Here is the final roster for the Canadian Junior team:
 
GOALTENDERS (2) Dan Cloutier and Jamie Storr
DEFENCEMEN (7) Chad Allan, Nolan Baumgartner, Ed Javanovski, Bryan
McCabe, Wade Redden, Jamie Rivers, Lee Sorochan
FORWARDS (13) Jason Allison, Jason Botterill, Larry Courville, Alexandre
Daigle, Eric Daze, Shean Donovan, Feff Friesen, Todd Harvey, Marty
Murray, Jeff O'Neill, Denis Pederson, Ryan Smyth, Darcy Tucker
 
        Of course the big story is that Brett Lindros did not make the
team. He was very bitter about it.  There is a picture of him covering
his face in a car like he was a defendent leaving a trial in the paper
today.  From what I saw he may be OK in the NHL where size and hitting
are more important than skill for some roster players.  I'm glad Hay
realized he was coaching a team in a different environment, even if the
tournament is in North America.
 
Below are two articles from today's Edmonton Journal both by Mark Spector:
 
LINDROS "BIG TIME" BITTER OVER CUT
 
        Bitterness?
        "Big time," steamed Brett Lindros, the biggest name among head
coach Don Hay's final six cuts Sunday morning.
        Lindros got axed and he was sour.
        He had made the New York Islanders in September, and now he
couldn't crack a junior team.  What could be going through his mind?
        "Christmas at home, I guess," the 19-year-old said.  "I thought I
played well enough to make this team.  Evidently not."
        His older brother Eric played three years on this club, winning
two gold medals.  This was Brett's only chance to play in the World
Junior tournament and he had failed.
        "Donnie (Hay) just said, hey, you're more suited to the pro
style.  There's no arguing with that.  I'm pretty disappointed," said
Lindros, the #9 overall draft in June.  "He told me he wanted me as a
checker and I checked.  Now he wants more finesse out of me.  I don't know."
        All along, Hay had said so one would make this team because of
their name or prior accomplishments, but Team Canada must have quietly
wondered if that applied to a marquee player like Lindros.
        "It certainly shows he's tough," returning centre Marty Murray
said of Hay.
        "He picked the players who were playing the best and that's what
he said he'd do," said Jason Allison, who has a good chance of being
named captain in Grande Prairie this week.
        "I'm a man of my word," Hay said.
        "Nobody's bigger than the team.  We did what was best for the
hockey team."
        What Hay wanted out of Lindros was speed.  He never got it.
        "For the international game he just needs a little more skating
ability," Hay said.  "He's going to be great at the National Hockey
League level--I'd love to have him on my team.  Any time...other than
coaching at the international level."
        Islanders GM Don Maloney was surprised to hear the news.
        "I guess I'm disappointed that he didn't get an opportunity.
They made such a big push to get him," he said from Long Island.  "I
talked to Brett and I talked to his father and they both said what a big
deal it was to him."
        Another disappointed 19-year-old was Quebec Nordiques goalie
Jocelyn Thibault.  After much consternation on the part of Team Canada to
diagnose a recent shoulder injury in time for training camp, Thibault was
sent packing Sunday along with Maple Leafs draft Eric Fichaud.
        "(Hay) told me it wasn't a hockey decision.  They told me they
don't want to take an injured guy," said Thibault, the 10th player chosen
in 1993.
        That year he was also a Team Canada cut, but he expected to make
the club this time around.
        "They knew about my shoulder before I came here; now they tell me
they don't want to carry a guy with some injury.  If it wasn't for my
shoulder I'm sure I would have made the team," Thibault said.
        Fichaud will rejoin his junior team in Chicoutimi and be on call
as the replacement goalie should Jamie Storr or Dan Cloutier go down...
        Also cut were winger Chris Wells and defencemen Chris Armstrong
and Christian Laflamme.
 
        Team Canada shoots for an unprecedented third straight gold medal
with seven returnees from last year's team and another from 1993 in
Alexandre Daigle.  But only one, Bryan McCabe, is a defenceman.
        "It's more of a no-name defence, other than Ed Jovanovski.  We'll
have to try and keep it as simple as possible," Hay said.
        What's the biggest difference from last year's experience, other
than playing at home in Canada?
        "Probably just the expectations," centre Marty Murray said.
"Last year we were picked fourth or fifth going into the tournament.
this year, it's the gold medal or nothing."
        Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman Wade Redden is the only undrafted
17-year-old on the roster.  Between the Canadian junior leagues the
breakdown goes like this: 10 from the WHL, 9 from the OHL, and two from
the QMJHL.  Jason Botterill (University of Michigan) is the only college
player.
END OF ARTICLES
 
        It is a good thing that Hay has a firefighting job to fall back
on because he might need it if Canada does not win the gold.  I agree
with his decision to cut Lindros who looked lost out there against the
ACAC.  I am worried about the defence and the lack of intensity shown in
the second exhibition I saw.  Time will tell.
 
Arthur Berman  [log in to unmask]
THE MAPLE LEAF FOREVER!!!
GO BU!!!