BUFFALO—The list pinned to Zack Kassian’s stall in the Team Canada dressing room had him more than a little awestruck.

It should be noted that the bruising forward is 6-foot-3 and 226 pounds, has been known to create mayhem and is fazed by very little.

But now he was reading the names of the players who’d worn No. 9 before him for Team Canada at the world junior championships.

“That’s unbelievable,” said Kassian. “We were actually joking about it, all the guys and the coaching staff with my No. 9. There’s some big shoes to fill with the Gilmours, the Crosbys, the Spezzas. ... That’s definitely an eye-opener.”

That list is there for a reason. Every player on Team Canada has a similar list in their locker room stall, plus a picture of themselves from their minor hockey days. It’s to remind them of the legacy they represent and their hockey roots.

It’s all about setting a tone, about what could be called the “Team Canada Way,” the process behind the gold medal-making machinery that has given the country more world junior titles (15) than any other nation. Canada takes the next step toward another crown when it faces the Czech Republic on Tuesday (3:30 p.m., TSN) after defeating Russia 6-3 in their opener Sunday.

“There’s a lot of detail and a lot of thought that goes into how we do things, everything from when you make the team and the knock on the door, who’s there to shake your hand,” said Scott Salmond, Team Canada’s senior director of hockey operations and national teams. “All those things are thought out and part of the process.”

Captain Ryan Ellis has had three years now to experience the “Team Canada Way.” The players talk about it making them feel as if they’re in the NHL but, as Ellis notes, it’s hardly a free ride.

“They do everything 100 per cent,” Ellis said. “They never kind of take the side road or the back door. It’s always the best hotels, the best meals, the best things possible for us. We get treated like kings while we’re here. We have a ton of fun. But it doesn’t go unrewarded. We have to produce on the ice. I think when they treat us right, we try that much harder.”

The world junior preparations start a year in advance and involve such things as sending the equipment manager to Buffalo to map out the dressing room, everything from what the stalls will look like to how much room there is in the hallway for their equipment.

Championship banners hang from the ceiling in Team Canada’s room. A list of all the gold medal-winning Canadian teams is posted on the wall, along with a list of all the captains on those squads. A picture of every championship team from 1982 on also adorns the wall. Every stall has a Team Canada carpet in front of it.

It definitely has the feel of a home dressing room.

“In the pre-competition we tone that down,” said Salmond. “The dressing rooms are good and they look good, but when you get here the focus is different — all of a sudden it’s ‘Wow, it’s another step up.’”

At some point in the tournament, the team will hear from some Team Canada stars. Among those who’ve helped out with messages of support previously are Sidney Crosby, Steve Yzerman and Wayne Gretzky.

“These are guys who’ve been through it, guys who’ve won,” said Salmond. “That’s a huge part of it, too.”

There’s also one person in charge of looking after player families, making sure they’re well taken care of but also that they don’t become a distraction for the players. The players get time each day to spend with family. There was a conference call for the parents before they arrived here and a meeting once they were on site.

“It’s also to make sure they understand they have a role in this tournament, too, and that’s to support what we’re trying to do as a team,” said Salmond.

Team Canada has brought its own chef when competing abroad, but it wasn’t necessary this time. The players are all on the same floor of the team hotel and have their own lounge, equipped with all the video games they could want and a TSN feed. Goalies get to have their own rooms.

“They’re the guys who are the most important so they get their own rooms,” said Salmond. “They’ve got no one bothering them. We’ve also got a couple of spare rooms where if a player’s sick they’re isolated in that room or if they’ve got a problem with a roommate who’s snoring or something, they can go in there as well.”

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Team Canada forward Louis Leblanc said the table has definitely been set for another golden feast.

“They give us whatever we need to perform on the ice,” said Leblanc. “It’s up to us to do the job on the ice.”