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OHL Ottawa 67's

Members of the 67's Gear up for World Juniors

December 17, 2021 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Ottawa 67's News Release


With just 10 days to go before the beginning of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship from Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, the eyes of the world will once again be on some key members of the Ottawa 67's.

Barber Poles general manager James Boyd, and head coach Dave Cameron, will be serving in the same capacities with Team Canada, as will equipment manager Chris Hamilton and Strength & Conditioning Coach Sean Young. Rookie forward Vinzenz Rohrer lends his talents to his home country, suiting up for Team Austria.

The slate of preliminary round games begins on Boxing Day, with Canada facing off against the Czech Republic. Rohrer, and the Austrian squad have their first action set for December 27, in a matchup against a talented Team Finland.

Boyd, who has served as GM of the 67's since 2017, is no stranger to the international stage. The Midland, Ontario native was an assistant coach behind the Team Canada bench at the 2004 U18 World Hockey Championship, and served as head coach of Team Ontario at the 2005 World U17 Hockey Challenge. This is Boyd's first time overseeing the national World Junior program, having been tapped to lead the U17's last season.

"Working with the U17's in the past, I get a sense of how Hockey Canada works and what the expectations are," said Boyd, "Any time you work with the best of the best in a high-pressure environment, that's a dream job for someone like me, and it has been that."

Much of Boyd's work is done, with Canada finalizing their roster of 25 players, after a 35-player selection camp. Leading the young men who will live out their dream of wearing the Maple Leaf is Cameron, who is also a familiar face for Canadian hockey fans. Hailing from Charlottetown, P.EI., the former Ottawa Senators bench boss was an assistant coach for the Canadian U18 team in 2003, and head coach in 2004, leading them to a gold medal.

"I love Hockey Canada and it's a real honour to coach the World Juniors," said Cameron. "I don't think it's any different in terms of the hype and importance of it. It's the best on best in the world."

Cameron was the head coach of the World Junior squad at the 2011 tournament in Buffalo, New York, where Canada fell to Russia in the gold medal game. Cameron has described it as "unfinished business", which should suit this year's Canadian squad too, as they look to avenge last year's gold medal loss at the hand of the United States.

It's why he understands the challenges of the tournament, all too well.

"You have to execute, you have to compete, and we have to be able to coach shift, after shift, after shift, because the uniqueness of the tournament is that it's sudden death games," Cameron said, "[last year's team] were textbook in the last game, and they just fell a little bit short, and that's just how the tournament goes."

While there's familiarity with Hockey Canada, Boyd and Cameron are also no strangers to each other, having worked together with the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors, and now reunited with the 67's.

"Dave and I have been close friends since the time we worked together in Mississauga," Boyd added, "We have a very good understanding of each other's strengths and weaknesses so it's exciting to be back together. We're fortunate to get him, he's one heck of a coach."

The Canadians know that they'll be facing some stiff competition on their quest to return to gold medal glory, and among the opponents in their group are Rohrer and the Austrians, whom they face on December 28 at 7:00pm EST.

"We talked a little bit in the locker room. We just joked around a little bit, made some jokes," laughed Rohrer, "When your coach that you play for is on the bench next to you for Team Canada at the World Juniors, that's something you will probably never forget."

Rohrer, who has eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points in the first 28 games of his junior career, is representing his country for the first time since 2015-16, where he participated with Team Austria in the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. It's the second consecutive tournament in which a member of the 67's will suit up for the Austrians, with now-Minnesota Wild prospect Marco Rossi doing so last year.

Austria's goals at the tournament are a bit different than Canada's. The team has never won a game at the World Juniors, but Rohrer isn't getting hung up on expectations.

"[67's acting head coach Norm Milley] told me, as a team, you shouldn't be looking at the results, you should be looking what you can control, and how you can play your best game, and I think that's a really big thing for us," he said, "I think what we have to do is just focus on ourselves, and believe that we could win."

It's a mentality that has already been emphasized with Rohrer, as a member of a young 67's team.

"Believe that we can win the game, but just focus on the process."

All games will be broadcaste live on TSN, so make sure to cheer you 67's on, as they take to the world stage.

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