It was a long month away from home for Cal Foote.
One that comes with absolutely no regrets for the 19-year-old 麻豆精选 Rockets鈥� defenceman.
Foote and his Canadian teammates, including Rockets鈥� teammate Dillon Dube, celebrated a gold medal victory on Friday night at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo.
Team Canada defeated Sweden 3-1 in the final game, giving this country its first world junior title since 2015.
On Sunday back home in 麻豆精选, Foote was still basking in the glow of his first international gold medal.
鈥淚t sure hasn鈥檛 worn off, the feeling of winning is amazing,鈥� said Foote. 鈥淭o win it with a great group of players like we did, with all the staff members, it鈥檚 something I鈥檓 sure I鈥檒l never forget.
鈥淚t was a long haul but it couldn鈥檛 have ended any better. I鈥檓 thankful for the experience.鈥�
While Foote arrived back in 麻豆精选 late Saturday, Dube, Canada鈥檚 team captain, flew directly to Calgary to spend a few days with his family in Cochrane, AB.
Both players will be in the lineup Wednesday at Prospera Place when the Rockets host the Spokane Chiefs.
With dual Canadian-U.S. citizenship, Foote, an Englewood, CO, native had the option of playing with either country at the world juniors.
The Rockets鈥� captain said based on his family鈥檚 history, choosing Canada was an easy decision. For starters, his dad, Adam Foote won a gold medal with Canada at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.
鈥淚 grew up in a Canadian home, my parents are Canadian-born, so it鈥檚 in my blood,鈥� said Foote. 鈥淚 grew up as a fan cheering for Team Canada, I always stuck to the TV, so it wasn鈥檛 really a hard decision at all.鈥�
While Foote was aware of the importance of the world junior tournament growing up, pulling on his country鈥檚 jersey as a player gave him an added perspective of the gravity of the event for so many Canadians.
鈥淚t鈥檚 huge for Canadians,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e had tons of support, you could feel it through the whole tournament. They were all like home games for us, even the outdoor game. People were watching all across the country. We really appreciated the support.鈥�
Foote registered three assists in the tournament, but perhaps his defining moment was a diving save in the crease against Finland to prevent a goal. Canada went on to win the game 4-2.
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Foote and Dube will be honoured by the Rockets prior to Wednesday night鈥檚 game against Spokane.
