Pierre McGuire, on the junior event, head shots and Olympics

With TSN’s coverage of the world junior hockey championship starting Saturday, I talked to game analyst Pierre McGuire about the tournament, his analysis, the Olympics and the NHL.

 How does the Canadian junior team compare to last year’s championship team?

  Similar, except they don’t have the quick strike offense that they had with John Tavares. Tavares was spectacular in the tournament last year, so they don’t have that one player who can take the game over the way Tavares did.

  Yet, I think before it’s all said and done, Taylor Hall will be one of the players that everybody will be talking about from Canada.

  Which player will make the biggest impact in the tournament?

 I think Jordan Eberle for Canada will probably make the biggest impact, because he’s been through it before. It’s in his home province (Saskatchewan). He’s a tremendously talented player. Even though he was great last year, his game is even better this year.

  The guy who hasn’t been drafted and will probably make the most noise, especially for Canada, will probably be Taylor Hall. I’m not saying he’s Mark Messier but there are so many characteristics that Messier had that Taylor Hall has, with his skating style, his ability to score off the rush. He goes right through people. So, you can see why a lot of people think he will be the first overall pick in the entry draft this summer.

   Canada has been dominating this tournament and it seems as if it’s played in this country every other year. (This is the second consecutive year for a Canadian venue.) Is that a potential problem for the tournament’s status internationally and acceptance in other countries?

  The one thing I would caution people on. If you look back to the last five gold medals, there were always points in the tournament where it looked really bad for Canada. They don’t win in Leksand, Sweden, if not for Jonathon Toews and Carey Price. They don’t win the Czech Republic but for some unbelievable goaltending from Steve Mason. They don’t win last year in Ottawa – they were down 3-0 to the United States – if it’s not for Tavares and a meltdown by the American coaching staff. And they don’t win the tournament last year if Jordan Eberle doesn’t score with no time on the clock against the Russians.”

 Is your game analysis for junior games different than what you do for an NHL game?

   We’re trying to sell these players to a Canadian viewing public, because people don’t know who these players are. They don’t have the luxury of playing on national TV every week. So, our job is to educate the population on who these players are, where they come from, what’s their family situation, what are the good stories about them, and go from there.

  As the tournament goes along and the people become more familiar with the players, then we do more of an NHL style of analysis.

  The biggest thing is not to be a cheerleader. I think we’ve been very fair – Gord (Miller) and I both, we’ve been doing it for so long – not to be a cheerleader and get wrapped up in the moment. But also to make sure we instruct people in terms of where these players comes from, who these players are, and who the coaches are, where they come from, who these young people were coached by growing up and how they got to this level.

  When a junior player makes a mistake, do you go easier on him than you would a pro who makes the same mistake?

  I don’t know if I’ll go easier on him. I’ll just phrase it differently. A few days ago, (Canadian player) Nazem Kadri had a bad turnover in the neutral zone. So, what I said was during the game if he wants to get elevated minutes in the tournament, he’s got to eliminate those kinds of plays from his game. If that’s an NHL player, I’m going to say, the coach is definitely not going to accept that. It’s just unacceptable for a professional player.

Let’s talk about the NHL. Should head shots be illegal?

  I think so. I’ve been saying that for 10 years. I think any blow to the head, much like the NFL, any blow to the head should be a penalty. And, if it’s a vicious, on-purpose blow to the head, then it probably should be five and a game. I really think that blows to the head should not be acceptable. And people who say that if you take head shots out, you’re going to take hitting out, case in point where that fails is the Ontario Hockey League. It’s arguably developing as many or more pro players than any league in the world. Yet, OHL has taken the head shot out and it hasn’t hurt the development of the league or the development of their players.

  Should the NHL participate in the Olympics after Vancouver?

  Yes, I think the NHL should always participate in the Olympics. I’m not saying it should be all the players. I think maybe you look at an under-23 or an under-21 situation, but I do think the NHL should be visible at a world class event like the Olympics.

Do you anticipate any surprises when Steve Yzerman announces the men’s Canadian Olympic team?

  Probably one or two, but not major surprises. The goalies are pretty set, Fleury, Luongo, Brodeur. I think the top six defensemen are pretty set. There’s probably a battle for the seventh spot between Drew Doughty and Jay Bouwmeester. Up front, I think most of the centre-ice men are set and most of the left wingers are pretty set. There might a couple of questions on right wing. There could be two name players who do not make the team who play that position.