HELSINKI – Coach Brent Sutter had incredible success with Canada’s U20 program, but can he translate that to success at the senior level in a way that betters his results with the Calgary Flames? This Team Canada is the perfect opportunity for him in that it is an international event and many of the players are young – and good, very good, in fact.

Canada doesn’t like to go five years without winning gold, but there is even more at stake this year. Canada has won medals at the U18, U20, and both women’s events this season, so a top-three placing in Helsinki will mean five medals in five events, a rare accomplishment. This team is as young as skilled as any of recent years, but it doesn’t have that obvious choice of team leader and captain as it has with players such as Rick Nash or Ryan Smyth (apologies to Jay Bouwmeester, Corey Perry, or Ryan Getzlaf, any of whom might well wear the “C”).

Goal

Cam Ward is the de facto number-one goalie based on his NHL reputation with Carolina and his previous success with Canada. He’ll be backed up by Devan Dudnyk, who had the same role last year behind James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier. Ward has all it takes to take the team to gold, having been in goal in 2007 for Canada’s most recent victory.

Defence

The defence has a little bit of everything. In Bouwmeester the team has a player whose Team Canada career goes back to his debut at the U20 as a 16-year-old in 2000. In Luke Schenn and Dion Phaneuf it has a pair of teammates from Toronto who play a tough game inside their own blue line. With the loss of P.K. Subban to a knee injury, Canada has summoned junior star Ryan Murray, who will likely see limited time as an 18-year-old with no experience at the senior level. In Duncan Keith, a star who won Olympic gold and the Stanley Cup in 2010.

Forward

Fans will not want to miss this exciting group of forwards that represents a who’s who of recent top draft choices. John Tavares had an incredible season with the lowly New York Islanders and became a top-ten scorer, while 18-year-old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the first overall draft choice by Edmonton last year, is a finalist for the Calder Trophy. Jeff Skinner is still only 19 and starting his second World Championship, while Jordan Eberle, a hero for Canada in U20 play and another bright star in the NHL, is also here. These are all fast and skilled players capable of scoring.

Add to the mix two veteran players with tons of success for Canada in Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, both of whom are creative and create scoring chances. Ryan O’Reilly is another young star who has been getting better and better during the early years of what could be a long career, and the returning Winnipeg Jets have contributed a young guy and an oldster in Evander Kane and Jets captain Andrew Ladd.

Prediction

Always in the thick of it, there’s no reason to think Canada can’t win a medal. Given Sutter’s expertise behind the bench and the enormous amount of skill on the team, the only way Canada could do poorly is a lack of execution. The other top teams have fine rosters as well, but Canada’s has all the makings of a true success story in Helsinki.

ANDREW PODNIEKS