He’s 17. He’s 17 years old and he spent the 40 days before this tournament started not playing hockey with other people, much less against kids two years older. The world junior championship was supposed to be the tournament of Connor McDavid, since he was putting up Gretzky numbers in Erie, making kids look like children. But he hadn’t played. The game didn’t feel right.

“Yeah, I think I’ve gotten better each and every game; it’s just natural when you miss that much time,” said McDavid, after three assists and a raft of spectacular play in a 5-1 win over Slovakia in the semifinal. “If you’ve never come back from an injury as a hockey player it’s really hard to explain, and it’s weird when you first come back. But I think it’s just me getting better.

“The game feels different. I mean, everything happens really fast, especially jumping into a world junior. So a lot of stuff’s happened fast.”

The game was a spring being wound for a long time, and you could feel the tension building. Canada had blown most everyone’s doors off, but after an early goal from Nic Petan the lead stayed 1-0, and Slovakia got chances. As the second period wore on you could see Canada’s structure getting a little nervy, just a little. Remember Latvia, in Sochi? Yeah. This felt like Latvia.

And in the final two minutes in the second period, McDavid took a pass and with a Slovak on his back, he slid it across to Petan through skates at the perfect speed, to the perfect spot, and Petan roofed it again, and you could feel an ocean of tension release up into the air. Shea Theodore scored on a breakaway just after that, and Canada could breathe. McDavid carved through traffic and set up Petan for the hat trick goal to make it 5-1, and Petan’s dad ran down the aisle to throw his hat on the ice with everybody else’s, while Petan’s mom cried.

Canada will play Russia for gold, and this is perfect. Russia has beaten Canada in four straight tournaments, including that precipitous collapse against the Russians in Buffalo in 2011, and the Russian kids were so drunk the next morning officials wouldn’t let them board their plane. This will be a chance to bury some Canadian ghosts, and win gold for the first time since 2009.

And McDavid has become the player you can’t take your eyes off, not for a moment. He has 10 points in the tournament, five in his last two elimination games. McDavid’s speed, the way he never makes a wrong decision, the way he never forces the play; it’s something else.

“I think he’s got that progression since day one of training camp,” said Canadian coach Benoit Groulx. “Like, it’s not easy. We were talking about it with the coaches today, the difference between this tournament and the Memorial Cup: the speed of the game, the talent on the ice.

“Now, he’s not in the Memorial Cup and . . . now he’s got to make his comeback at the world junior championship, which is a world of difference between our league or the playoff. It’s not even close. You have the best players in the world, the game goes at a hundred miles an hour, and it’s quite an adjustment. I really feel that Connor’s been better and better every day, and tonight he was dominant out there with his linemates.”

McDavid could have scored on two different wraparounds, but rushed just a little, just a touch. We’ll see how he looks against the Russians and their gang of 19-year-olds, but McDavid and Canada have a hell of a chance of gold.

Nothing’s guaranteed, though. Russia beat Canada in a pre-tournament game. McDavid got knocked in a collision late and said he felt woozy, but was fine. Things happen. It’s hockey.

And even off the ice, not everything goes as planned. Look at Montreal, where even Team Canada’s games didn’t sell out, thanks in large part to sky-high prices. When asked directly, the International Ice Hockey Federation did not rule out pulling the tournament out of Montreal in 2016-17, when it will co-host again with Toronto. In other words, change the prices if you could.

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It was a funny day for planning, really, for best intentions. IIHF president Rene Fasel, an IOC executive board member, said World Cup negotiations will come before the Olympics, and the Olympics will be a challenge because Korea and the 2022 winner will be in Asia, a world away. He also said 2022 is probably going to Beijing over Kazakhstan. “I have to apologize,” Fasel said afterwards. “I do not have any right to do so, to say as an IOC member that they are favourites. So they will kick my ass, but what can I do? This is a fact. China is a favourite.”

Fasel believes that if the players want to go to the Olympics, they will go. But he doesn’t know, not yet. With the junior tournament, of course, there is no question. Canada will play in Helsinki next year, and they will play for gold on Monday against Russia, and they will be grateful to be there. No guarantees, of course, ever, always. But it’s down to one game now, and that’s all anybody can ever ask.

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