Both Logan Stankoven and Dylan Garand will be at the world junior camp from Dec. 9-12. Garand has already made the team.

By Chad Klassen

WORLD JUNIOR INVITES

Garand has gold on his mind, hopes Stankoven can join him at world juniors

Dec 1, 2021 | 5:45 PM

KAMLOOPS — Dylan Garand has earned his stripes between the pipes for the Kamloops Blazers.

He has 14 wins this season to lead the Western Hockey League (WHL), compared to only two losses. He also leads the league with a .935 saves percentage and has a 1.76 goals-against average.

It’s earned Garand another shot at gold with Team Canada, making the team as one of three goaltenders on the World Junior Hockey Championship roster.

“Yeah, it’s a great feeling. Whenever you get selected to represent your country, it’s a pretty cool feeling,” Garand said before Blazers practice on Wednesday (Dec. 1). “It’s like every kids dream growing up. I got the opportunity to do it last year. It was a great experience and I’m fortunate to get the same experience this year. Looking forward to it and hopefully getting the job done this year.”

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All Garand is thinking about is gold. He brought home silver a year ago — a 2-0 loss to the U.S. — when he backed up Canada at the World Juniors in Edmonton, where the 2022 championship will be played again.

The Victoria native is projected to be the starter, even though Garand knows he has to earn the job.

“Maybe. I’m not really putting any stock into who’s No. 1 right now. It’s kind of a long ways away, and I feel like you can get yourself into trouble when you think about that stuff and worrying about what others are thinking — the coaching staff — rather than worrying about what you can control,” he said. “I kind of learned that last year and going to have that mindset going into it this year.”

Garand will have a Blazers buddy again at the camp, which runs from Dec. 9 to 12. Last year, he had Connor Zary and this year he’ll be accompanied by Logan Stankoven, who’s earned an invite.

“Definitely a great feeling to know that my hard work that I’ve put in during the season and my productivity [is paying off],” Stankoven said. “It’s such a selective group of players from across the CHL, and to represent Canada is definitely humbling.”

Stankoven, who will be one of 21 forwards at the camp, is fifth in WHL scoring with 12 goals and 29 points in 19 games.

The Kamloops native is no stranger to playing on the world stage for Canada, scoring the gold-medal-winning goal at the U-18 World Hockey Championships in the spring.

“I think it helped me a bit. I think just me being excited and showing up for those big games was important and that’s what I guess what Hockey Canada and what teams are looking for — guys that show up in the big moments,” Stankoven said. “It’s something I take pride in and I’m just excited for the camp.”

Both Stankoven and Garand are glad they’ll have each other at the camp.

“Yeah it’s always great to have teammates and people you know there,” Garand said. “He’s had a pretty good start to the season. He definitely deserves an invite. I’m definitely hoping for him to make the team. It would be pretty cool.”