By Kevin Mitchell,
Black Press
Officially, Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. Being anywhere near hockey star Curtis Lazar is now unofficially the second happiest place.
Many who have followed Lazar’s hockey career from his minor hockey days are familiar with that Duracell smile. Lazar sported the perm-grin when he, Alex Gillies and Jordan Burns (both who played for the Silverbacks) helped the Watkin Motors Mustangs take the 2008 Coca-Cola Winter Carnival Pee Wee Classic.
We saw Curtis flash the smile even wider when he guided Team B.C. to gold in the 2011 Winter Games in Halifax, and again when he helped the Edmonton Oil Kings claim back-to-back WHL titles and one Memorial Cup. Oh, and he was pretty stoked when the Ottawa Senators chose him in round one of the 2013 NHL entry draft.
The grin was golden Monday, Jan. 5 when Lazar hoisted the World Junior trophy after Canada held off Russia 5-4 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
He’s just about 20 and Lazar is already being classed as a winner. I wondered if the emotions were different surrounding a Memorial Cup and a world junior crown.
He discussed just that with Canadian goalie Zach Fucale, who backstoped the Halifax Mooseheads to the 2013 Memorial Cup, and they figured the road to the world junior gold, while a shorter journey than the Memorial Cup, is just as special.
“It’s a Canadian tradition and you have a lot more people pulling for you,” said Lazar.
TSN reports that a record-breaking average audience of 7.1 million Canadians watched the epic victory over Russia, making it the most-watched broadcast on record on specialty TV in Canada.
So, the world juniors are definitely a big deal, as is Lazar across the nation. He’s a few dollars short of being a teenage millionaire, but money will never change this kid.
He is the most grateful and grounded elite athlete I can remember covering. He knows he’s living a rock star life, but he’s mature enough to know it can be gone in a New York minute.
He was the consummate Captain Canada and will one year soon wear a letter alongside Ottawa captain Erik Karlsson.
Canada centre Max Domi told Mike Brophy of NHL.com: “He’s the happiest guy we have all met. He’s a great leader on and off the ice.”
Said Robert Dirk, who coached Lazar in Midget at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton: “I’ve seen that smile before. He’s working for everything he’s getting.”
Dirk, who believes Lazar will enjoy a 20-year career, loved Lazar’s play in the world juniors.
“He was the steadying influence I felt up front,” Dirk told Black Press Sports. “Nothing flashy, but, at times he was flashy. Just professional. Being in Ottawa for the first half of the season, he’s learning that professional mentality. You just have to get the job done. That’s what he did.”
Lazar’s folks, Dave, employed by Kal Tire, and Karen, a one-time florist, are wonderful people and no surprise, they smile a lot.
Lazar flew to Philadelphia last Tuesday afternoon to rejoin the Senators. He was a healthy scratch and the TV cameras caught him smiling and laughing with a teammate outside the Sens’ dressing room.
His calming personality is priceless and while his talent level is often compared to Milan Lucic of the Bruins and Mike Fisher of the Predators, Lazar may bring even more to the table as he progresses.
Lucic, who also won a Memorial Cup, will never be as universally popular as Lazar, and the only gold Fisher ever sees is worn by his pop star wife Carrie Underwood.
Lazar has just one goal through 27 games with the Senators and can still be sent back to Edmonton. Can’t see that happening after his nine points, class and moxy in the world juniors.
Ironically, new Senators’ head coach Dave Cameron was behind Canada’s bench when they self-destructed in a 2011 gold-medal loss to Russia.
“I know,” laughed Lazar, when I revealed that trivia information. “He told me before I left, ‘Hockey Canada taught me how not to hold a lead.’”
Cameron appears to be a patient and intelligent man. He knows he has a gem in Lazar. Part of Vernon has known about this joyous nugget for sometime now. Lazar is no secret now and we are pleased to share his smile with the rest of the nation, at least during the hockey season.