Kelly Guard hopes to repeat his success of the Hlinka Gretzky Cup at the World Juniors in Halifax and Moncton. (submitted photo/Erica Perreaux)

By Rob Mahon

Guard to WJC

On Guard for thee: Raiders goaltending coach to work with Team Canada at World Juniors

Dec 6, 2022 | 3:00 PM

Kelly Guard’s work with the Prince Albert Raiders as a goaltending coach hasn’t gone unnoticed by Hockey Canada. After working with them at the Capital City Challenge in Ottawa and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Red Deer, Alta., he’s bringing his expertise to the biggest stage in junior hockey.

Guard will be the goaltending consultant for Canada’s World Junior team this season. He’ll be working with the three goaltenders the team selects to go to the tournament in Halifax and Moncton.

“Tremendously honoured and excited to get out there,” Guard said. “As a goalie coach you try to work towards representing your country and getting a chance to medal at the World Junior Championship, which is a pinnacle of the program. Obviously, it’s on home soil, so it’s that much more special.”

Guard would know about the special feeling of claiming a gold medal on home soil. When he worked with the Hlinka Gretzky Cup team this past August, the team rampaged its way to a gold medal in front of a jubilant crowd of Canadian fans.

“We had a great group of players, a great group of coaches,” Guard said. “It was really professionally well done with a great host committee. Again, on home soil in Red Deer, we were treated really well, and we capped it off with a gold medal, which is what you go in there for.”

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Praising the efforts made by Hockey Canada to make he and his fellow coaches feel welcomed, Guard said he’s looking forward to working with them again for this major event. He’ll be working with a brand new slate of goalies as well, as none of the goalies on this team were with him at the Hlinka Gretzky.

“Leading up to it, all you’re really doing is watching videos and connecting with them a little bit,” Guard said. “Once we get there to meet face to face, to build that relationship and connect, build that trust. It goes a long way in a short-term event.”

Normally, Guard works with goaltenders who are working through the slog of a 68-game regular season in the WHL, to say nothing of exhibition and playoffs. The goalies he’s working with now he gets at most seven games to help prepare.

“You go in not trying to change a whole lot,” Guard said. “You prepare them, you do pre-scouts with them, you go over video, you analyze stuff, but at the end of the day they got there because of their skill.”

The World Junior Championships begin on Boxing Day, with Canada facing Czechia.