Rookie forward Tyler Seguin represented Team Ontario at the 2009 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Port Alberni, British Columbia. The tournament pits 5 teams from across Canada (Ontario, Pacific, West, Quebec, and Atlantic) and 5 national teams (USA, Finland, Germany, Russia, and Slovakia) in a round robin format before being seeded for semi-final match-ups.

Team Ontario, who was looking to defend their gold medal from last year, went a perfect 6-0 in the tournament to claim another gold medal. Their 22-man roster was completely comprised of OHL rookies. Seguin, the Whalers first round pick in the 2008 OHL Draft, was a playmaker for his team and displayed his offensive talent. The Brampton, Ontario-native finished the tournament with a tournament-leading 8 assists and finished second with 11 points to linemate John McFarland. Not only did the experience let Seguin see how he compared to other players his age, but it helped him build a lot of confidence going into the second half of the season after he excelled on the international stage. Seguin's journal takes us through his journey of the U-17 Challenge, from finding out he made the team to describing each game Team Ontario played and concluding with him talking about the satisfaction of achieving the team's goal of bringing the gold medal back to Ontario.

November 12, 2008...

"I was sitting at my billets' place watching TV when I got a phone call from the coach of the team, Mario Cicchillo, who is also the head coach of Niagara. He said that I was selected to the 22-man roster for the Under-17 Team Ontario team. This tournament was really the first time I represented my province and country at a hockey tournament and the first time playing at an international tournament like this one. The closest thing I have ever come to something like the World Under-17 Challenge was representing my league on a GTHL (Greater Toronto Hockey League) All-Star team last year when I traveled to Russia for a hockey tournament."

December 20-28, 2008... 

I knew some of the guys on the U-17 team since I played with them on my GTHL All-Star team when we travelled to Russia. Here I am with Cody McNaughton of the Guelph Storm.

"After the Whalers three game road trip before the Christmas break, I was able to spend the rest of the weekend and week before Christmas to see all my family and friends, which is always really nice.

The tournament started on the 29th of December so we went down on Boxing Day (day after Christmas), so that way we could get used to the 3 hour time difference. We got the chance to practice and have an exhibition game against Finland on the 28th (6-4 Team Ontario win) before the real tournament started.

Out of the other 21 players on the team, 12 of them played in the GTHL last year where I had played and I have known those guys for quite sometime. I played with all 12 of those guys on the GTHL All-Star team I was on and also on summer teams over the years. Of the 21 guys, I had never met only 2 of them.

The roommates were selected at random and I roomed with Steven Shipley from the Owen Sound Attack. Right from the get go we became tight and it was cool because he was one of the guys I didn’t really know because he played minor hockey in the Alliance League.

The tournament was mostly played in Port Alberni, British Columbia, which is located west of Vancouver on Vancouver Island. I’ve never gotten the chance to go that far out west before and never have had hockey out that way. Since we were so busy with the tournament and getting the proper nutrition and rest, there was really no time to go sight-seeing or travel the area. However, when we went to two of our games we had to go up through some mountains and got to see some beautiful views of the mountains and lakes and got chances to take lots of pictures."

December 29, 2008...

Ontario 8, Atlantic 1...Seguin: 1 goal, 1 assist

"Our first round robin game was against Team Atlantic, and it was definitely nice to get that first game underway and adjust to my linemates and teammates. My linemates were John McFarland of the Sudbury Wolves on one wing and Tyler Toffoli of the Ottawa 67’s on the other with me being at centre. We just clicked. I think my role on the team was to be a playmaker and set up the finishers like Toffoli and McFarland. I think I was a guy that set up the powerplay and was a key draw man for our team.

I think after a few practices and our exhibition game we started to click very well and it carried over to the game. I had a goal and an assist in that game. My assist happened on the second shift of the game when I went down on a 2-on-2 with McFarland. I gave the puck to him and went around the defenseman on a breakaway and when he tried to pass it to me it went off their guy and in. My goal was the 7th goal on a powerplay. There was a shot from the point and the puck popped loose and I just one timed it in the net. I think the turning point of the game was after our 3rd goal late in the first period because that’s when we really started to put the game away. After that game, I think we knew we were going to win everything."

December 31, 2008...

