Moose Jaw Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary might have been no stranger to international hockey heading into the World Under Under-17 Hockey Challenge, but that didn’t make the whole experience any less special.
O’Leary served as the head coach of Canada Black at the seven-team tournament in Delta and Langley, B.C. over the last two weeks, leading his crew to the bronze medal game before falling 7-1 to Finland and finishing in fourth place.
The third-year Warriors head coach was previously an assistant with Team Red at the event in 2018 and felt the event was as positive now as it was back then.
“It was a great experience,” O’Leary said Tuesday night after his first game back behind the Warriors bench. “Every game is big, the way it’s set up it’s like every game is a quarter-final or semifinal. There were some big moments and it was a great experience for us as coaches and players and that’s what you want from the U17. In a perfect world we would have won a medal, but I was proud of the group for getting a little bit better each day and being there in the fight at the end.”
Of course, one of the biggest differences is the players' overall age. O’Leary is plenty used to working with 20-and-under skaters, but it’s a different look when your entire line-up is still in high school.
“It’s a lot of fun, actually,” O’Leary said. “You’re playing against better players, but you’re coaching better players as well and it’s a little bit different with that age group. When they’re playing here, they’re in a mix with some older guys, but when you’re coaching a bunch 16-year-olds and most of them have only played a handful of major junior games, it can feel like Midget hockey at some point. It can be good in terms of their youthful enthusiasm, but it’s different hockey and I’m really happy for the experience.”
There were two players at the tournament O’Leary was exceptionally familiar with. Warriors defenceman Marek Howell suited up for Team White, while O’Leary had a chance to coach forward Lynden Lakovic on Team Black.
“I thought they did a great job,” O’Leary said in assessing the duo’s showing. “I talked to the coaching staff on Marek’s team and they were very pleased and thought Marek played his game. He defended hard and made simple plays.
For Linden, he earned more ice time as it went on,” O’Leary added. “We had guys slotted into different spots and guys moved up and down the line-up depending how things were going and Lynden was a guy who put up some points and played his game. That’s what you can ask of anybody, to enjoy the experience but to continue to get better every day and both guys did that.”
Howell, the Warriors first-round pick in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, finished the tournament with a goal and three points in six games, while Lakovic, the Warriors’ second-round pick in 2021, had a goal and three points in seven games.
The tournament was the first Hockey Canada experience for both players, and O’Leary hopes they took away as much as they could from their showings.
“I think the U.S. was impressive, and regardless of how you chop it up with the three Canadian teams and trying to get as many guys as you can experience, once the puck is dropped, whether your a coach or player, you’re there to win the game and it’s disappointing when you don’t win,” O’Leary said. “Looking back now, and certainly in the future I’ll be looking back at this as a positive experience and I’m hoping the players will, too.”
The United States took an 11-3 win over Canada Red to win gold at the tournament.
The Warriors are back in action on Friday night when they host the Swift Current Broncos in their annual Hockey Fights Cancer game. Puck drop is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
