World Juniors 2019

Kazakhstan, the little team that could

Written by Jesse Phillips on

When you think of a nation that lives and breathes hockey your mind instantly goes to Canada. Canada, a nation that not only loves their own teams, but also loves the game of hockey and seeing hockey bring people together.

Kazakhstan, a nation of just over 18 million people is not known for winning hockey games, but after this tournament, they just might be known for stealing some hearts.

The work all began when Kazakhstan finished in 1st place in the Divison 1A World Junior Tournament played last year in Meribel, France.

They beat Latvia in a shootout early in the tournament and ultimately that was the extra point they needed to finish one point ahead of that same Latvian team.

Due to the age limit of 19, the national World Junior teams often have the majority of their players turn over from year to year, especially on smaller hockey playing nations.

In Kazakhstan’s case, they had an incredible eight players come back from last year’s squad that was able to qualify for the top division of the World Junior Championships.

For this Kazakhstan team, it wasn’t really about the early results in the tournament. They knew they would be in tough against every team in their pool and just scoring a few goals would be reward enough at the end of round robin play.

What they didn’t expect, was the heart-warming reception they would receive from the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre. The Victoria faithful, 5,863 strong, waited with baited breath as the underdog Kazakhstan hit the ice in their tournament opener against Finland.

As most would expect, Finland was all over the underdogs, but the Kazakh goalie Demid Yeremeyev stood tall saving 51 of the 56 shots he faced. Finland, widely considered a favourite for a medal this year only beat the Kazakhs 5-0.

Yeremeyev, who played as good as anyone could have against the Fins was treated to mulitple standing ovations during the game, the loudest of which when he received his player of the game award.

In their next three games, and to close out round-robin play the Kazakh team would score five times, including their first of the tournament against the USA on December 28th.

Heading into the Relegation Round – a best of three series – the team from Kazakhstan was probably favored over a Denmark team that had yet to score even one goal in round robin play.

It’s not likely the Kazakhs ever saw themselves as being favoured to win a game at the World Junior Championships, but here they were, ready to go toe-to-toe with Denmark for the right to stay in the top tier.

While Denmark did score three goals in the opening game of the Relagation Round, Kazakhstan was able to score first and more often as they took game one 4-3.

The second game of the relegation round finished the same way as the first with Kazakhstan winning and thus booking their ticket to the Czech Republic and the top tier of World Junior hockey for the second straight year.

The Kazakhs certainly grabbed the hearts and minds of the fans in Victoria and may have found even more fans across Canada, but one thing is for sure, never count out the blue and gold.

Jesse is a passionate about hockey and grew up in Kamloops, BC cheering for the Blazers. He jumped ship and sported his Cougar’s jersey in seasons ticket seats in Prince George, BC for several years. But he is back in Kamloops and sharing his passion for the Blazers with his 2 year old son. He played and reffed hockey for many years and is excited to bring together his love for the game and skills for web development.