Nolan Foote of the Kelowna Rockets stands on the bench with head coach and father Adam Foote.
photo: Marissa Baecker / Getty Images
It was a doubleheader night of sorts for Nolan Foote when Canada won its last gold medal at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo.
Foote, expected to star for Canada at the 2020 World Juniors, was in uniform for the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League against the Seattle Thunderbirds but still managed to watch his older brother Cal strike gold on TV.
“The timing worked out that I could watch the game at my house,” Nolan said. “It was great, I was able have some teammates over and we watched the game together.
“I definitely wanted to wear the maple leaf and follow in the footsteps of my brother and father,” he said.
Cal remembers best the go-ahead goal by Tyler Steenbergen with only a minute and 40 seconds left in regulation time that gave Canada a 2-1 lead in a game they would eventually win 3-1.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever been that excited,” he said.
Earlier in the tournament he dove to knock the puck off the goal line in a 6-0 win over Slovakia.
Even before that the Foote household had been celebrating. Adam Foote, the boys’ famous father, had just returned from Davos, Switzerland where he served as Canada’s director of player development as the Canadians won the Spengler Cup tournament, shutting out HC Davos 3-0.
During his illustrious career Adam won an Olympic gold medal with Canada in 2002, a World Cup of Hockey title in 2004 and a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001.
As an outstanding defenceman with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League, he was one of the last cuts Canada made prior to the 1991 World Junior Championship in Saskatoon.
Adam and this year’s Team Canada head coach Dale Hunter were teammates for one season in Colorado.
“My father told me about playing with Dale and what Dale wants – a lot of hard work,” Nolan said.
Foote, expected to star for Canada at the 2020 World Juniors, was in uniform for the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League against the Seattle Thunderbirds but still managed to watch his older brother Cal strike gold on TV.
“The timing worked out that I could watch the game at my house,” Nolan said. “It was great, I was able have some teammates over and we watched the game together.
“I definitely wanted to wear the maple leaf and follow in the footsteps of my brother and father,” he said.
Cal remembers best the go-ahead goal by Tyler Steenbergen with only a minute and 40 seconds left in regulation time that gave Canada a 2-1 lead in a game they would eventually win 3-1.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever been that excited,” he said.
Earlier in the tournament he dove to knock the puck off the goal line in a 6-0 win over Slovakia.
Even before that the Foote household had been celebrating. Adam Foote, the boys’ famous father, had just returned from Davos, Switzerland where he served as Canada’s director of player development as the Canadians won the Spengler Cup tournament, shutting out HC Davos 3-0.
During his illustrious career Adam won an Olympic gold medal with Canada in 2002, a World Cup of Hockey title in 2004 and a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001.
As an outstanding defenceman with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League, he was one of the last cuts Canada made prior to the 1991 World Junior Championship in Saskatoon.
Adam and this year’s Team Canada head coach Dale Hunter were teammates for one season in Colorado.
“My father told me about playing with Dale and what Dale wants – a lot of hard work,” Nolan said.
Apparently Hunter saw enough slick moves from Nolan in Canada’s 4-3 exhibition win over the Canadian university all-stars that he rested him in the second game, a clear indication he had made the team before making the final 23-man roster Hockey Canada announced on Saturday.
The college team won the second game 2-1 on the European-size ice surface of the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville, Ontario.
Adam now is in his second year as head coach in Kelowna, where Nolan succeeded Cal as team captain.
Both boys were born in Denver while Adam was playing for the Avalanche and played their youth hockey in the Colorado Thunderbirds organization. They could have played internationally for the United States.
“I was fortunate to have the option and a big part of the decision was following my family footprints and my dad’s success with Canada,” Nolan said. “There’s such great history, and history of success with Hockey Canada that it’s something I wanted to be part of it.”
Nolan, who like Cal was a first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, said growing up in a hockey family helped him immensely.
“We were always going hard against each other and battling hard in mini-sticks or on the ice and I was fortunate to play a little bit of lacrosse with him as well,” Nolan said.
Brad McEwen, head scout for Team Canada, said the Foote brothers are very similar in their personalities.
“They’re very quiet, they just go about doing their business,” he said. “They approach the game the same and they understand it really well.”
While the Footes are very familiar with the colour gold, Hunter never represented Canada as a player at a major IIHF competition. Canada did not start sending a truly national team to the World Juniors until 1982, well after his junior playing days were over.
