CDM: Aside from Lane Hutson, the CH’s hopefuls really don’t play much

Canada is fairly well represented at this year’s World Championship. Which players are taking part, you ask? They are :

• Lane Hutson
• Sean Farrell
• Luke Tuch
• Frederik Dichow
• Justin Barron
• Samuel Montembeault
• Joel Armia

Of the group, only Montembeault and Armia can describe themselves as “veterans” of the National League. They’re not necessarily old, but they’ve got enough experience.

That’s why Farrell, Hutson, Tuch, Dichow and Barron were ones to watch, especially in view of the fact that they have the opportunity to play against older, more talented players. That said…

It has to be said that not all youngsters have the opportunity to shine. Let me explain.

Basically, apart from Hutson and Dichow, the other prospects (yes, I’m including Barron’s name because he’s 21) don’t spend much time on the ice.

After being left out of his team’s first game, Tuch was used for 8 minutes and 56 seconds during the Americans’ second duel. In his team’s last game, he spent just 2:55 on the ice…

Farrell, on the other hand, has played 11:12, 10:30 and 10:41 in the first three games of the tournament. That’s not necessarily awful… But it’s not great either.

As for Barron, he played 13:06 in Canada’s first game, 9:19 in the second… and 2:11 in the third.

That’s not very much.

By way of comparison, Hutson has played 15:12, 17:36 and 15:18 for the Americans since the start of the tournament, while Frederik Dichow scored his third win in as many games for Denmark :

A perfect tournament so far for Frederik Dichow 👌🏒 https://t.co/lzGSuqExsH

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) May 16, 2023

It’s pretty rare to see a young player stand out and make his mark in this tournament usually. That’s what Lane Hutson is doing… And it just goes to show once again how special he is.

Now, Barron, Farrell and Tuch being used so little doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t belong there. Instead, the coaches want to prioritize the presence of older players on the ice, and that’s normal.

Any coach on the international scene will do anything to win, because it’s quite prestigious. The honour of being able to defend the colors of your own country is taken seriously by everyone involved in the event, from the players to the staff of each team.

So there’s no need to press the panic button… Even if it is a little distressing to see that Barron and Tuch played less than three minutes each in their respective teams’ last game.

But at least they’ve got the “chance” to gobble up some international experience.

In gusto

– A returner for the Mooseheads? 👀

– All right. It’s clear.

– Always the same speech.

– The Flyers will build their club through defense.

– Eh la la .