Shane Wright was excited to get another shot at the world juniors.
Having two of his best friends in the fold was the added bonus.
Drafted fourth overall by the Seattle Kraken at July's NHL draft, Wright had endured a stop-start opening to his professional career before being loaned to Canada for the upcoming tournament in Halifax and Moncton, N.B.
When he arrived in the Maritimes last week, there were plenty of familiar faces from past events – and two he's known a lot longer.
Wright, Brandt Clarke and Brennan Othmann have not only previously suited up internationally in the same age group, they also played minor hockey together.
"Those guys have been with me through a lot," Wright said. "Now we're finally back on the same team.
"Two of my best buds in the world."
The 18-year-old centre jumped at the opportunity to win a men's under-20 world championship after last winter's event was shuttered by COVID-19 outbreaks. Wright then didn't take part in the August restart at Seattle's request ahead of his first professional season.
A defenceman with the Los Angeles Kings, Clarke was also loaned to Canada last week, while Othmann – a 2021 New York Rangers first-round pick – is one of eight returning players from the summer squad that won Canada's 19th gold medal.
Othmann didn't think this type of reunion would be in the cards for the annual showcase set to begin Dec. 26.
"Our last go-around," he said. "It should be super fun and super, super exciting."
"Means the world," Clarke added. "Two of my best friends in the whole world."
Wright, Clarke and Othmann starred for a dominant Don Mills Flyers team in the Greater Toronto Hockey League that won the 2019 OHL Cup before helping Canada capture gold at the 2021 under-18 world championship.
"The fact that we get to do this on the global stage this time after being together since we were 14 – I guess Shane was 13 because he's a phenom – it's a really cool feeling," Clarke said. "I'm really happy to be around those guys again. We did a lot of winning back in the day and hopefully we can we can rekindle that."
"That chemistry will never go away," said Othmann, who played on Wright's wing growing up and with Canada at the under-18s. "It's just gonna be very deadly if we play with each other."
Wright famously dropped from being the presumptive No. 1 pick at the 2022 NHL draft down to the Kraken after the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes all passed.
But both Clarke and Othmann marvelled at how Wright navigated a situation that's so far included just eight games with Seattle and a conditioning stint in the AHL.
"A pro since the day I met him," Clarke said. "He took it on the chin. He didn't pout.
"I don't even look at that as a setback. I just look at that as a new possibility for him. He's got a chip on his shoulder that he never really had to have in his entire life."
Having grown up alongside Wright, Othmann is convinced there's a long career in store.
"Shane's gonna be a great NHLer," he said. "Gonna play 1,000 games in the NHL and I think he'll be a captain.
"That's Shane Wright for you."
But first, the immediate goal is grabbing more hardware – together – on the East Coast.
WIDE-EYED WRIGHT
The Burlington, Ont., product scored his first NHL goal, coincidentally against Montreal, last week before joining up with Canada.
But his "welcome to the NHL moment" came Nov. 5 when the Kraken beat childhood hero Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"My favorite player my whole life," Wright said with a grin. "You see him line up and you're sitting on a bench and you're playing against him ... it's hard to describe that feeling. Had to get past that.
"But that was definitely a pretty big moment."
TAVARES TAKES IT IN
Maple Leafs captain John Tavares watched Auston Matthews set a franchise record for goals last season before the sniper wound up topping the league with 60.
Now he's got a front-row seat for Mitch Marner's point streak, which sits at 23 games – five better than Toronto's previous high-water mark and three back of the longest run in the NHL this century.
"Special moments," Tavares said. "You want to take the opportunity to recognize ... especially as historic as this franchise is, how long it's been around, the players that have come through here.
"We want to try to just stay in the moment, enjoy it. We know the bigger picture and what we're working for, but no doubt to you want to enjoy those moments."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2022.
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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
