BIDDEFORD — Most folks would find a 10-day summer stay in the Adirondack Mountains to be most restful.
Such was not the case for former Biddeford High defenseman Brian Dumoulin.
His week and a half in Lake Placid, N.Y. was anything but.
Challenging? Yes.
Tedious? At times.
But restful? Not really.
When one is among a handful of the top U-20 hockey players in the country, and asked to try out for the upcoming World Junior Championship, “r ”˜n’ r” is not one of the selling points.
But a chance to compete in one of the most prestigious hockey tournaments is, and the Boston College sophomore-to-be made great use of his chance.
“It went pretty good,” said Dumoulin, upon his return to Biddeford. “It was very long, and very tiring. But it was great fun, and great to play against that high level of competition in the summer.”
Dumoulin was among the initial group of 42 candidates for the U.S. squad, which will defend its WJC title in Buffalo, N.Y., just after Christmas.
He and the others were put through a seemingly endless series of drills, with a handful of intra-squad scrimmages, and exhibitions against Sweden and Finland, tossed in for good measure.
“They try to make it just like the tournament,” Dumoulin said. “You’re away from your family. They take away our cell phones, just so you can be mentally prepared. They want you to keep in the right state of mind.”
Dumoulin must have made the right impression on the coaching staff, led by Yale’s Keith Allain (whom Dumoulin and his Boston College mates ousted from the NCAA tournament in March).
When cutdown day came, and the original group was pared down to 28 players, Dumoulin was among the survivors.
“You never know what they’re going to look for,” he said. “Everyone there is good. There’s no separation in the level of talent. It was just a matter of what they were looking for, and what they think you could bring to the team. Luckily, the USA won last year, and now they know what to look for.”
Dumoulin has one more hurdle to scale before he can start thinking about shuffling to Buffalo.
Five more skaters ”“ and likely at least two more defensemen ”“ must be cut in early December before the final WJC roster is submitted.
“We want the best players to represent the United States,” Dumoulin said. “If I’m not one of them, what can you do.”
Meanwhile, Dumoulin will continue his off-season training program ”“ which includes some casual pick up games at MHG Ice Centre ”“ before heading back to Boston College to defend its NCAA championship.
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less