In the history of the world juniors, there have been bad bounces, unbelievable blowouts, and hockey icons that all have left their mark on the tournament. This story from THN's Dec. 28, 2004 edition put the spotlight on the unpredictable, mind-blowing events at the tourney.
In the history of the IIHF World Junior Championship, there have been many unpredictable and unbelievable events. And in this feature story from The Hockey News’ Dec. 28, 2004 edition (Vol. 58, Issue 18), writer Kevin Gibson took a stroll down memory lane and reminded readers of a number of weird and wild happenings at the tournament.
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The first odd event at the WJC in Gibson’s story centered around former NHL goaltender Richard Sevigny, who surrendered an astonishing 17 goals in 1975 in Canada’s worst loss ever at the tournament. But he told Gibson the entire tourney was a mismatch.
“All the European sides were all-star teams; we were just a club team from Quebec,” Sevigny said in the article. “We had Sherbrooke on the front of our jerseys and Canada on the back. We didn’t have the skill to compete, so we took the body from the start of the tournament.
Team Canada was eliminated from the 2024 WJC in a 3-2 loss to Czechia Tuesday, and the winning goal came late in the contest on a bad bounce with 11.7 seconds left. But Gibson recalled in that 2004 story another unfortunate bounce in a gold medal game between the United States and Canada, when U.S. forward Patrick O’Sullivan got credit for the game-winning goal after Canadian goalie Marc-Andre Fleury tried to clear the puck. His shot accidentally bounced off teammate Braydon Coburn, and it ricocheted back into Canada’s net, securing gold for the Americans.
Additionally, Gibson wrote about the 1978 WJC, when a 16-year-old phenom named Wayne Gretzky generated a tournament-best 17 points. Amazingly, there were some hockey observers who weren't completely convinced Gretzky would be an NHL star.
“The foundation may be strong and look great,” one scout said of Gretzky, “but you will have to wait and see what the finished building will look like. Gretzky stickhandles and passes extremely well and he knows what to do with the puck, but by the time he’s 18 he may decide to be a doctor or find other interests.”
Thank the hockey gods we didn’t see Dr. Gretzky, and instead, we got the greatest player of all-time.
WJC MEMORIES WEIRD, WILD STUFF
Vol. 58, No. 18, Dec. 28, 2004
By Kevin Gibson
The burn on the back of his neck is long gone, but the memory of giving up 17 goals in Canada’s worst-ever defeat at the World Junior Championship is still fresh in the mind of former NHL goalie Richard Sevigny.
In Tampere, Finland on Dec. 28, 1975, Canada, with Sevigny between the pipes, lost by a staggering 17-1 score to Sweden.
“All the European sides were all-star teams; we were just a club team from Quebec,” Sevigny said. “We had Sherbrooke on the front of our jerseys and Canada on the back. We didn’t have the skill to compete so we took the body from the start of the tournament.
“We beat Finland 4-1 in the first game, but that style didn’t work too well against Sweden. We were so undisciplined and eventually we just quit. We spent just about all of the game in the penalty box.
“It was a lot of fun going to Finland though. It was the first time on a plane for me and my first time out of Quebec.”
The WJC is full of magical memorable moments etched in our minds forever. There are others, however, that are best classified as unusual, strange and remarkable. Here are some of them:
THE PUNCH-UP IN PIESTANY On Jan. 4, 1987 in Czechoslovakia, Canada was leading Russia 4-2 with 6:07 left in the second period when a bench-clearing brawl erupted causing the dis-qualification of both teams. At one point in the melee, officials turned off the arena lights, drowning the rink into darkness.
Canada had needed to win by five goals in order to capture the gold medal, while the Russians were out of medal contention. Finland was awarded its first-ever gold medal in the tournament. Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard had gold medals made up that he presented to Team Canada.
At the 1988 tournament, Canada got its revenge by winning in Moscow, defeating Russia 3-2 in the decisive game.
BAD BOUNCE The luck of the Irish belonged to the USA’s Patrick O’Sullivan in Finland in 2004.
In the gold-medal game between Canada and the U.S., the score was tied 3-3 with just over five minutes left in the third period when Canadian goalie Marc-Andre Fleury came out of his net to clear the puck.
Instead of clearing it safely up ice, Fleury accidentally fired it off of teammate Braydon Coburn. The puck bounced off the blueliner and back into the Canadian net. O’Sullivan was credited with the goal, his second of the game, and the U.S. secured its first-ever gold medal.
In Fleury’s defense, Coburn is 6-foot-5; it would be tough not to hit him.
SWITCHING ALLEGIANCES Adam Deadmarsh, a native of Trail, B.C., had twice played internationally for Canada in 1992. In 1993, as Canada’s national junior team selection camp approached, the U.S. offered Deadmarsh, whose mother is American, a guaranteed spot on its team.
Team Canada wouldn’t make Deadmarsh the same guarantee, as it has always maintained a policy that every player must try out for the team. Deadmarsh elected to take the secure spot with the U.S. team. The Americans came in fourth, Deadmarsh scored no points and Canada won gold.
Deadmarsh competed again at the WJC for the U.S. in 1994, when the team finished sixth, and in 1995, when it finished fourth. Canada won gold both those years.
GREAT ONE GLITTERS Sixteen-year-old Wayne Gretzky leads the 1978 WJC in scoring with 17 points, becoming the only player in Team Canada history to have more points than his age in the tournament.
Though everyone was impressed with his play, there were still those who expressed reservations.
“The foundation may be strong and look great,” said one scout after watching Gretzky play, “but you will have to wait and see what the finished building will look like.
“Gretzky stickhandles and passes extremely well and he knows what to do with the puck, but by the time he’s 18 he may decide to be a doctor or find other interests.”
Luckily the building didn’t fall down.
WJC TRIVIA Canada sported a blue Maple Leaf on its sweater in 1978 and Gretzky wore No 9…Four future Toronto Maple Leafs played for Team Canada in 1984: ‘Hound Line’ mates Gary Leeman and Russ Courtnall and goalies Allan Bester and Ken Wregget. Yet another Maple Leaf, the USSR’s Nikolai Borschevsky, was named a tournament all-star in 1984…Switzerland lost 32 straight games in the top division of WJC tournament before it won its first game. Three countries have never won a game in the WJC’s top division: Austria, France and Japan…Alan Perry of Team USA was named best goalie at the 1984 WJC even though he gave up the third-most goals in the tournament.
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