It’s the first step for almost every player looking to represent their country at the highest level of hockey for their age group.
And for Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Marek Howell and forward Lynden Lakovic, the recently concluded World Under-17 Hockey Championship was everything they were expecting and more.
Lakovic joined Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary in reaching the bronze medal game at the seven-team tournament with Team Black, while Howell and Canada White finished with a 1-3-1-1 record and just missed the playoffs.
“It was the experience of a lifetime, for sure,” Howell said shortly after practice on Wednesday afternoon. “Those two weeks started off learning what Hockey Canada is all about, then the tournament is a lot more serious, where you’re all there to do a job. At the end of the day, we weren’t as great in the games but as the tournament went on we improved a lot. So it was all a really good experience.”
Lakovic felt much the same way, especially with the opportunity to play for a medal.
“Representing your country is something you definitely dream about growing up, and the opportunity I had the last couple weeks to do that and perform well was an honour,” he said. “Especially growing up and watching Team Canada when you’re six, seven years old playing for gold in all these crazy tournaments, and being able to be a part of it all is phenomenal.”
Lakovic had the added benefit of playing for O’Leary at the event, something he felt helped when it came to getting off to a good start personally.
“I definitely feel like I got a head start because I knew what he was expecting when it came to systems and everything,” Lakovic said. “It was an awesome experience and it was great to have him around to help me out.’
Both players finished the event with a goal and three points, with Howell playing six games and Lakovic seven. Howell pointed to the overall skill of the event as one of his biggest takeaways, especially when it came to the calibre of opponents they were facing.
“Sometimes we get carried away thinking we’re the only guys who can really play, but I think that tournament shows there are good hockey players all over the world,” Howell said. “I think with our team, we went in there almost too happy with ourselves and losing to Sweden [3-2 in their opener] was an eye-opener, that every team is going to be good and will have lots of good players.”
The duo felt the key was to simply play their game, with the goal of improving as much as they could as the tournament progressed.
“Comparing yourself against the best kids in your age group from all over the world, that showed I do have some work to do in order to reach my end goal,” Lakovic said. “But it felt like with the skill level it was a lot more different than here, and it’s just a matter of working hard. To get to the highest level.
“It was definitely a big confidence booster, knowing you’re one of the best players in the world for your age, and now coming back and succeeding and producing more will be the plan.”
The Warriors are back on the ice on Friday night when they host the Swift Current Broncos on Hockey Fights Cancer Night. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
