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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 27 ,2 01 8 | 28 MacKenzie Entwistle knows the world juniors are a big deal. He's been watching the tournament since he was a kid. "It was a Christmas tra- dition in the Entwistle house," he says. "We've al- ways watched it." At least when he could. The challenge of being an elite hockey player is you spend a lot of time in are- nas, so you don't always get to see the big games. But on Jan. 3, 2009, Entwistle and his teammates finished their game just in time to witness one of Canada's most magical moments in tournament history. "The Jordan Eberle goal, that one sticks out," Entwistle says. "We were playing a game in Toronto with the Marlies. We were upstairs in the restaurant gathered around the TV." Canada was playing Russia in the semifinals and looked to be on its way to a 5-4 loss when Eberle scored with 5.4 seconds left to tie the game. Canada went on to win in a shoo- tout and two days later beat Sweden 5-1 to claim the gold medal. Entwistle won't be home to watch the tournament this year either. He'll be playing it, hoping to dupli- cate what Eberle and Cana- da did nine years ago. The 19-year-old is enjoy- ing a career season with the Hamilton Bulldogs. En- twistle showed signs of an offensive breakthrough when he scored 10 goals in 21 playoff games as the Bulldogs won the Ontario Hockey League champion- ship last year. He's carried that into this year. Not even half way through the sea- son, the Bulldogs' captain already has a career-best 15 goals. And while helping the Bulldogs succeed was his main goal, he said making Canada's junior team was also on his radar. "It was a goal I started the year with. I wanted to come in and work hard and I knew if I could have a good start, I'd give myself a chance." It won't be Entwistle's first time representing Canada. He's donned the maple leaf at the World Ju- nior Challenge (Under-17) and at the Hlinka/Gretzky Cup (Under-18), but if he needed a reminder that this time will be a little dif- ferent, that came Thurs- day. "We had an open prac- tice and there were 4,000 or 5,000 people there," he said. "That's pretty remarkable. It just shows how big it is." Canada has won gold just twice in the nine years since Eberle sparked Cana- da's comeback. So even though Canada is the de- fending champion and playing at home in Vancou- ver and Victoria, it won't be easy. Entwistle, who was drafted in the third round of the 2017 NHL draft by Ar- izona and later traded to Chicago, says the Canadi- ans have a strong team. His two-way game gives him a variety of ways to contrib- ute to Canada's bid to re- peat. "There's tons of pres- sure. They won gold last year and there are tons of fans who want the team to succeed," Entwistle said. "(Winning gold) would mean everything. It's what everyone is playing for. Growing up watching the tournament, that's what you dream about. Hopeful- ly we can achieve it." Canada opens the tour- nament on Boxing Day against Denmark. COMMUNITY Georgetown's MacKenzie Entwistle will play for Canada at the world junior hockey championships in Vancouver. The Hamilton Bulldogs captain is enjoying a strong two-way season in which he has already eclipsed his career high in goals. Brandon Taylor/ OHL Images ENTWISTLE LOOKING TO DEFEND CANADA'S WORLD JUNIOR GOLD HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com HELP MAKE MENTAL HEALTH #UNIGNORABLE SHOWYOURLOCALLOVE.CA 905-702-2597 • 866- 878 5556 Have a Wonderful Christmas Season and a Safe and Happy New Year! michael.chong@parl.gc.ca www.michaelchong.ca Old World Quality New World Satisfaction since 1983 BASED IN GEORGETOWN SERVING ALL OF HALTON & PEEL REGIONS & ORANGEVILLE • Complete Residential Re-roofing • Repairs • Financing Now Available • Metal Flashing • Cedar Roofs • Copper Roofs and Flashing SHINGLES • CEDAR • FLATS • COPPER www.findlayroofing.ca Fully Licensed and Insured. Call for a FREE Estimate 905-702-7977 Email: info@findlayroofing.ca | toll free 800-683-2999 Silver 2018 Halton Hills