When you think of big, hard-working Canadian forwards who have worn the red Maple Leaf with distinction and face life with a smile, Jarome Iginla and Shane Doan immediately come to mind. You can add Curtis Lazar to that list. 

Now a 27-year-old member of the Vancouver Canucks, Lazar captained Canada to gold at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship held in Toronto and Montreal. The 2013 first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators (17th overall) scored five goals to tie teammates Sam Reinhart and Max Domi – both tournament all-stars – and the U.S.’s Dylan Larkin for the overall lead. It was sweet redemption for Lazar after suiting up for the Canadian team that came fourth in Malmo, Sweden the year before.

The 2015 team broke a Canadian gold medal drought dating back to 2009. This was a memorable roster for Lazar to lead, including the likes of future four-time NHL scoring champ Connor McDavid, two-time Stanley Cup playoff goal leader Brayden Point, and 2021 IIHF World Championship golden goal-scorer Nick Paul.

Outscoring opponents 39-9, coach Benoit Groulx’s squad never trailed in the tournament. Canada’s most memorable clashes were the 5-3 New Year’s Eve win over the U.S. in Montreal and the 5-4 gold medal victory over the Russians, who rallied from a 5-1 second-period deficit to make it exciting.

Thematically, even though it’s been eight years since Lazar suited up at the World Juniors, he’s got a few links to recent World Junior history.

Lazar played his junior hockey in Edmonton – the site of Canada’s last World Junior triumph in August – as an assistant captain with the WHL’s Oil Kings. In 2015, he wore the “C” for a World Junior team featuring the next great Canadian superstar named Connor, as Shane Wright will in Halifax (see Mr. Bedard).

Playing for the Canucks – his fifth NHL club – marks a homecoming for the native of Salmon Arm, British Columbia, and there’s fun pressure associated with that, similar to leading a Canadian World Junior team on home ice.

IIHF.com caught up with Lazar to take a trip down memory lane, 2015-style.

What was it like when you found out you were going to be the captain? 

It was pretty special. I came from Ottawa that year. It was my second year in the NHL, but I knew I had unfinished business. We’d finished fourth the year before, and now we were hosting. I sat down with [Senators GM] Bryan Murray. He talked about what it would do for my game and gave me the opportunity to go. And then that captaincy was kind of the icing on the cake.

It was definitely a pretty cool honour, something I’ll never forget. But our team was so good as leaders throughout that I really didn’t have to do much.

You were one of seven returning Canadian players that year. What were the biggest difference between the 2015 team and the 2014 team?

Ah, it’s a ways ago! I’m getting old now. [laughs] I think it was just the way that we took it upon ourselves to truly play for our country. There’s a lot of pressure involved in that tournament. Sometimes I think there’s a little too much. Especially being a Canadian, you know you’re expected to win each and every year. So there’s pros and cons to that. But I think for us, not medaling the year prior, the returning guys definitely led the way, knowing, “Okay, we have a chance to take care of business on home soil here.” And we did that.

You look back at our team, and Brayden Point was our thirteenth forward. He didn’t get a shift in most of our games. When you look at the type of player he is now, it’s pretty incredible.

Some people would say the 2015 team was the best Canadian team ever except for the 2005 edition with Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, and Ryan Getzlaf. What enabled you guys to steamroll most of your opponents?

We had that swagger. Obviously, we knew we had the skill, but I think our competitive nature matched it each and every game. We went in there, we started on time, we knew what we had to do, and we took care of business.

We didn’t really have much adversity throughout that tournament, but in saying that, we were never satisfied until the bitter end. In that final game, Russia had a lot of power plays in the second period. That was probably the most adversity we faced. But again, we just knew we had the guys to do the job. When you look at the roster and how it was assembled, there were some of the greats. Consider the careers that our players from that team have had in the NHL. It’s pretty remarkable.

Speaking of budding legends, let’s start with Connor McDavid. How much growth did you see in Connor’s game between 2014 and 2015?

I saw a lot! The first year, he was 16. It was my first time getting to know him as a person. He puts a lot of pressure on himself. And that first year, I think he wanted to be the guy when it really wasn’t his time yet.

