After his World Championship gold medal, André Turenne set sail for Portugal for a week-long trip with his wife to discover the magic of Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve.
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From his hotel room in Lisbon, before leaving for his overnight stay, Turenne described the feelings of Canada’s 5-2 victory in the final against Germany on Sunday in Tampere, Finland.
The man, nicknamed “The Bear,” said in an interview with The Newspaper. Such competition is different from what you can experience in the NHL. The game is very defensive and closed. We often play pranks that other teams don’t even try to score. NHL players often find the tournament difficult and frustrating.
“But our players bought into our system and they had a great tournament. They agreed to play well defensively and play at a slightly lower pace than the NHL.
Unpredictable journey
Canada didn’t have a perfect route in Riga, Latvia, or Tampere, Finland. Turin’s team finished second in its preliminary stage group, with a record of five wins and two losses in seven matches.
In the preliminary round, Norway knocked out Canada with an unexpected 3-2 win in overtime.
After that match, however, the team with the maple leaf did not lose again, beating the Czech Republic in the last game of the first stage and then beating Finland in the quarter-finals and Latvia in the semi-finals.
“I didn’t say anything magical after the game against Norway,” Turenne said. It can get dangerous if you put yourself in a reactionary position. I warned my players before the tournament that there might be surprises. It’s like this every year.”
“It’s a much tougher tournament than people think,” he continued. Men do not play for names behind their backs, but for country pride. It is often a life event for many players in the World Series. You have to live this heroism to realize its magnitude. The final match is broadcast on television in nearly 150 countries. And today in Riga there were hundreds of thousands of people to celebrate the bronze medal of Latvia.
“great team”
Arizona Coyotes head coach Turenne took part in this month-long World Series tryout with Alex Tanguay (Red Wings), D.J. Smith (Senators) and Troy Ryan (women’s head coach).
“We worked hard and we’re happy to finish on top of the podium,” said the 48-year-old. I had a great team on my side. But I’m also happy for our players who said yes to a long championship after a grueling NHL season. They will get out of it.”
Montembeault: Unusual
Elected along with MacKenzie Weegar and Lawson Crouse among his country’s top three players at this tournament, Samuel Montembeault played a huge part in this gold win.
In seven games, Montembeault finished with a record of six wins and one loss, while maintaining a microscopic 1.42 average and a 0.938 save percentage.
“Sam has been great to us,” Turenne said. It was really good. He won the big matches, made the key saves, and reassured everyone. He was never nervous.”
In Tourigny’s eyes, Montembeault could use this tournament as a springboard in his career.
“I remember a conversation Marc Methot had with the media, and he said his World Series experience had changed him as a player. He realized he could play against the best in the world. He gained confidence. I can imagine the same scenario for Sam. Over the past few years, players like Andrew Manjiappan, Brandon Hagel, Michael Bunting, Nick Ball and Dylan Cousins, Canada in the World Series, and became major NHL players thereafter. »
On a personal note, Turenne won gold for the second time (2021 and 2023) at the World Championships, but for the first time in a coach role. Last year, as an assistant to Claude Julien, he lost 4-3 in overtime in the gold medal game against Finland.
