After stepping off the ice and noticing he had about five missed calls from the same number, Ollie Josephson phoned it back and heard Canada’s under-18 men’s hockey coach Alan Letang on the other end, telling him he’d earned a spot on the national team.
“I was super excited, it was an awesome day,” Josephson said.
The world’s best from the men’s U18 side are gathered in Czechia and Slovakia as the Hlinka Gretzky Cup got underway Monday (July 31). Seven teams spanning the United States and Europe will try to dethrone Canada and Josephson hopes he can help his country repeat as gold medalists.
“I think when everyone shares the same goal, everyone buys in and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” the 17-year-old told Black Press Media prior to the tournament.
While growing up in View Royal and Langford, he fell in love with hockey as he played for the Juan de Fuca Grizzlies before moving on to the Pacific Coast Hockey Academy (PCHA) and South Island Royals. He credits coaches like the PCHA’s Mark Kosick for being a big part of getting him to where he is today.
The six-foot forward missed out on the U17 worlds due to an injury, making last week’s pre-tournament tune-up game against Hungary the first time he got to wear the maple leaf.
“This is my first time playing for Canada and it’s been super special,” the 2006-born player said on July 27. “It’s an honour to put on the jersey today and keep doing it for these next couple of weeks.”
Canada’s tournament began Monday with a 9-6 loss against Finland. The teams traded leads through the first two frames, with Canada tying the game at 5-5 early in the third. Finland then rolled off four unanswered goals in the game’s last 10 minutes to take the preliminary round opener.
Josephson is coming off a 19-point freshman year with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels where being a top faceoff taker and solid penalty killer earned him the team’s rookie of the year distinction.
“In Red Deer, playing with some older guys helped me develop my 200-foot game, just playing both sides of the puck,” he said. “(That’s something) I’ve been working on a lot and hopefully I can help out with Team Canada here and win a gold.”
The heavily scouted Hlinka Gretzky Cup gives many their first look at those destined for the NHL’s 2024 draft class. As he enters his draft-eligible year, Josephson said he’s trying not to think about it too much. Instead, he’s focusing the getting better at the international tournament and taking on anything the national team needs him to do.
“Whatever role they give me I’ll embrace that and do my best to help the team win.”
Josephson had one point in his international debut as he assisted on Canada’s sixth tally. The defending champs take on Slovakia on Tuesday before the pre-medal round wraps with a contest against Switzerland on Aug. 5.
“They’re all really good teams,” Josephson said. “Every country is really good and it’s going to be a challenge every night.”
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