CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – In the jubilation of Friday’s world junior championship victory, Kevin Elliott sought out the seven returning players and five staff members who suffered a crushing loss a year earlier.
“It was such an emotional moment for all of us,” Elliott said early Sunday morning after arriving at the Charlottetown Airport. “You could just feel in everyone’s hug that that (loss) is off our back.”
The Charlottetown Islanders athletic therapist held the same role with Team Canada the past two years at the tournament, which for decades has been a Christmas tradition for families across the country to watch.
Canada lost 5-4 in a shootout to the Americans in Montreal in 2017. A year to the day later Canada defeated Sweden 3-1 in Buffalo, N.Y., to capture the gold that eluded them in 2017.
Tyler Steenbergen scored the gold medal-winning goal with 1:40 left to play.
“The whole bench, the whole rink, I assume, the whole country shook,” Elliott said.
The coaching staff of Dominique Ducharme, Tim Hunter and Trevor Letowski repeated a couple of key words in the final 100 seconds of the game: composure and calmness.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Elliott looked up to the crowd and was momentarily taken aback.
“Just a little overwhelmed, got a little teary eyed and then you go to the celebration – the big pile – that's awesome,” the Saint John, N.B., native said. “Probably one of the best things I’ve done is jump in that pile.”
RELATED: Click here for our story on Elliott before the tournament began.
This was Elliott’s fifth world junior championship, but never had he been there to hear O Canada play and see the country’s flag raised to the rafters in the final game of the tournament. He was part of teams that won three silvers and finished fourth.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said of the gold. “I got the gold medal with the (men’s) world championships, but the world juniors are special. At this time of the year, every player wants to be there, every coach wants to be there, every equipment manager and medical person want to be there.”
And while it checks off an item from his bucket list, Elliott wouldn't turn down the opportunity to go back if it arose again in the future.
“It was a phenomenal experience, just a phenomenal experience, and a phenomenal feeling that I hope to repeat someday soon,” he said. “And I hope I can let other therapists know, who are striving to get that position, what it feels like.”
The four-week experience also included an outdoor game at New Era Field, where the NFL’s Buffalo Bills play.
“It was just a heck of an experience,” Elliott said. “The game itself, I can’t wait to watch it on TV. . . 45,000 fans, screaming, singing our theme song,” which was DJ Otzi’s “Hey Baby!”
Elliott arrived back to Prince Edward Island just before 1 a.m. Sunday after his original flight from Toronto was delayed. The Islanders had planned to attend the airport to welcome him home, but after the flight was changed they could not make it with a game on Sunday.
Elliott’s wife, Carolyn MacGuigan Elliott, and Islanders equipment manager Andrew (Spider) MacNeill were there to welcome him home.
The tournament presents medals to the players and coaches, but doesn’t have enough for all the staff during the ceremony. It means Elliott and others will wait for their medals to be shipped to them in the coming days.
And while Elliott has been away for a month, he wasn't expecting to put his feet up and rest anytime soon.
“We got a game (Sunday),” he said.
Returning
A look at the players and staff that won gold at the 2018 world junior championship after finishing second the year before.
Players
Forwards
Dillon Dube
Taylor Raddysh
Michael McLeod
Defencemen
Jake Bean
Dane Fabbro
Kale Clague
Goalie
Carter Hart
Staff
Coaches Dominique Ducharme and Tim Hunter
Athletic therapists Kevin Elliott and Brian Cheeseman
Equipment manager Chris MacDonald
Sport performance manager Adam Douglas
