Risebrough remembers

Minnesota Wild GM Doug Risebrough has many fond memories of the World Junior Championships.

Tune into NHL NETWORK-US and TSN Friday at 2pm ET to watch live WJC action as Team USA faces Team Canada in the semifinals. The game can also be heard on XM-204 Satellite Radio.

"The Vancouver one (2005) I think was the one that I’ll always remember. The atmosphere was beyond what I ever would’ve expected, and it was just a phenomenal environment for these kids to know just how important that tournament was. They played to a sold-out, 18,000-seat arena in every game.

"And when you looked at the single performance of the Canadians to dominate the Russians in the final for the gold, versus a very good Russian team, that was incredible. To me it was one of the most dominant performances by a Canadian team in the Canadian environment. Just the atmosphere for those kids to see that full building all the time, and to play a complete game against such a strong opponent was memorable in itself, but to do it in the gold medal game made it something those kids and the fans will never forget.

"The other one that I remember, probably the most competitive one that I remember, was the Winnipeg tournament. It was ’99 and the Swedes, I thought, had a really good team. They didn’t lose a game in the round robin.

"Then Canada beats the Swedes in the semis. Tom Renney was the head coach, and then the Canadians go on to lose in the final, in overtime, to the Russians, but (Roberto) Luongo was the goaltender and he might’ve given the best goaltending performance I can ever remember watching.

"That game ended 2-0 for the Russians, and Luongo was incredible to keep it at that score. But the Canadians had beaten the Swedes in the semis, in a very physical game, and that’s the one I really remember. The Swedes came over with probably the biggest, strongest team that I’d seen them play with, and had dominated not just because of their skills but because they were physical.

"That’s the other aspect of this tournament, the format — one-game eliminations, so anything can happen — and ultimately Sweden lost in the semis to Canada, and then Canada lost in OT in the final to the Russians and Luongo had to be outstanding just to keep it close.

"That was the best goaltending performance that I’d ever seen."