Where are they now? World Junior
Championships Edition

Garth McLennan
sports@theotherpress.ca

Garth

McLennan
sports editor

 

Peter Forsberg

Peter Forsberg, 35, may be best
known as “Peter the Great” for his
tremendous NHL play, but he first
earned the name for his record-
setting production in the World Junior
Championships for Sweden. Forsberg
suited up for the Tre Kronar twice in
the WJC’s, and the first time, in 1992,
he put up three goals, eight assists and
11 points in eight games. The next
year, however, he solidified himself
as one of the best young players of
his generation when, in seven games,
he scored seven times and added an
astonishing 24 assists to bring his
tournament totals to 31 points. His

42 all-time points at the WJC are the
highest ever.

Today, Forsberg is currently
an unrestricted free agent. After
signing late in the season with the
Colorado Avalanche and helping
them mount an unsuccessful playoff
bid, Forsberg suffered the latest of a
string of injuries that have plagued
him throughout his career and are the
reason why he isn’t included in talks
about the best player ever.

After the recent signing of Mats
Sundin, Forsberg has said that he
wants to return to the NHL once
again if he can solve his ongoing foot
problems.

 

 

 

Justin Pogge

The World Juniors has a tendency

to turn young Canadian goaltenders
into superstars and help launch their
careers, and for the Toronto Maple
Leafs’ 22-year-old 3" round, 90"
overall 2004 draft pick, Justin Pogge,
it was no different.

Pogge played lights-out hockey
for Team Canada at the 2006 World
Juniors. He set a tournament record
with three shutouts and posted a
sterling 1.00 GAA with a tournament
leading .952 saves percentage. In
the gold medal game against Russia,
Pogge sparkled in a 5-0 Canadian
win where he made 35 saves. For his
efforts, he was named the tournament’s
MVP, top goalie and to the all-star
team.

He would go on to win the CHL
goalie of the year award with his major
junior club that same year and suit
up for Canada once more in the 2006
Spengler Cup that summer, winning
silver.

Pogge has been playing with
Toronto’s AHL affiliate, the Toronto
Marlie’s since turning pro in 2006-
2007. On December 21, 2008, he
played his first ever NHL game,
posting a 6-2 win over the Atlanta
Thrashers and giving the Leafs some
hope in net.

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Reichel

The second all-time leading scorer

at the WJC, former Toronto Maple
Leaf, Robert Reichel, 37, was another
player to light it up at the World Junior
Championships. Playing for his native
Czechoslovakia in three separate
tournaments, Reichel racked up 40
points overall in the ‘88, ‘89 and ‘90
W/JC’s, including a phenomenal effort
of 21 points in the ‘90 contest alone.
At that event, Reichel was named the
tournament’s top forward and made the
all-star team.

After a relatively undistinguished
NHL career with average stints in
Calgary, New York, Phoenix and
Toronto, Reichel returned to the Czech
Republic to play in the Czech Elite
League with HC Litvinov, where he
has now been for five seasons and
serves as team captain. In 187 Czech
League games prior to the beginning of
this season, Reichel has put up totals
of 69 goals, 73 assists and 142 points
while remaining a solid plus player.

 

 

 

Viadimir Ruzicka

Tied for third overall in all-time WJC
scoring with 35 points total, former
Czech star, Vladimir Ruzicka, 45, is
also second in all time goals with 25,
set between 1981 and 1983. His 20
points in 1983 are good enough for the
fifth best mark of all time, while the
12 goals that he potted that year are
worthy of second place in the history
books, behind only Markus Naslund’s
13 set 10 years later in 1993.

Like a lot of players, Ruzicka’s
astounding success at the World Junior
level didn’t exactly translate over to
NHL stardom. He played five years in
the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers,
Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators
before departing from North America
for good to play in the European
leagues, primarily in the Czech
Republic. He was a part of the historic
Czech team that captured gold at the
1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, and
in 2000 retired from playing before
taking up coaching, where in 2002-

03 and 2007-08 his HC Slavia Praha
teams won the Czech Elite League
title.

 

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