And during his NHL career, he was often occupied with the Stanley Cup playoffs while playing for the Quebec Nordiques, Washington Capitals and the Avalanche, therefore never played in a World Championship.
Nevertheless, as a coach he has guided the London Knights to two Memorial Cup championships and been named the Ontario Hockey League’s Coach of the Year three times. In the summer of 2013 he also coached Canada’s Under-18 team to victory at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.
His older brother Dave earned a silver medal playing for Canada at the first official World Junior Championship in Czechoslovakia in the season of 1976-77 in Banska Bystrica only 85 miles southeast of where this year’s event is being held.
Dale was just 16 and playing Junior B in Strathroy, Ontario, when his parents went over to Czechoslovakia to see Dave play.
“I remember mom and dad went over and left us all at home for Christmas!” he said. “It was a great opportunity for them to get away from the farm.”
The Hunters had a farm near Oil Springs, Ontario, a village of 700 people and the site of North America’s first commercial oil well. The boys developed a great work ethic doing daily chores. Dale’s other brother Mark is serving as general manager of Team Canada.
Since their unimpressive outings against the university all-stars, the Canadians have strengthened their team with the addition of forwards Barrett Hayton and Joe Veleno, who played in the 2019 World Juniors. Hayton was released for the tournament by the Arizona Coyotes and Veleno by the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, a farm club of the Detroit Red Wings.
It should also be noted that two other returnees from the Vancouver tournament – Alexis Lafreniere and Ty Smith – did not play in either game because they were nursing injuries.
Lafreniere is the projected overall top pick for the 2020 NHL draft.
The college team won the second game 2-1 on the European-size ice surface of the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville, Ontario.
Adam now is in his second year as head coach in Kelowna, where Nolan succeeded Cal as team captain.
Both boys were born in Denver while Adam was playing for the Avalanche and played their youth hockey in the Colorado Thunderbirds organization. They could have played internationally for the United States.
“I was fortunate to have the option and a big part of the decision was following my family footprints and my dad’s success with Canada,” Nolan said. “There’s such great history, and history of success with Hockey Canada that it’s something I wanted to be part of it.”
Nolan, who like Cal was a first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, said growing up in a hockey family helped him immensely.
“We were always going hard against each other and battling hard in mini-sticks or on the ice and I was fortunate to play a little bit of lacrosse with him as well,” Nolan said.
Brad McEwen, head scout for Team Canada, said the Foote brothers are very similar in their personalities.
“They’re very quiet, they just go about doing their business,” he said. “They approach the game the same and they understand it really well.”
While the Footes are very familiar with the colour gold, Hunter never represented Canada as a player at a major IIHF competition. Canada did not start sending a truly national team to the World Juniors until 1982, well after his junior playing days were over.
And during his NHL career, he was often occupied with the Stanley Cup playoffs while playing for the Quebec Nordiques, Washington Capitals and the Avalanche, therefore never played in a World Championship.
Nevertheless, as a coach he has guided the London Knights to two Memorial Cup championships and been named the Ontario Hockey League’s Coach of the Year three times. In the summer of 2013 he also coached Canada’s Under-18 team to victory at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.
His older brother Dave earned a silver medal playing for Canada at the first official World Junior Championship in Czechoslovakia in the season of 1976-77 in Banska Bystrica only 85 miles southeast of where this year’s event is being held.
Dale was just 16 and playing Junior B in Strathroy, Ontario, when his parents went over to Czechoslovakia to see Dave play.
“I remember mom and dad went over and left us all at home for Christmas!” he said. “It was a great opportunity for them to get away from the farm.”
The Hunters had a farm near Oil Springs, Ontario, a village of 700 people and the site of North America’s first commercial oil well. The boys developed a great work ethic doing daily chores. Dale’s other brother Mark is serving as general manager of Team Canada.
Since their unimpressive outings against the university all-stars, the Canadians have strengthened their team with the addition of forwards Barrett Hayton and Joe Veleno, who played in the 2019 World Juniors. Hayton was released for the tournament by the Arizona Coyotes and Veleno by the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, a farm club of the Detroit Red Wings.
It should also be noted that two other returnees from the Vancouver tournament – Alexis Lafreniere and Ty Smith – did not play in either game because they were nursing injuries.
Lafreniere is the projected overall top pick for the 2020 NHL draft.