Improved ice awareness key to Hart’s amazing run Team Canada goalie Carter Hart brings an impressive .961 save percentage in 17 games with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips into this year’s World Juniors. His experience from last year’s tournament is expected to give Canada a huge boost in its gold-medal quest, Mark Masters writes.

TSN reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes on Team Canada, which practised at Meridian Credit Union Arena in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., on Tuesday.

A Canadian hasn’t been named top goalie at the World Juniors since Steve Mason claimed the honour in 2008. Carter Hart will be aiming to end that drought this year in Buffalo and there are plenty of reasons to believe he’s more than up to the challenge.

Hart’s .961 save percentage (1.32 goals-against average) in 17 games with the Everett Silvertips in the WHL this season is head and shoulders above anyone else in the CHL. Among those with at least 10 games played, the next closest goalie is Portland Winterhawks’ Cole Kehler at .925. Hart got off to a slow start this season as he recovered from a case of mono, making his sparkling numbers all the more impressive.

“His ice awareness has gotten better,” explained Shane Clifford, the goalie coach in Everett. “If I’m on a post, it’s just about taking a look and seeing where everybody is so I can kind of anticipate where the open players are and if a guy’s on his one timer side and is he close enough that I’ll have to slide or can I come out on my feet? Just making decisions like that is big.”

Part of the improvement is rooted in experience and part of it is simply practice.

“Just taking looks and building that into your habits,” said Hart, a native of Sherwood Park, Alta. “Even when you’re just warming up with your skating drills, just make sure you’re taking your looks and integrating that habit. I feel like I’ve worked on my post play a lot from the summer and just working on it every day throughout practice and stuff like that. I feel like my post play has definitely gotten a lot better.”​

Hart’s teammates are in awe of just how in command the Philadelphia Flyers prospect looks these days.

“He’s fantastic,” said Colgate University goalie Colton Point, who will be Hart’s backup in Wednesday’s pre-tournament game against the Czech Republic. “He moves very cleanly. He’s very smooth. He tracks the puck better than anyone else I know. He obviously deserves to be here. That’s clear to the entire country.”

Regina Pats defenceman Josh Mahura picked up two assists in a 2-1 victory over Hart and the Silvertips last month. Mahura was the game’s second star. The first? Hart, who stopped 48 of 50 shots.

“Honestly, I can’t tell you if there’s one part that’s bad about him,” Mahura said. “I’ve been playing against him and shooting against him in the summers for a long time now and every year he seems to get better. It’s scary to see. Being on his team is a lot better. As a defenceman, you know you have that backbone in him.”

Hart also brings experience to the World Juniors, having played for Canada at the event last year. The 19-year-old began the tournament as the team’s No. 1 goalie before losing the job to Connor Ingram, who started the New Year’s Eve game against the Americans as well as the quarter-final against the Czechs and the semifinal against Sweden.

But when Ingram stumbled against the Swedes, Hart was called upon and didn’t miss a beat in a comeback win. Hart then backstopped Canada during a shootout loss to the Americans in the championship game.

“It was, obviously, pretty devastating,” Hart said, “but after the tournament I got a good week to go home and reset with my family. Now, it’s almost a year later so it happened a long time ago. I’m excited to get another chance this year.”

“Gaining that experience, you can’t buy it,” said Team Canada head coach Dominque Ducharme. “You have to go through it and to have a chance to come back, I think for a goaltender, is an advantage.”

The coaching staff in Everett had a bet on the outcome of that gold-medal game last year and during the next week of practices the Canadian coaches had to wear Team USA tracksuits. That didn't faze Hart.

“He just rolls with it,” said Clifford, who also works as a goaltending development co-ordinator with USA Hockey. “When he saw (assistant coach) Mitch (Love) and those guys out in the tracksuits he was fine. His emotional intelligence level is high. He obviously wanted to win the game and lost. A lot of kids could be sour but he said, ‘Hey, it happened. Our team worked as hard as we could. We did everything we could to win that game and that’s just how it went.’ That’s his mindset. So, when he sees Mitch in a USA tracksuit he just laughs and thinks it’s kind of funny. It’s just part of life.”

Clifford compares Hart’s temperament to that of Marc-Andre Fleury, whom he coached previously.

“When I was in Wilkes-Barre or the NHL working with him, you almost had to kick him off the ice,” Clifford said. “And Carter just loves playing and being with his teammates. But the biggest thing is working at his craft and doing everything he can do to get better and he just enjoys the game of hockey.”

Point’s new pads inspired by Price

Point made a fashion statement at Tuesday’s practice, unveiling a new set of black pads with a Hockey Canada logo in the middle.

“They’re fantastic,” Point gushed. “Bauer did a great job. Hopefully I’ll get to wear them in a couple games.”

“They’re pretty sick,” said Hart. “He’s got that Canadian logo in the middle so they look really good. Colton was really excited to get his gear this morning.”

What inspired the look?

“Carey Price and his all-black set was one reason,” Point said, “and then I’ve always wanted to do a solid dark colour on my pads, so when Bauer gave me the chance I jumped at the opportunity.”

Point’s favourite World Juniors moment was the 2007 semifinal shootout between Canada and the United States, with Price making the clinching save on Peter Mueller.

“The pads are obviously the first thing you notice about a goaltender so those really stood out to me,” said Point.

Mete keeping tabs on Habs, pumped for London homecoming

Victor Mete has been been keeping tabs on the Canadiens since being loaned to Team Canada for the World Juniors.