Ontario 5, Russia 2...Seguin: No points on score sheet (but set-up linemates' 3 unassisted goals)

"The Russians were a very quick team with lots of skill especially on the powerplay. They were supposed to be one of the top teams, but had a lot of injuries. They played a different style than us because they didn’t hit at all. I think the turning point of this game was when we scored our first goal on the first shift of the game. I had the puck in our own end and saw Toffoli break behind the 'D' and I hit him with a pass on a breakaway. It really got things rolling for us. Our line was really clicking and scored 4 of our team's goals."

January 1, 2009...

Ontario 5, Germany 1...Seguin: 1 goal

"Against the Germans, we played in a smaller rink (Cornox Valley Sports Centre in Courtenay, BC as opposed to the host rink, Alberni Valley Multiplex) and they just tried to be physical and dirty against us. The turning point of this game was our goal that made it 3-0 and sealed the game up for us. The Germans had a pretty big team, but not much skill or skating ability. After that game we knew we had clinched a spot in the semi-finals, but our main focus was to beat the host team, Pacific, the next day which was a game for first place in our division."

January 2, 2009...

Ontario 6, Pacific 3...Seguin: 3 assists

"We faced the host team in our last preliminary game and we were both undefeated. There was that talk of us being defending champions and being undefeated (dating back to 2006), but that didn’t add any pressure. We only had one goal, which was this year's gold medal. In this game the turning point wasn’t really until we got that final 6th goal in the last minute and knew the game was over. Every time we seemed to get up a goal or two they would score again and get back in the game. Two of my assists in that game were just cycling down low and bringing it to the net and scoring. The other assist was at the end of my shift when I kind of had a breakaway, but was too tired so I delayed a bit, waited for my teammate on a 2-on-1 and sauced it over the defenceman's stick for a goal." 

January 3, 2009...

Ontario 7, West 4...Seguin: 4 assists (Named one of the 3 Stars of the Day)

"In the semi-finals, we faced Team West, which was our 4th game in 4 nights. Fatigue was an issue talked about by our coaches, so we made sure we would do a flush after every game on the bike and get the proper amount of food and sleep. I think the turning point of this game was when we were up 3-1 and successfully killed off back-to-back 5-on-3’s. We had two 4-on-3 goals, which were both pretty much the same play. After cycling it down low, I looked for the back door 'D' and he scored twice. I can’t remember what happened on the other two assists, but it was great to move on to the gold medal game."

January 4, 2009...

Ontario 5, Pacific 1...Seguin: 1 goal

"The whole day of the championship game is one I won’t forget for a while. With all the publicity of the event and the gold medal game and the game being televised on TSN, there was definitely some nervousness in the dressing room and hotel. We watched the video of our round robin game against Pacific early in the day and watched mistakes and things we did well against their team so we could be better prepared for the game. I scored the first goal in the game late in the first period. There was a point shot and I kind of just kept going through and got the puck on a breakaway with a guy right behind me. I just cut in and faked the goalie out by bringing to my backhand and putting it in under the crossbar. The turning point could either be my first goal, which got things going, or McFarland’s goal which was the 4th one because it kind of sealed the deal on the game.

Even though we were in Canada the crowd was not on our side since Pacific was the host team. After we just scored our 4th goal and were lining up for a draw, people in the crowd started throwing raw fish on the ice. Even though there was talk of us defending the title, we really just had a new goal and new attitude towards this tournament and it was great to win the gold medal.

I think the coaches were counting on me to be creative in the offensive zone and help put up points for our team. The whole tournament I felt comfortable and was able to read plays and set up my teammates. The more the tournament went on, the better I clicked with my linemates. In the end, I chipped in a lot offensively, finishing second in tournament scoring behind my linemate John McFarland, who was great to play with and was a good finisher. I consider myself more of a playmaker and led the tournament with 8 assists, and helped contribute to the success of team and making it to the gold medal game.

The experience that I had down there was one that I will remember for the rest of my life and is probably the biggest hockey memory I have up to this point in my life. It was my first step on the international stage in hockey and my first step into the Hockey Canada Program with hopefully more to come.

Playing in this tournament, definitely brought back minor hockey feelings of playing against guys my own age. In the OHL the guys are much faster and much stronger obviously because I'm playing against guys up to 20 years old. When I got to go back and play against guys my age, I definitely felt more dominant and played faster than the game itself since the OHL is a much quicker pace. I think this tournament has given me even more confidence on the ice and it gave me a chance to go back and see how I compare against the best kids at my age group at this point. I got to see what I need to improve on and what I need to keep striving on to become the best."

-Natalie Shaver, January 8, 2009