By Graham Perkins /

The 2009/10 hockey season has the potential to be the most memorable of our generation. With the Olympics in Vancouver and the World Juniors in Saskatchewan, passion for the game in the Great White North has reached a fever pitch.

Needless to say, it’s a busy time to be Hockey Canada President Bob Nicholson.

“It seems like the season started earlier than ever this year. There was so much high-performance hockey being played in August with the Under-22 women’s team and men’s Under-18 team camps along with the men’s, women’s and sledge Olympic orientation camps in Calgary,” Nicholson said. “The best thing is, a lot of good stories came out from stars on all the teams talking about who supported them. Those are great messages for the younger kids.”

Olympic preparation is high on the list of priorities for Hockey Canada, which needs to contend with the expectations of a nation hungry for gold after the men’s team crumbled at Turin in 2006, finishing seventh. The women’s and sledge teams are also under a lot of pressure to defend their gold medals on home soil.

“Steve Yzerman and the management group have a big job in front of them. There’s a lot of logistics, such as securing accommodation and tickets for the families of all three teams. People think they’re easy to get, but we’re still working on it.”

The Olympic teams aren’t the only ones facing pressure. In December, the best young prospects in the world will battle for the World Junior Championship in Saskatoon and Regina, with Canada hoping to defend its title for a stunning sixth year in a row. The tournament will head to Buffalo next year before returning to Canada again in 2012 when Calgary and Edmonton share hosting duties.

“It really shows the depth of our minor hockey system and the great work the coaches have done,” Nicholson said of the success enjoyed by the Junior team in recent years. “No country has ever won six in a row, so it would be a great way to launch into 2010.” And despite the amount of high-profile hockey that will be played this winter, much of Hockey Canada’s focus remains off the ice. The tragic death of Don Sanderson, an Ontario minor leaguer who hit his head on the ice during a fight during a January game, has left many people questioning the place of fighting in the game.

“The biggest thing we want to eliminate is bullying in the game, and we all agree on how to tackle that,” he said. “But fighting is something that certainly puts a black mark on the game. Our job is to make sure kids join the game and stay in it for a lifetime.”

And with Canada’s rapidly changing demographics, getting kids to lace up the skates isn’t as easy as it used to be. One of the main struggles Hockey Canada faces in the coming years is finding a way to integrate new Canadians into a game that isn’t part of their culture and carries such a hefty price tag.

“Every two-year-old doesn’t get a pair of skates under the Christmas tree any more,” Nicholson said. “It’s important for us to have drop-in programs available where kids can just get used to putting the skates and equipment on. We’re partnering with the NHLPA and local municipalities to get in schools and promote education, but it’s not something that’s just going to happen overnight.”