Huet and company get down to business on Saturday evening when they open up Group B play against Norway, before taking on Finland, Switzerland, Canada, Belarus, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia through May 15. A top-four finish would afford them the opportunity to move on to the quarterfinals, something they've failed to do the last two years with 12th and 14th place finishes, respectively.
"We have a good group - maybe the best group we can have," said Huet, referencing the likes of NHL teammates Antoine Roussel (Dallas Stars) and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (Philadelphia Flyers), both of whom are quite capable of lighting the lamp. "We'll try to stay tight and make sure we work hard every game, just like we do every year. We have a chance to beat every team. We play to win games. It would be big this year to have success together."
The two-time Olympian fondly recalls backstopping France to its last quarterfinal appearance in 2014 in Minsk. It all began with a memorable 3-2 shootout win over Canada. Huet turned aside 34 of 36 shots against through 65 minutes of play, and then denied Kyle Turris, Sean Monahan, and Matt Read on shootout attempts. Bellemare ultimately settled the score with the shootout winner, beating James Reimer.
"If there's one good memory, I'd have to pick what we did in Minsk. Beating Canada that year, then we beat Slovakia. We won four games and we ended up playing Russia in the quarters. We played great against them, but lost 3-0. Winning was a lot more fun than losing that year," cracked the 2010 Stanley Cup champion, who also recalled some of his tougher moments on the international stage.
"I remember when we had to play in the B Pool, the bad travelling, the bad dressing rooms. It's really a mix of things when I think about everything over the years. We always had to fight really hard to stay with the top teams," added Huet. "Lately, though, we've been playing better. Even if we're not the best team on paper, it's been very encouraging to see our progress."
