World Junior Canada VS Olympic Canada....The Dirt on World Stage Hockey.

It's no secret that hockey is a part of a national identity, much baseball is to America. We're a passionate crowd, and our patriotic Canadianess comes out in full-force during the Winter Olympics. It might be the only time the rest of world think we're just a bit arrogant. However it's a different world stage, it's that time a year again. The World Juniors.

Image: The Star

The World Juniors is a different kind of game in it's own right, from Olympic Hockey. In Olympic Hockey, Canadians go in with an 80% chance of bring home Gold. Yet that isn't the case with the Juniors. Over the years I've had friends ask me this over and over, why aren't the Juniors bring home Gold at the same volume the Canadian Olympic Men's team does. Today I'll answer it.

They're Kids.

A junior team is comprised of athletes 19 years or younger as of December 31st. There bench is full of athletes who've yet to peak. Many of which are feilded from OHL or similar teams across the country with the acception of a few NHL talents. No matter how you were to look at it, these kids aren't benifitting from a few key elements Olympians have, since the inclusion of NHL players.

In the Olympics, many players are very familiar with the playing style of many country's biggest players on their roster. A direct result of NHL game play there is Physical experience. The juniors for the most part don't have that benefit and video review only does so much.

Considering your most experienced player, is 19 and might have 15-20 NHL games under his belt. In the grand scheme of things, he's not much more experienced than his benchmates considering the age range is about 3.5 years between youngest and oldest. They just aren't getting that same level of veteran leadership born of age and experience.

Image: Olympic.Ca

In the Olympics, where younger guys like

P.K Subban who from playing with Marham Islanders of the Greater Toronto Hockey League to his last game with the Canadiens before the Olympics in 2014 totalled 283 games. Which alone is infantly more experienced than 3/4 of a Canadian World Juniors bench, While also having sufficient NHL experience and familiarity with the heavy hitters of other countries. P.K was 24 during the Winter Olympics

Image: Olympic.Ca

Now on the flipside of that coin, Olympic team Canada has age and veteran experience( No specifically how many times, somebody has been the Olympic Team). A prime example would be Martin St. Louis. During the Olympics Martin was 38 years old ( already 14 years older than P.K). Now Martin had played a total of 1055 games from his first game with The Laval - Laurentides of the QAAA to his last game with the Tampa Bay Lightning just before the Olympic Break.

Now lets do some math that's a different of 772 games played, that's an entire career of difference. Between Olympic Hockey Team Canada's youngest and most senior players. Sometimes The World Juniors team simply can not replicate.

On the other hand, The World Juniors 2015 team has exactly two players who are also playing on the same team in the regular season. Two Kelowna Rockets.

The 2014 Olympic Canada team featured 2 Montreal Canadiens, 2 Anaheim Ducks,  2 LA Kings,  2 Vancouver Canucks,  2 Chicago Blackhawks,  2 St. Louis Blues,  2 Pitsburg Penguins,  2 San Jose Sharks. That's 14 players, who are teammates and have chemistry from player together as is.

When you really look at those key differences, it's not that Canada's Junior players are worse or subpar Canadian Hockey players. It simply a case of being young, and honestly being on par with the other national teams. It truly is a different game.

That being said, Canada is still a medal contender on the junior stage and they very well could bring us home a gold. However I'll always be proud of the kids who come out and play that tournament. The kids who give up some of their family and christmas holiday to bring us enjoyment. Have a good game boys.

What are your thoughts on the World Juniors?

Honour Roll Kinda Guy

Image: A Web That Works

The first semester of the 2014/2015 school year has been interesting to say the least. I had some pretty solid classes, ones that held my interest. It's a pretty good scenario when you don't dislike any of your classes. I've learned a lot of things this semester, like how to work around an incompetent team members, eating healthy without breaking the bank and campus bookstores sometimes charge more than they ought to.

Throughout high school, outside of being that kid everyone bullied. I wasn't always a star when it came to handing-in or completing my homework. I was fortunate enough to pull off 3.0 GPA, by going back an extra year and fixing the damage I had done. This semester, I took my assignments seriously, and it paid off. My final grades surprised me. They threw me so off kilter, I'd checked the shcools webportal multiple times just to make sure they hadn't slipped up. This semester I cam out with 91.33 grade average which is 4.75 or something like that. We have a 5.0 system up here.

I have to be honest, I'm proud of myself. I really shows that hardwork and dedication pays off in the end. Sometimes you've got to sacrafice fun things like going to the movies to get that project done, but it feels good.

Late On, I will put up a post about some of the study tips that really helped me.

Thanks 4 Reading.

-Hutch

Have you ever surprised yourself with your grades?

Maybe your kids have surprised you with theirs?

Feel free to tell me about it in the comments below.