Cameron is readying his troops this week at the four-day Team Canada training camp in Windsor and Plymouth.
For most hockey coaches, the end of July means a little time for some rest and relaxation. But former Ottawa Senators head coach Dave Cameron is hard on the job this week putting 40 Team Canada World Junior hopefuls through their paces at their summer training camp in Windsor.
Cameron is back as Canada's bench boss for the World Juniors in Ottawa in December and the preparation for the event began on Sunday. It's the first time a full-blown summer camp has been held since the pandemic.
The camp includes a Red-White intersquad game on July 30 at 7:30 p.m. and a game against Sweden on July 31 at 7:30 p.m. The team will then travel to Plymouth, Michigan, to participate in the World Junior Summer Showcase from August 1 to 3; Canada faces Finland on Aug. 2 at 1 p.m. and the United States on Aug. 3 at 4 p.m.
Cameron has been a great soldier for Hockey Canada, answering the international call many times before.
He's won four medals at the World Juniors, including silver and gold as head coach in 2011 and 2022, and gold and silver as an assistant in 2009 and 2010. Cameron also won gold medals as an assistant coach at the 2016 World Hockey Championships and as our U18 head coach at the 2004 Junior World Cup.
Cameron's hockey links to Ottawa are obviously strong at the NHL (Senators) and OHL (67's) levels, but he's even got previous World Junior coaching experience here in Ottawa.
"I started in Ottawa with Pat Quinn," Cameron told TSN's Mark Masters. "And to be able to do it all these years later in the same environment, and if anything, the hype probably has built, and so yeah, really looking forward to it."
Cameron wasn't the only future Sens head coach on the bench that year (2009). Guy Boucher was another of Quinn's assistants.
One of the blue-chip prospects Cameron will be evaluating is defenceman Carter Yakemchuk, the Senators' seventh overall selection in last month's NHL Draft.
The team won't be finalized this week, but some strong opinions on players will begin to form with Cameron and his evaluation team during this camp.
"Basically, I want to lay the foundation, the blueprint of how we want to play, the style we want to play," Cameron said. "But the other big thing I want to give this group of 40 is obviously we have to cut down. So I want them to know what we're looking for, what we're evaluating, and enhance what they're going to be evaluated on.
"That's a big thing I want them to leave with."