Oh Canada . . .

It’s five in a row for Canada at the World Junior Championship. And the moral of the story, one more time, is don’t ever discount the heart and character of the players on Canada’s national junior team.
Yes, it was great to see Canada win another gold medal.
It was especially great to see goaltender Dustin Tokarski at the top of his game with gold on the line.
Based on what had transpired in the tournament prior to the final – Canada was severely tested by the U.S. and Russia in reaching the final; the Swedes looked awesome at the same time – I picked Sweden to win, 5-3. Yes, I should have known better.
Don’t ever bet against Canada when the gold medals are up for grabs, and certainly not when the tournament is being played in Canada.
I won’t next year when the world gathers in Saskatchewan.
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The Medicine Hat News is reporting that G Tomas Vosvrda, who played for the Czech Republic at the World Junior Championship, is on his way to join the Portland Winter Hawks. Vosvrda played in 36 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers last season, going 14-11-3, 2.87, .899. . . . Vosvrda, 19, played the first half of this season with Vitkovice of the Czech Extraliga. . . . The Winter Hawks already are carrying three goaltenders, including veteran Kurtis Mucha, 19. The others are Ian Curtis, 18, and Keith Hamilton, 16. Curtis has been filling in while Hamilton was with Team Pacific at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge. . . . Portland has just one import on its roster – F Radim Valchar, who also played for the Czech Republic at the WJC – so has room to add Vosvrda. . . . The Tigers dropped Vosvrda from their list prior to the 2008 CHL import draft. They had taken him in the first round of the 2007 draft.
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The Saskatoon Blades have dealt F Brody Sutter, 17, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a 2009 fifth-round bantam draft pick. Sutter has two assists and four penalty minutes in 18 games with the Blades. . . . Saskatoon now is carrying 21 players, including 12 forwards and seven defencemen, so you can bet GM/head coach Lorne Molleken has another move or two in the works. . . . Brody is the son of former NHLer Duane Sutter. . . . The Blades also own the WHL rights to F Lukas Sutter, whose father is Rich Sutter. Lukas was a second-round selection in the 2008 bantam draft.
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WHL trades made since Dec. 26:
Dec. 30: Kootenay trades G Thomas Heemskerk, 18, to Everett for a 2010 third-round bantam draft pick.
Jan. 5: Saskatoon trades F Brody Sutter, 17, to Lethbridge for a 2009 fifth-round bantam draft pick.
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I have seen come comments on the new ShoWare Centre in Kent, Wash., that now is the home of the Seattle Thunderbirds. The team has played only two games in the building so you can bet there are some kinks that will need to be ironed out.
One emailer, who watched Seattle’s 3-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers on Sunday, expressed two concerns:
“Soft ice -- The puck seemed to bounce a lot.
”Dead boards -- Not much bounce off the boards. Combined with the soft ice, this made for the puck being hard to handle, and not ending up where I (and hence the players) expected it to be on dump-ins, clears, passes, etc.”
My favourite comment, however, was this one that came from a fan who attended the first game in the new building: “The new Zamboni driver used to be the Everett Zamboni driver. Must have gotten a better offer in Kent!”