By Sarah E. Brown
Ottawa 67’s forward Mark Bell can’t think of anything he wants more than to give his family a trip to Sweden for Christmas.
Bell, 19, is one of 32 players invited to the national junior hockey team tryout camp in Kitchener Dec. 12-17. The world junior championships are in Skelleftea, Sweden, Dec. 25 to Jan. 4.
“I definitely want my family to be there,” says Bell. “They’ve been there supporting me since day one.”
He says the first time he played hockey, at age four, he was scared to go on the ice and remembers running away down the side of the rink. “My mom was like, ‘No, get back out there,’” laughs Bell.
Growing up on his parent’s farm outside St. Paul’s Ont., — pop. 80 — Bell is a famous native son. “This is a big deal where I come from,” he says.
Of the 32 players invited to the camp, 22 will go to Sweden. Brian Kilrea, 67’s head coach, thinks his star left-winger has an excellent chance of making the final cut.
“I think it’s tremendous for Mark,” says Kilrea. “We’ve always had someone representing the Ottawa 67’s on the junior national team and he’s following that tradition.”
Bell, who was selected eighth overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1998 NHL draft, says he’s played against most of the other 31 camp invitees and thinks he’s “up there” in ability level. “I’m confident if I do what I can do best, hopefully, I can be in Sweden.”
Hull Olympiques’ coach Claude Julien is coaching the junior national team. He’s watched Bell, in his fourth year with the 67’s, play since he was 16.
“I really like the way he’s taken charge this year,” says Julien. “He’s really matured and taken his leadership role seriously.
“He’s a good skater, he’s got good size, and he’s a goal scorer,” says Julien of the 6-3, 205 pound Bell. “And he’s been doing a little bit of everything in Ottawa. Brian’s put him on the power play, he’s been killing penalties.”
It’s Bell’s versatility — he can play both wing and centre – that may help him land a national team spot.
“We’re looking for players to play specific roles,” says Julien. “We don’t necessarily take the best 22 players.”
Bell was a possible selection for the junior national team last year, but tore a right knee ligament against North Bay Nov. 1, 1998. He was out of the lineup for more than two months.
Bell wasn’t invited to the August training camp for this year’s team. Invitation to the summer camp is based on players’ performance in the latter half of the 1998-99 season, says Julien. Coming off the serious knee injury affected Bell’s late-season play, including the playoffs, he says.
“I think Mark would be the first one to say he had a very average Memorial Cup,” says Julien.
But this season is a different story.
When the tryout camp invitees were announced Dec. 1, national team scout Barry Trapp said based on the first two months of this season, Bell “may be the best junior hockey player in Canada.”
“He’s at the December camp because he’s deserving of it,” says Julien.
With 21 goals and 21 assists in the first 25 games, Bell is ranked among the top Ontario Hockey League scorers.
Bell scored three goals and had four assists in two games to earn player of the week laurels for the first week of November. The OHL named Bell the October player of the month for scoring 17 goals and 13 assists in 17 games.