year-old,'” said Hull. “He just exemplifies what our beliefs are and our principles are as a team. He showed that in the summer and he’s continued that at the tournament here. He just leads by example, does everything like a pro. He’s definitely going to have a bright future.”
Wright was granted exceptional status by the CHL and has been taking the Ontario Hockey League by storm with 11 points over his first 14 games with the Kingston Frontenacs. The Burlington, Ont. product will lead Canada Black into Saturday’s 7 p.m. tournament-opener against Canada White at the Canalta Centre while sporting the C on his chest.
“It’s something that I’ve dreamed of as a kid,” said Wright, who opened the scoring in his team’s 2-1 pre-tournament victory over Finland Thursday. “Representing my country, playing against the best players in the world at this age group, it’s a great tournament to showcase my abilities and see where I’m at in terms of my on-ice play.”
While Wright admits it’ll be a little strange to compete both for and against his country to open the tournament on Saturday night, he’s looking forward to the experience.
“It’ll be different,” said Wright. “Obviously playing against your former teammates is always a little bit different at the start, especially in a tournament like this.”
The feeling is mutual on the other side of the puck. While it’s not a traditional rivalry, it’s one unique to this tournament, and Canada White forward Matthew Savoie says he’s looking forward to the atmosphere of an all-Canadian battle.
“It’s pretty exciting playing against your own country,” said Savoie. “Canada versus Canada has never really happened in the older stages so I’m looking forward to that, and seeing some familiar faces on the other side. I think it’s going to be fun.”
Canada Black was the only one of the country’s three host teams to win its pre-tournament game against Finland on Thursday. While it’s a small sample size, Hull says the victory showcased the team’s firepower up front as well as their ability to shutdown opposing offences.
“I think we’ve got a good group,” he said. “They’re energetic, we’ve got a lot of top-end skill. In our first exhibition game I thought that was in the forefront, but at the same time when we needed to lock it down a little bit we were able to do that and defend well in the end of the third.”
One of the biggest challenges at an event like this – which forces teams to compete in six games over seven or eight days – is building chemistry. Canada Black forward Sean Tschigerl says his squad has been doing a good job of accomplishing the task, even just by getting to know each other between ice sessions.
“You get chemistry by just enjoying the moment with friends,” said Tschigerl, a 16-year-old member of the Calgary Hitmen. “We’re just really going to focus on the small details, the power play and the penalty kill and just having fun and building that chemistry. We already have a little bit, so we’ll just keep having fun with the team.”
The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge round robin runs through Tuesday at the Canalta Centre and the Innovation Credit Union iPlex in Swift Current. The quarter-finals and semis are slated for Thursday and Friday, respectively, followed by the bronze and gold medal games next Saturday.
