In this series, we’ll be asking various Nashville Predators players about their personal memories of the World Junior Championships. The 2019 tournament is being held in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and started on December 26 and concludes with the Gold Medal Game on January 5.
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Ryan Johansen
Team Canada, 2011 (silver medal)
Jeremy K. Gover: “I just want to bring you back to your World Juniors experience. What was it like to come into that locker room and see your name on that Canadian jersey for the first time?”
Ryan Johansen: “Other than our team going to the Final here [in 2017], that was definitely the most exciting time in my hockey– in my life, even. Not even just in hockey. Anything in my life. That was the most amazing experience ever. We were, like, kings of Canada for a week or two weeks. It was just so much fun with the family being there and going through that tournament. It was just an unbelievable experience.”
JKG: “You only got to participate once. Obviously playing in the NHL is the main goal but was there at least a little bit of sadness that you couldn’t go back and repeat that expeirence the next year?”
RJ: “Yes. Definitely. If I could, I’d love to do it everyday. That’s another reason it was disappointing we didn’t get to play in the Olympics last year. I’m not saying I would’ve been on that team or anything but it would’ve been fun to at least try to make that team and maybe be in a conversation. It’d be cool to experience playing again with that jersey on.”
JKG: “Safe to say those short tournaments — especially at that time in your life — develop lifelong friendships even though you maybe play against some of those guys when you’re in junior?”
RJ: “100 percent. I knew [Ryan] Ellis quite well even before I got here. I can go through that whole lineup of guys I’m still in contact with. Me and Brayden Schenn are good friends. Literally, go through the lineup. A lot of lifelong friends. Marcus Foligno– I played with Nick and then Marcus so I know that family well now. It’s a pretty awesome thing to be a part of and then moving forward into your pro careers.”
JKG: “What is an experience like that do — even if you don’t know it at the time — what does it do to help set you up for success?”
RJ: “Oh yeah. It’s the biggest stage in the world for that age group. I had a very strong tournament. For me, personally, I gained a lot of confidence from that in knowing that I was matched up against the best prospects in the world and I was able to be successful. Moving forward from that tournament, it gave me a lot of confidence in my game and as an individual in being able to move forward and take another step.”
JKG: “Finally, I’m sure there are many but is there one highlight of that time for you?”
RJ: “In the first game of the tournament, I had the game winning goal against Russia and I got to keep the puck and stuff. That was really cool. And then I was MVP for one of the games and, you know, you get a trophy and what not. That’s still back in my house back in Vancouver and things that you get to look at every once in a while and talk about. But there were a lot of great things that happened for me in that tournament.”
JKG: “Thanks for the time, man. I appreciate it.”
RJ: “Of course.”
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Listen to the Preds Profile piece on World Junior Memories that originally aired on the Nashville Predators Pre-Game Show on Thursday, December 27 below.