PARDUBICE, CZECH REPUBLIC — Craig Hartsburg knows the way this works.
As the Canadian junior team head coach, he knows a second guesser is around every corner. Hartsburg heard the whispers after selection camp in Calgary that he made a mistake in not taking along Oshawa Generals sniper Brett MacLean, who has 39 goals in 30 games and a shot at Ernie Godden's Ontario Hockey League record of 87 in 1980-81.
MacLean and 17-year-old phenom John Tavares have performed magic this season as line mates in Oshawa.
Hartsburg also is aware of the criticism from scouts and analysts that Tavares deserves more ice time than a few shifts during power plays. The coach's detractors want to see the young offensive talent on the first line alongside Kyle Turris and Claude Giroux, especially considering Canada has just eight goals in its first three games and suffered a 4-3 loss to Sweden on Saturday because it squandered a 2-0 lead in the third period.
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But Hartsburg was sticking to his game plan at practice Sunday as the team prepared for its fourth game, Monday against Denmark. The only adjustment he made to his lines was moving Colton Gilles to the shutdown unit alongside Brandon Sutter.
London Knights goalie Steve Mason will get his second start.
"We had a plan when we started this thing," Hartsburg said. "We think the players are in the right roles. Obviously, we switch guys around at points during a game, but the roles they are in are the ones we think they fit."
Hartsburg could have easily borrowed a line from the 1992 film Scent of a Women, when Al Pacino's character, Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Slade, says during his gripping, movie-ending speech, "I've been around, you know?"
Hartsburg has been around, too. He not only played for Canada in this tournament 30 years ago, he also suited up for his country in two Canada Cups and three world championships. He coached this team to an easy ride to the gold medal last year and split five seasons as the bench boss of the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks.
"You can't worry about [the second guessing]," Hartsburg said. "You have to deal with it all the time. We were second-guessed last year and second-guessed the year before. People second guess the team selections every year. We believe we're doing the right thing and that's the main thing. I believe in my staff and I believe in myself."
Hartsburg's reluctance to increase Tavares's role here is reminiscent of Canadian coach Mike Babcock's unwillingness to give a 17-year-old Joe Thornton more ice time in Geneva 11 years ago. Babcock was condemned by a columnist or two and scouts for giving Thornton only spot duty in the round robin in which Canada suffered a couple setbacks with draws against the Czechs and Americans. But Canada played better in the medal round to squeeze past the Russians and United States and claim a fifth consecutive gold medal.
Hartsburg and his players appeared to have rebounded from their setback against Sweden. They know they stopped playing after going up 2-0 early in the third period. Sunday's mantra was "to play a 60-minute game" when action resumes against Denmark, which is coached by Canadian Ken Babey.
Many scouts predicted this under-20 tournament would be one of the most competitive in recent years because of the high calibre of the teams from Sweden, Finland, Russia, Czech Republic, United States and Canada. Finland won the Four Nations Cup over Sweden last month, but Russia also played well and the Czechs have the energy of the home fans on their side.
All was not lost for the Canadians with the loss to Sweden. They have a spot locked up in the playoff round already and still could advance to Friday's semi-finals if the Czechs beat Sweden by less than six goals and Canada defeats Denmark.
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