“I keep an eye on them all the time,” the defenceman said. “I watched the last two games that they played. I know they’re playing in Vancouver tonight so maybe I won’t watch all of that one, it’s kind of late, but maybe I'll watch the first period.”

When he arrived at Canada’s camp last week, Mete said he had anticipated being sent to the World Juniors, considering Montreal was getting healthy on defence. Now, with Shea Weber sidelined, does part of Mete wish he could be back with the Habs to help them through this stretch?

“For sure, obviously,” he said. “But, that’s not the case. I’m here now and I’m trying to win a gold medal with this group of guys and I think we’ve got a good chance."

Mete said he got plenty of messages of support from his Canadiens teammates in the days after his departure. What sort of advice was included?

“They said, ‘It’s a great experience, live in the moment and don’t think about what will happen afterwards. Go there, do your thing and enjoy your experience. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.’ ”

The transition back to the junior game hasn’t been without its challenges so far. During the games at the selection camp, Mete felt he rushed during some plays, not realizing how much time he had.

“It’s getting better,” said Mete, who has been paired with Sault Ste. Marie’s Conor Timmins at practice. “Obviously, it’s still a little bit tough, but once we keep playing more games I’ll get way more used to it.”

Some players struggle to make a big impact in the immediate aftermath of getting sent down.

“It may be a little bit easier for a defenceman, because he doesn’t need to worry about the numbers and putting up points,” said Ducharme. “It’s about good defending, good transition and he’ll be involved in many situations. He’s a great kid, he’s a mature kid. The experience he got in Montreal, playing those games, being in an NHL environment is all positive for him and he brings that back to our group. Coming to the World Junior team is a higher level than going back to the CHL, so it’s a little closer to the NHL although still a big step.”

Mete, a former London Knight, should have no problem getting up for Wednesday’s game, which will be played in Budweiser Gardens, an arena where he has plenty of good memories.

“It’s a special time. I pretty much spent my junior career there the last three years. It will be cool to see my billet and everything.”

Mete created a special bond with his billet and plans on catching up with him after the game.

“He was always feeding me, made sure I was eating,” Mete recalled with a smile. “He let me do my own thing, but if I ever needed him I knew I could always go to him and he was just a good parent to me.”

Players trade sticks for paint brushes at team-bonding event

Canadian players, coaches and support staff took part in a team-bonding event at Niagara-on-the-Lake’s historic Navy Hall on Monday night. Local artist Tanya Jean Peterson from the Niagara Image Gallery gave the players a crash course on painting and then they split into teams of six, with each group creating a piece that represents the team’s themes and mottos.

“It was stressful at first,” Point admitted. “I kind of had a little panic attack. I was like, ‘Oh, I can’t paint. What are we doing? Geez, this is going to be tough.’ It was weird, because our painting didn’t really take shape until the last five minutes. We were pretty worried for a little bit. It was looking pretty tough. We pulled through and came together right at the end.”

Point’s group, which also featured Brett Howden and Maxime Comtois, won the fun competition.

“I’m not the most talented artist,” said Hart, “but I thought our group did a pretty good job. It was a lot of fun. I hadn’t done something like that before. The coaches actually had a pretty good one. Beaner (Jake Bean) was pretty good for us. He had some pretty straight lines.”

Ducharme took a backseat on his team allowing assistant coach Tim Hunter to take the reins.

“Right away we named Tim Hunter captain of our group,” Ducharme revealed with a grin. “We did OK on the painting. Tim has soft hands, which may surprise some people, but he’s got the touch.”

What’s the value of an event like this?

“It’s something totally different than being on the ice or doing something related to hockey,” explained Ducharme. “There was a competition between teams and when we make it a competition we always get the best out of the guys. It was fun and we did something different and got out of our comfort zone.”

What’s next for the finished pieces?

“For sure, they will be worth a lot on the open market,” Ducharme cracked, before noting the art would be making the trip to Buffalo and may find its way onto a dressing room wall.

While the team allowed TSN to shoot some video of the event they asked that the actual finished pieces not be shown.

Dube to sit out Wednesday, Steenbergen takes spot on top line

Flames prospect Dillon Dube (upper body) was once again wearing a yellow non-contact jersey at practice on Tuesday and won’t play on Wednesday.

“We’ll keep him out tomorrow just to make sure he’s 100 per cent when the tournament starts,” Ducharme confirmed. “He won’t play tomorrow, but should play in the last exhibition game on Friday.”

Swift Current’s Tyler Steenbergen will shift into Dube’s spot on a line with Sam Steel and Jordan Kyrou. Steebergen will also take Dube’s spot as the man in the middle on the top power-play unit.

On Monday, Dante Fabbro watched practice with a walking boot on his left foot. On Tuesday, the defenceman was watching again, but without a boot. Ducharme said there was no new update on his condition.

Lines at Tuesday’s practice

Dube-Steel-Kyrou

Katchouk-Thomas-Raddysh

Gadjovich-McLeod-Steenbergen/Batherson

Comtois-Howden-Formenton

Clague-Makar

Mete-Timmins

Bean-Mahura/Foote

Hart

Point

Absent: Fabbro

Power play units at Tuesday’s practice

Clague/Mete

Steel-Steenbergen/Dube-Kyrou

Raddysh

Makar

Thomas-Batherson-Bean

Katchouk