Naicam’s Anholt takes over as head of world junior management team

As Canada prepares to chase a third straight world junior gold medal, a Saskatchewan product will be tasked with putting together the roster.

Naicam’s Peter Anholt, who is the general manager of the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, will take on the role as head of the management team for the Canadian U-20 program.

“I don’t think anybody can really describe how honoured you are to understand you are representing your country and being a part of something that is such a tradition year after year after year,” Anholt said Friday. “It’s such an honour and anytime you represent your country and our great country, it makes you feel so special in that regard.”

There will be some big expectations for the group after the recent success at the tournament. Canada has won back-to-back gold medals on home ice and will try to replicate that success in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Anholt told the Green Zone that the management team can’t just grab the top scorers from the CHL and put them together as a team.

“I think ultimately you really are not — and I emphasize this —  you are not building an all-star team If you’re building an all-star team, you just look at all the stats and go off of that,” Anholt said. “That’s not really how it works. You look at every world junior team over the years that has been successful. They’ve had that third and fourth line that has been a real big, big part of the success of the team.

“You need to have those big defencemen who can be shutdown guys. You need those puck-oriented guys that can move the puck. You need such a mix, and ultimately it comes down to goaltending. Every champion team that Canada has had over the years, there has been that guy that has stepped up and really popped.”

One of the biggest holes Anholt might need to fill in the tournament will be the one left by Connor Bedard, who has the most points ever by a Canadian with 36 in just 16 games.

Bedard is expected to be the top pick in this year’s NHL entry draft and could be playing top-line minutes in the NHL instead of participating in another world junior tournament.

“Let’s let that play itself out and see how it goes. You never know how that will work come December the following year. We’re a long ways away from that and we will just let it play itself out and we will build our team accordingly,” Anholt said with a laugh when asked if he would be calling whichever NHL team drafts Bedard to get him assigned to the world junior squad.

The 62-year-old Anholt has been involved with junior hockey for decades, dating back to when he was a player from 1979 to ’81 with the Prince Albert Raiders in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, winning the Centennial Cup. He also played three seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

His coaching career started in the 1986-87 season when he was an assistant coach with the Prince Albert Raiders. He spent parts of 15 seasons as a head coach in the WHL with the Raiders, Seattle Thunderbirds, Red Deer Rebels, Kelowna Rockets, and Lethbridge.

“The passion for winning is the biggest thing. (And also) building teams. I think as a former player and as a coach and GM, you are always excited about building teams,” he said.

“I think when you look at how your players grow as men through their career with you and you’re drafting them as 14-year-olds turning 15 and you are grooming them to be a big piece of your team and you turn it over to the coaches and let them do their job. As they grow into 18- and 19- and 20-year-olds and see them move onto any profession, if that’s pro hockey that is fantastic or if they go on to play at university and go into the business world.

“I’ve been in (the business) for a lot of decades and I still have relationships with players from every one of those decades. It’s awesome — I can’t express that any more — how gratifying it is to hear from old players and I think that says a lot right there.”

While his attention will turn to the national team at some point, right now he and the Hurricanes are focused on the WHL playoffs. It’s likely they’ll take on the Moose Jaw Warriors in the first round.

“I think our team is a real blue-collar team,” Anholt said. “When you look at what we are, we are a big strong team that is hard to play against. Our goaltending is strong. Our back end is a real heavy back end and plays a hard game. I think we have a real good idea of how we are going to play.

“I think Moose Jaw is a really, really talented team and can catch you off-guard at any given time. When you get into the playoffs, you play a good team any given night. It’s hard and it’s supposed to be hard.”