CALGARY ? Brendan Gallagher can?t call Edmonton home these days, but it?s where his heart is.
?I lived there till I was 12,? the 19-year-old forward said shortly after being named to Team Canada?s team for the 2012 IIHF world junior championship.
Originally from Sherwood Park, Alta., Gallagher said he holds on tightly to the memories he has of his former hometown. His family now lives in Tsawwassen, B.C.
?I call myself an Albertan. I stick with my Edmonton ties, I?m pretty proud of my Edmonton ways ? no, Sherwood Park, say that, not Edmonton,? he said, a smile glued to his face. ?It?s pretty special to be able to (play) in front of your friends and family.?
Those friends and family are still in Edmonton or are headed back there over the holidays, waiting to watch Gallagher take part in the tournament, which gets underway on Boxing Day at Rexall Place.
?It?s going to be really special for me,? he said. ?I have tons of family that still lives there and obviously they?re going to be supporting me, and my family is coming down from Vancouver, so to be playing in Edmonton, it?s something you kind of dream about and you don?t think it?s real when it really happens.?
A member of the Western Hockey League?s Vancouver Giants (he?ll play under Giants head coach Don Hay at the tourney) and a Montreal Canadiens prospect, Gallagher will by far the happiest person you?ll see when Canada takes the ice this month.
?In Montreal, the reporters kept telling me I smiled too much,? he said. ?But I?m just happy with what I do. I have a great life and I?m not afraid to show it, I guess.?
Dream come true for Hamilton brothers
The first part of the dream came true for the Hamilton brothers. With Wednesday?s announcement, Dougie and Freddie Hamilton became just the second set of brothers to suit up for Canada in the same IIHF world junior championship.
It?s been 30 years since the scenario happened, when Randy and Mike Moller skated on the same junior squad in 1982.
Both Hamilton brothers suit up for the Ontario Hockey League?s Niagara IceDogs ? and, now, both could have a good chance of winning a gold medal together at the world juniors.
?You think of the positives,? said Dougie, a six-foot-four, 192-pound defenceman. ?You imagine this, you imagine him being here, sharing it together . . . but it definitely goes through your head, one of us not being here or maybe both of us. I think this is pretty special right now.
?This is almost surreal.?
Both were scratched during Tuesday?s clash against the Canadian Interuniversity Sport all-stars ? a good indication they were safe when the axe fell Wednesday.
?We didn?t have to worry about it (Tuesday) night,? Dougie said. ?So we didn?t have to lose any sleep. That was nice.
?I couldn?t ask for more.?
Smith-Pelly: Canada will be exciting to watch
There was much expected of Devante Smith-Pelly before he arrived in Calgary and stepped on the ice at Canada?s junior hockey selection camp.
Now, as an official member of Team Canada, the Anaheim Ducks winger is fully prepared to accept the responsibility of being a leader while he is on loan from the NHL.
?It?s exciting,? he said. ?Obviously this was my goal coming back. My role is just going to be a two-way guy who chips in offensively and plays physical. And also a leadership role with my experience from being in the NHL.?
Smith-Pelly?s talent and skill was on display early at Team Canada?s three-day camp. In the first scrimmage, the 19-year-old Scarborough, Ont., native was a one-man wrecking crew, scored, and otherwise completely set the tone.
He and winger Brett Connolly of the Tampa Bay Lightning are the only two NHLers on the roster.
?We?ll be a fast-paced physical team that will put the puck in the net,? Smith-Pelly said. ?We?ve got high-skilled guys, we?ve got physical guys, we?ve got a lot of two-way players.
?This team will be exciting to watch.?
Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald
coleary@edmontonjournal.com
kodland@calgaryherald.com
with files from George Johnson
? Copyright (c) Postmedia News
Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F260/~3/-oW_LhWxSVE/story.html
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