After the Gold Rush

MONTREAL – Brendan Gallagher will remember spring 2016 for a long, long time.

While an untimely ending to the 2015-16 season left a bitter taste in the mouths of many of the players in the Canadiens dressing room, the Habs fearless forward was given the chance to extend his season thanks to an invitation to represent Canada at the 2016 World Hockey Championship in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia.

“It was an incredible experience to be able to head overseas and surround myself with so many great players. I learnt so much just from watching the guys prepare themselves for games,” disclosed Gallagher, who tried to soak up everything he could learn from the likes of Taylor Hall, Corey Perry, Derick Brassard and Matt Duchene. “Our group really bonded well. We were always together throughout the tournament, either at the hotel or at a restaurant. We had a really great time. Since those first few days in Prague, we’ve really pulled together as a group the past three weeks.”

That extra time spent together paid off as the Gallagher and the united Canadian squad only suffered one defeat in the entire preliminary round – which came at the hands of the Fins – before going undefeated in the medal round to earn a place on the podium for the 26th time and their second consecutive World Hockey Championship gold medal.

“We knew heading into the finals that whichever team we drew as an opponent would be a tough test. But getting a chance to get our revenge against Finland was great. Our coaches adapted our game plan to address what went wrong in the previous loss,” noted Gallagher, who was excited for a shot at redemption after being held off the …

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