OTTAWA, Ontario -- It is not every day that your reigning Vezina Trophy winner goes to camp knowing he's not the No. 1 goalie on the team.
But Braden Holtby knew the moment Carey Price pronounced himself fit for the World Cup of Hockey that Holtby's terrific 2015-16 campaign for the Washington Capitals would take a back seat to the former Vezina and Hart Trophy winner of two years ago.
Unfair? Not to Holtby.
"I don't think it's unfair when you look at the guy beside me," Holtby said this week, nodding in Price's direction.
Price helped Canada win gold at the Winter Games in Sochi in February 2014, so in Holtby's mind, it's just further reason that he views it as Price's net.
"Anyone that's looking at it from a sane perspective would, I mean, he's won everything internationally," Holtby said. "He's just won the gold medal at the last Olympics, world juniors, everything. I mean, I've never played in an international game.
"I don't know, I think that's just the respect that Carey has around the league from fellow goaltenders and everyone around. He's the guy you push yourself to become."
It is unreal the reverence in which players from other NHL teams speak with when it comes to Price. It was before the 2013-14 season that Sidney Crosby was asked by ESPN.com whom he thought was the best goalie in the league, and he answered Price -- which was surprising given that the Montreal Canadiens star hadn't yet brought his game to the all-world level we would see that season and the next. It's almost like Crosby knew it was coming.
"He's the best player in the National Hockey League," Team Canada head coach Mike Babcock told me in May 2015, during the playoffs. "Like to me, who has more an impact in the National Hockey League than Carey Price?"
Then came last season, the year from hell, with Price playing only 12 games before an injury -- a sprained MCL in his right knee -- ended things for him.
Nine months since his last start, Price finally gets back into a game Friday night when Team Canada faces Team USA in a World Cup tuneup in Columbus (7 p.m. ET, ESPNU). Don't think every member of the Habs organization won't be watching every minute.
The smile on Price's face after every practice this week speaks volumes more than his low-key answers to media scrum questions.
"I've been skating a lot," Price said. "I don't have any question marks about my health or my body. I've tested absolutely everything to the limit, I did everything correctly. So I have absolutely no worries about anything."
The challenge now for Price is to somehow get himself to his very top form in time for the Sept. 17 opener against the Czechs. Judging from how his Team Canada teammates reacted over the past few days when asked how Price looked in practice, I think we've got our answer.
"Well, if you watch him in practice, I don't think he's missed a beat," said St. Louis Blues defenseman and Team Canada teammate Alex Pietrangelo on Thursday. "I can't score on him in games, and I can't score on him in practice. I think most guys are thinking the same thing. For a guy who hasn't played in nine months or whatever it is, it's pretty impressive to watch him out there."
Even to the trained eye of a fellow world-class goalie, Price has looked sharp as can be this week.
"I think a guy with that much natural talent ... he's just so smooth," said Holtby. "It's effortless for him, it seems. It's like he sees the game in slow motion. He'll be just fine. Obviously it will be a test for him to get into a game now. Games are always different no matter how you practice. But I think he'll have no problem."
Team Canada's brain trust is hoping this is indeed the case. Whatever concerns there are about the impact of Duncan Keith's absence on the left side of that defense, the coaches and management staff believe if Price is indeed back to being Price, the two-time defending Olympic champions have a presence that will make the difference.
And just Price's mere presence has had an impact on this team.
"That's what Pricey brings every day. He's very calm in the net, he has a calming effect on the whole game," said Team Canada center Ryan Getzlaf. "He makes every save look pretty effortless. So it really calms your group down when things get a little helter-skelter on the ice, which makes him one of the best goalies in the world."