The Province
December 2, 1999

Time is running out on Bryan Allen's hopes of playing for Canada again at the world junior hockey championship.

The towering Vancouver Canucks defenceman had surgery on both a knee and shoulder in October, and as of Wednesday had yet to set foot on the ice since surgery.

Canadian Hockey will wait until Dec. 11, the day before training camp starts in Kitchener, Ont., before they close the door on Allen, 19.

"If I had to play today, I can tell you I couldn't,'' Allen said before having his shoulder examined again later in the day.

Allen says his knee feels 100-per-cent, but he hasn't regained full range of motion in his shoulder.

"With my knee I feel I could (play). I have no clue with the shoulder,'' he said. "Time is the only thing that tells. If I didn't have my shoulder injury, I would be practising right now.''

The 6-foot-5 blue-liner was a member of Canada's silver-medal team in Winnipeg last January and scored the goal that sent the final into overtime against the gold-medallist Russians.

Canada is currently without a returning defenceman on its selection camp roster released Wednesday, so the addition of a healthy Allen would be a boon.

But even if Allen was given the go-ahead, asking him to play himself into game shape at Team Canada's camp might be unrealistic.

"Right away, you're into the physical grind with scrimmages the first day,'' said Allen. "It's going to be hard to say if I'm going to be ready for that the first day and whether or not they're going to want to wait.''

Allen suffered a partial dislocation of his shoulder in an exhibition game with Vancouver last year and then suffered cartilage damage during the world junior tournament.

He played through his injuries last season with the Oshawa Generals, but after a couple of exhibition games with Vancouver this year, it was decided he needed surgery.

Allen says he wants to play for Canada again. A video clip of his goal in the world junior final is often played at GM Place during Canucks games.

"It was pretty neat when I saw it the first time,'' he said.

Allen missed the Canadian juniors summer evaluation camp because he broke his foot going down some stairs at his home in Kingston, Ont.

"I don't know if I feel cursed,'' said Allen. "You talk to different people and it's just the type of body I have that it's not fully developed.

"It's going to take time for me to grow into my body. Being six-foot-five it takes me a little longer than other people.

"And the game I play, I'm more susceptible to getting those types of injuries.''



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