I was fortunate enough in 2015 to be his roommate and his linemate. Just to see the way that he’s wired, it was pretty special. He took it upon himself to make sure that we were at the top of our game and he just wanted to show the type of player that he was. I think my job as his roommate was to say: “Enjoy the moment, because you know the pressure is going to build from here.” Try and get him to smile once in a while. He started to loosen up in that tournament and just took over. So it made playing with him pretty easy!

It sounds like you had a real appreciation for that opportunity.

Connor’s awesome. Even when he was 17 and I was 19 with half a season of NHL hockey under my belt, it was special seeing the way he prepares. He’s always preparing, looking towards that next event, whether it’s a practice or a game or whatever. He’s never content with what he is, and I think even now you see that.

Like this season, he’s already got more than 60 points, right? He just keeps on going. As a guy playing against him, it’s hard, because he’s setting the pace for everyone. It’s hard to keep up! So I saw that firsthand but also the other side of him, the lighter side. He likes joking around and playing soccer with the guys. And you know, at that point he was just a kid, too.

You alluded to Brayden Point earlier. He was named the next World Junior captain in 2016. What did you see in Brayden when he was 18?

Just the sacrifice. He didn’t complain at all [about his limited role in 2015]. I mean, it’s gotta be pretty hard going through a game when we’re walloping some teams pretty good and he still can’t get on the ice!

But then he gets in there and the puck just follows him, the points follow him. Look at his early career, too. He was an underage playing in Moose Jaw, gets called up for the [2012] playoffs [with seven goals and 10 points in 14 playoff games], and just takes off everywhere in the Western Hockey League. And it shows now on every level he plays that he’s effective.

So for him to have the ability to just hop in a lineup later in that 2015 tournament and still contribute to it was a massive boost for us.

What was the best pump-up speech you gave in the dressing room?

Oh, man! [laughs] It’s funny because as the captain, I think the hardest part for me was kind of having to play bad cop. Making sure that things didn’t get out of hand because we were too satisfied or too confident.

It was either the semi-final [5-1 over Slovakia] or the quarter-final [8-0 over Denmark], I had to come in and say: “Guys, we’ve got better [hockey we can play here.” Now, we’re pushing. We weren’t in danger of losing the game by any means, but it’s about those little habits, the details.

And as soon as I pipe up and say something, Darnell Nurse pipes up and says something, and then there’s just that snowball effect. That’s what was cool, seeing how much everyone cared. We didn’t overlook any game, any opponent. That’s what made it fun. So yeah, I kind of had to play bad cop once in a while.

Which of your five goals in 2015 stands out the most to you?

All of them are special. I mean, I take a lot of pride in representing my country. As a kid growing up, you watch the World Juniors at Christmas. It’s a way that the country comes together. I had wanted that opportunity from a young age and I was fortunate enough to get it twice.

I remember this one play, actually. Joe Hicketts turned up ice and hit me with a stretch pass and I got a breakaway goal [to make it 5-0 versus Denmark]. I turned around again and blew him a kiss. You’re just kind of having some fun like that, right? Because you come together. A group of great guys, having the families around, and during the holidays...it’s just special.

Who do you stay in touch with the most from the 2015 team?

That’s hard. No one in particular. It’s more that you carry those memories with you forever.

So any chance you see the guys...it’s mainly on the ice. Playing Winnipeg, you see Josh Morrissey there, you kind of go and tap him on the shin pads and say hi or whatever. Honestly, I’d need a roster to go back and see who was on the team because it was that long ago! But once you get together with those guys, the memories come back like they’re yesterday. We always have that in common. It’s cool.

Where do you keep your World Junior gold medal?

That’s a good question. I think it’s in a box with the rest of my memorabilia and stuff in my basement in Kelowna. I think my mom did have it. My parents kept it under pretty tight wraps. But I’m trying to put together a display case there and put it out there.

What advice would you give to the captain of the 2023 Canadian World Junior team?

Just be yourself. It’s quite an honour that you can be looked to as, you know, “you need to be the guy.” But in saying that, everyone on the team is there for a reason. Everybody has a role. Just lead by example.

You get a good feel for your team. That’s why they get together so early now, leading up to the tournament. You can kind of bond throughout World Juniors. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Stay true to yourself and enjoy it!