EJHL heads to the World Junior Club Championships

The Eastern Junior Hockey League will be send an all-star team to the inaugural World Junior Club Championship in Omsk, Russia from August 30th through September 3rd.

“(It's) an eight country world junior event,” said New Hampshire Junior Monarchs General Manager and Head Coach Sean Tremblay who will be coaching the EJHL All-Stars. “We had a board of governors meeting in June where we formally accepted the invitation.”

“It all happened really fast. There's still a little bit of skepticism because it has never been done before, but we are also very excited of the opportunity to go somewhere we never been and show what our league is all about.”

The event will feature four teams from the Kontinental Hockey League's junior league, the Molodezhnaya Khokkeinaya Liga. They are Krasnaya Armiya (CSKA Moscow affiliate), HK Riga (Dinamo Riga affiliate), Tatranskí vlci (HC LEV affiliate), and Dinamo-Shinnik (Dinamo Minsk affiliate).

The rest of the participants include the Malmo Redhawks of the Swedish J20 SuperElit league, HC Energie Karlovy Vary of the Czech Republic Junior League, and the Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

This won't be the first time Tremblay brought a team to the other side of the pond.

“I have had enough international experience coaching USA teams,” he said. “Last year being in Switzerland for the (Under) 17 five nations tournament, I the (the players) will believe in what I am telling them.”

Tremblay knows the EJHL has shifts in talent year-to-year, but this will be a good measuring stick for the league.

“Year-to-year the league might be a little stronger,” Tremblay added. “Like the lat few years the goaltending has been outstanding, this year it will be a little thin. I think we have guys that can compete and make that first save. If our guys can keep teams to one shot, which our team is capable of doing, we will have a lot of success.”

“Our group of forwards are fast tenacious, and skilled,” Tremblay stated. “Our defenseman are really blue collared defensemen. There are no Brian Dumoulin (Boston College Junior/Carolina Hurricanes draft pick) and Trevor vanRiemsdyk (New Hampsire freshman) back there, but are very simple players that don't get beat. If we get them to understand we want them to defend and distribute the puck we will have a tremendous amount of success.”

The EJHL will open up the tournament against HK Riga on August 30th They will also play Tatranskí vlci and Krasnaya Armiya.

“Last year we played Slovakia with the USA U-17 team, so I have an idea what they will be like,” Tremblay added. “Just having played the Russians (at a Hockey Night in Boston event) I have a good feel what they will be like. The only unknown we are going up against that I haven't had experience against is our first team in Latvia.”

“A lot of the European countries are similar, they want to posses the puck, dump the puck in, and they wait for that perfect opportunity. If can be really smart and patient and deny them that opportunity they are looking for, you will be fine.”

The top two teams will play on September 3rd to crown the champion.

League Press Release

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)