For Nate Leaman, the cancellation of the World Junior Championship in Canada last week left a bitter taste that’s going to linger for a while.
“I’m disappointed for all the kids. At first, I was really disappointed for our kids and our group. But the more I got away from it, I was disappointed for Finland, I was disappointed for Sweden. You know what they’re going through, too,’’ said Leaman, the coach of the United States team for the second-straight year.
“A lot of people put a lot of work and a lot of time and a lot of effort into it. You’re just disappointed. You’re heartbroken for the kids."
The lion’s share of the blame for the fiasco in Edmonton/Red Deer belongs with Hockey Canada and the International Ice Hockey Federation.
“The way they ran the tournament this year compared to last year is what made it hard. Last year we were all basically in our own hotels, on lockdown. This year there were people in our hotels and people on our floors. We were supposed to have designated floors for your team.
“There were people walking around the hotel without masks. When we would come down the elevator, we would have to go by a bar, a hair salon, a store, a restaurant that was open all the time, to get to your meal room. There were people coming in and out. It wasn’t a lockdown environment, so it opened up the possibilities of getting Covid. Every team went in there clean," said Leaman, who guided the U.S. to the gold medal in 2021.
“Our team was the first team to get Covid, but our guys had tested negative for 10 or 12 tests in a row. They weren’t going in with it. There’s only one way they could have gotten it. It was either from the hotel or from fans."
Potential problems were apparent as soon as the U.S. team arrived.
“When we first got there, the issues were raised with the tournament, the leaders of Team USA, I know that. We were concerned. We wore masks. The kids did everything they were supposed to do. The kids did the right things. We left a guy like (Thomas) Bordeleau at home (after he tested positive). Finland left (Aatu) Raty home. All the kids came in clean. They all tested negative for 10-12 days."
There was a lot of emotion in the room when the U.S. team was informed that the tournament would be scrapped, Leaman said.
“One of the things we talked about a lot with the group is you don’t know if you ever get to wear this jersey again, to play for your country again. That’s what’s hard. You can’t just say wait 'til next year. You don’t know if there’s a next time. When you have the world’s best at a tournament, at that level, if you’re gonna do it, you have to do it right," he said.
It wasn’t done right, and a major issue was that the protocols changed.
“Originally it was you have to come in negative. You have to show two negatives at your camp and then you come in the first two days and test. If you’re negative, everyone’s good to go. Well, they kept us an extra day and tested a third time. Why? We’re all vaccinated. Then they end up saying we’re going to test you every day. It was a frustrating process because the protocols kept changing. You felt the (people in charge of the tournament) were never sure of themselves," Leaman said.
There’s been talk of rescheduling the World Juniors for later this year.
“I would hope so, but I don’t see how,’’ Leaman said. “USA Hockey didn’t give the kids their jerseys, which they normally do. We don’t know. At this point, you would love for there to be a solution out there."
He was noncommittal when asked if he would accept an invitation from USA Hockey to coach the team again next year.
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about that. I’m pretty disappointed about this last one. I’m still mired in that.”
Here comes the second half
With the WJC in the rearview mirror, Leaman’s PC team will get his undivided attention.
The Friars are 15-7-1 overall. Only top-ranked Minnesota State has more wins at 18-7. PC is 6-5 in Hockey East, so there is work to be done there.
“We have to have a good second half. Everything is in front of us. We’re playing BC, Lowell, BU. We have UMass one more time. We have a tough schedule, but that’s kind of what we need," said Leaman.
“Special teams have been excellent. We need to do a better job attacking five on five. I think the guys are in a pretty good spot on defending. We need to do a better job with our attacking. Creating space, working back to pucks, creating space on the rush."
PC is off this weekend, then plays a pair against Merrimack on Jan. 14 and 15.
“We’re playing a lot of teams that are around us in the standings. I was really disappointed with the Northeastern series (on Dec. 3 and 4). We went back and watched the tapes and we carried the play in both games, did everything well except finish. We’ve just got to keep growing and getting better and making sure we get home ice for the playoffs because the single-game elimination is going to be a little different," he said.
Friars add a player
PC made a sizeable addition this week in 6-foot-7, 235-pound defenseman Taige Harding.
Harding, drafted in the third round by Chicago last summer, had 37 points in 37 games for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
When the coach in Fort McMurray recently stepped down for family reasons, “that brought a lot of things into question. Taige did not want to go to the USHL, so it was basically Fort Mac or Providence. We talked with Chicago and his adviser and laid out what the situation would be like here," said Leaman, noting that PC had scholarship money available.
“We’re not guaranteeing any playing time, but get him here, start to get his feet wet, develop and get up a level. He was plus-30, I think, in the AJHL. That’s kind of ridiculous. He needed to get up a level and if the USHL wasn’t going to be an option, we thought this would be a better option.
“Stepping in, he’s going to be behind a little bit. We’ll play it by ear. With him it’s about getting better every day and if he can help the lineup, we’ll have him in the lineup. We’re going to feel it out as it goes."
