Blais' leadership will be key for 2012 WJC

How important is a first impression?

Forward Derek Stepan was sold the minute coach Dean Blais established his game plan for the U.S. National Junior Team in the weeks leading up to the 2010 World Junior Championship.

Stepan was captain of the team that would win the country's second WJC gold medal by defeating Canada on home soil, in overtime in the gold-medal game. Stepan said he'll always consider the victory in the title game as one of the greatest accomplishments of his hockey career -- and he credits Blais for much of that success.

"It's a tough tournament to really get a good grasp of a coach, but I felt Dean made his presence felt right from the start and everyone kind of got an idea what he wanted, how he wanted to play and what he expected from us," Stepan, now in his second season with the New York Rangers, told NHL.com. "I think that's kind of why we had success. The way he came in and told us how he wanted to play, he wasn't messing around."

It doesn't surprise Stepan that USA Hockey again has turned to Blais to lead the U.S. on Canadian soil at the 2012 WJC, which begins Dec. 26 in Edmonton and Calgary.

"Our biggest strength was the way we were run, and as a team how we came together so quickly," Stepan said. "The guys on the team and the coaching staff fit really well together."

The setup for the 2012 WJC is eerily similar to 2010. The tournament is being held in Western Canada and the U.S. and Canada again will meet in the final preliminary-round matchup on New Year's Eve.

Stepan felt having the opportunity to face Canada prior to the medal round was a key factor in winning the gold-medal game.

"It was important to get a hold of the atmosphere that we were going to be playing in," Stepan said. "We were essentially the visiting team in a barn full of Canadian fans, so it was a really tough atmosphere and they were a good team. It was good to be able to get a feel for them and know how we had to play."

In the first meeting, on Dec. 31, 2009, the U.S. was unable to hold on to a 4-2 lead in the third period and lost 5-4 in overtime. The win gave Canada a bye into the semifinals.

"(Blais) didn't say much after that loss; it was kind of a tough pill to swallow at the time," Stepan said. "I think, as a team, we were pretty banged up just because we had it, and now we were going to have the long road to try and get at it again. We had to beat the Finns (6-2) and Swedes (5-2) to have another shot at Canada. It was a tough loss but (Blais) was very good about moving past it and trying to get us ready for our next game and what was in front of us."

Stepan earned a spot on the 2010 WJC All-Star Team after leading the U.S. with 14 points. He scored four goals and finished with a plus-9 rating. Much like the preliminary-round meeting, the gold-medal contest had the U.S. grabbing a two-goal lead in the third only to see Canada pull even at 5-5 on a pair of Jordan Eberle goals in the final 2:49 of regulation.

"So we lost the lead on New Year's Eve and lost it again in the gold-medal game," Stepan said. "But the fact we went through it earlier was big for us in the gold-medal game. We knew what we had to do, so it was a good process and we were fortunate how we had it laid out for us."

The hero ended up being John Carlson, who scored 4:21 into overtime to snap Canada's five-year reign as champion.

"Dean has that respect factor," Carlson, now a defenseman with the Washington Capitals, told NHL.com. "He's won as a coach before, and whenever you see a veteran coach, I think everyone in the locker room respects everything he says and does."

Stepan said that in addition to the coaching, the camaraderie among the players on the team was second to none. He feels that also went a long way in establishing the confidence the players needed to complete their championship run.

"We had a great group of guys. We got along very well and had fun throughout and that was important," Stepan said. "We hung out with each other every night … it wasn't a dull moment, that's for sure. I talked to some of the guys the following year and it seems they just didn't have the same thing we had, the fun stuff we did."

Follow Mike Morreale on twitter at: @mike_morreale

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