Fresh off of winning their second Queen’s Cup in three years, the McGill men’s hockey team is primed and ready to challenge for a National Championship. The OUA East champions received a number-two seed in the six-team tournament last week, and will butt heads against the Manitoba Bisons and the Saint Mary’s Huskies in pool play. Redmen Head Coach Jim Webster took some time to talk to the Tribune about preparation for Nationals.
How important was it to win the Queen’s Cup, both in terms of seeding and overall momentum? It was important. The seeding is key, [because] it allows us to not play three days in a row. We’ll play on the first day, and if we win, we’ll play Thursday, Saturday, Sunday instead of Friday, Saturday, Sunday. [The Queen’s Cup] was also important just for our mindset, [to see] how we react in big games, in that arena. We played in that arena and won a big game, so I think [winning the Cup] was very important for our mental preparation. We wanted to win the championship; we didn’t want to go in the back door [to Nationals], and that speaks to the competitiveness of our team.
What were your initial reactions to the pool your team is in? I like that we haven’t played either team so far. I don’t worry about the other team as much as a lot of coaches, I worry about our team. But I think a lot of the teams that have played us this year decided that we’re good, and that they have to slow us down – use a trap, or try other tactics to slow us down. If they go into a game saying, ‘Let’s see what you’ve got,’ then I like our chances. I think our team’s speed is hard to measure if you haven’t seen it.
You play Manitoba in the first game of the tournament. Any specific preparations for that team? No specific things, although I’ll identify to [our team] that Manitoba doesn’t take a lot of penalties – they’re the least penalized team in the West. And they have good goaltending. We should be ready to try to win a low scoring game, play good defence, and not just naturally think we can run and gun, and score six or seven goals. I think we have to be prepared for a tough, low-scoring match.
Has this team exceeded expectations from the beginning of the season? It’s hard to say. I didn’t get the impression from [former head coach] Martin [Raymond] that we would be as good. All of the returning rookies improved their stats and played better than last year. Maybe that’s to be expected, except that every single one of them [improved]. The projected team this year had [former captains] Ken Morin and Benoit Arsenal. We lost Benoit to a detached retina, and that was a blow. Morin ended up going to Royal Military College. Losing those two guys, we were a little less [impressive] than we should have been on paper. So yes, I think we’ve exceeded expectations. I know our players, though, are very demanding of themselves. I don’t know exactly what they expected, but I’ve been the one telling them from the beginning of the year that they’re good, and that the National Championship should be their goal. I’ve been trying to pound that into their heads, and I truly believe it.
What are the major strengths of this year’s team? I think our depth from start to finish. All seven, eight defencemen can play, and all four lines of forwards can play. We have talent. Not only hardworking players, but we [also] have scorers, playmakers, and powerplay defencemen. We’re tough, competitive, and fast. I think we’re a good team.
What’s the team’s mood like in the locker room? They’re excited to get started. This little layoff here? No. Let’s get at it. We’ve been thinking about it for some time and they all want to get it on.
The Redmen tip off tournament action against Manitoba this Thursday at 2 p.m. SSN Canada will stream live webcasts of all tournament games, and the championship final will be televised on Rogers Sportsnet on Saturday.
