...is hosted in Edmonton, Alberta this year. Behind closed doors with no spectators admitted. Unfortunately. Anyway, some good games so far. The game between Team USA and Russia was very good (5-3, Russia).
A good game coming up later today, Team USA vs Czechia. Looking forward to that one. Czechia managed to beat Russia, 2-0. The only surprise this far. Poor Germany has only half a team due to Corona.
Beforehand favorites are Canada, as always, and Russia this year. With Team USA, Sweden, Finland and Czechia as prime contenders. Anyone else watching?

For sure! This is the best time of the year. Go Canada Go!

(it's maybe not a coincidence I took three weeks off over the holidays to be able to watch the games live or on-demand as I please =))



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-12-29 15:56 by Topi.

I thought you were Finnish, Topi?

I am, but I root for Canada in international hockey. Yes, even when they play against Finland.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-12-29 16:36 by Topi.

Official web site:

[www.iihf.com]

I love ice hockey, but unfortunately I don't think we have any TV channels with these games. Norway is mostly hooked on other winter sports now.

Still, some interesting results so far, I bet there are some tough games. And I see the Canada and USA teams are scoring lots of goals!

Bjornulf

The World Juniors is always the most entertaining hockey. No lead is safe. A game can be 5-0 at one point and still end 5-6. The guys play with emotion, which sometimes boils over. Lots of speed, back and forth transitions, hitting, goaltender clinics etc.

No wonder it's a big deal over in Canada. And sure, why not here in Finland as well. When the tournament was held here in Helsinki five years ago, I think I went to eight games, including the Gold Medal game between Finland and Russia.

Always a big showcase for prospects too. Under normal circumstances with fans in the stands, you can spot pretty much half the NHL GM's watching - and sometimes run into them in the concourse.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-12-29 17:31 by Topi.

Over the years, TSN in Canada has really promoted the tournament so it is huge here. Always gets good ratings and in other years, most games are sold out.
As a Blackhawks fan, I was pissed off when Team Canada captain Kirby Dach suffered a fractured wrist and will now miss 5 months with the Hawks. On top of that, saw news today that Hawks captain Jonathan Toews has been ill for a while and won't be joining the team for training camp. Wonder if it's covid related?

Quote
bv
Official web site:

[www.iihf.com]

I love ice hockey, but unfortunately I don't think we have any TV channels with these games. Norway is mostly hooked on other winter sports now.

Still, some interesting results so far, I bet there are some tough games. And I see the Canada and USA teams are scoring lots of goals!

Streams for numerous leagues (including NHL when they're back)...


link: http://onhockey.tv/


...each game will have upto 3 dozen links, I recommend the Youtube links if you see one. But most of them are very good quality regardless.


Enjoy the tournament & thanks for all you do BV.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-12-29 23:51 by KevinM.

The WJC is a great way to see similar aged kids in a best on best tourney. Especially the NHL draft picks. Heavily favored Canada, (even without former NHL 3rd Overall '19 draft pick Kirby Dach - Chicago Blackhawks who is injured) should dominate. They're very good on paper. However paper doesn't win championships at any level of any sport. Team Canada has 20 or 21 former NHL 1st Round Draft picks, which is more than double of the next team.


HOF'er Igor Larionov (KLM line & 3x Stanley Cup champ/ The "Russian Gretzky" aka "The Professor" is head coach of Team Russia). While his former teammate & HOF'er/2x Stanley Cup champ, Slava Fetisov ("Papa Bear") still serves as Soviet Minister of Sport...he even carried the torch & lit it @Sochi Olympics.


Even though I'm American & live in the US (Florida), I'm rooting for the Russians & the Swedes. Both teams have connections to my favorite NHL team, Red Wings. To me sports & music transcend national borders, our minds & souls. Team Sweden has 5 Wings draft picks & would've had 6 (Wallinder) if not for injury. A.Grewe also received consideration, tried out, but was among the last cut.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-12-31 05:13 by KevinM.

live stream @5:30pm EST CANADA vs. SWITZERLAND



pre-game starts @5:30, game starts @6pm EST.



I'll post links for the Russia vs. Austria game when they come up later.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-12-30 00:10 by KevinM.

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DGA35
Over the years, TSN in Canada has really promoted the tournament so it is huge here. Always gets good ratings and in other years, most games are sold out.
As a Blackhawks fan, I was pissed off when Team Canada captain Kirby Dach suffered a fractured wrist and will now miss 5 months with the Hawks. On top of that, saw news today that Hawks captain Jonathan Toews has been ill for a while and won't be joining the team for training camp. Wonder if it's covid related?

Yeah, the wrist picture looked nasty. I wonder if players ever come back & be the players they were (before that specific injury). I mean, I'm sure he'll still have an NHL career, but I've been watching hockey for 45+ years & I think this is one of those types of injuries. Maybe he won't be dominant/projected to be the dominant 1C after this? Possibly a good 2C, or worse case scenario bottom 6'er/3C. Your thoughts?


Also Alex Nylander is out for a while.

Quote
KevinM

Quote
DGA35
Over the years, TSN in Canada has really promoted the tournament so it is huge here. Always gets good ratings and in other years, most games are sold out.
As a Blackhawks fan, I was pissed off when Team Canada captain Kirby Dach suffered a fractured wrist and will now miss 5 months with the Hawks. On top of that, saw news today that Hawks captain Jonathan Toews has been ill for a while and won't be joining the team for training camp. Wonder if it's covid related?

Yeah, the wrist picture looked nasty. I wonder if players ever come back & be the players they were (before that specific injury). I mean, I'm sure he'll still have an NHL career, but I've been watching hockey for 45+ years & I think this is one of those types of injuries. Maybe he won't be dominant/projected to be the dominant 1C after this? Possibly a good 2C, or worse case scenario bottom 6'er/3C. Your thoughts?


Also Alex Nylander is out for a while.

Bad luck comes in 3s! When I saw the play happen, it didn't look bad at all. I don't think there will be any long term effects from this injury, just one of those freak occurances. I'm more worried about Toews situation. If he goes onto long term injury reserve that could free up some cap space for the Hawks so maybe they can pick up a couple free agents or trade for a player from one of the teams that are over the cap right now, like the Lightning! Ironic that the last 10 years the Hawks have been in cap space hell, having to trade away good young players for next to nothing since their entry level contracts are coming due and are in line for a big raise.

Quote
DGA35

Quote
KevinM

Quote
DGA35
Over the years, TSN in Canada has really promoted the tournament so it is huge here. Always gets good ratings and in other years, most games are sold out.
As a Blackhawks fan, I was pissed off when Team Canada captain Kirby Dach suffered a fractured wrist and will now miss 5 months with the Hawks. On top of that, saw news today that Hawks captain Jonathan Toews has been ill for a while and won't be joining the team for training camp. Wonder if it's covid related?

Yeah, the wrist picture looked nasty. I wonder if players ever come back & be the players they were (before that specific injury). I mean, I'm sure he'll still have an NHL career, but I've been watching hockey for 45+ years & I think this is one of those types of injuries. Maybe he won't be dominant/projected to be the dominant 1C after this? Possibly a good 2C, or worse case scenario bottom 6'er/3C. Your thoughts?


Also Alex Nylander is out for a while.

Bad luck comes in 3s! When I saw the play happen, it didn't look bad at all. I don't think there will be any long term effects from this injury, just one of those freak occurances. I'm more worried about Toews situation. If he goes onto long term injury reserve that could free up some cap space for the Hawks so maybe they can pick up a couple free agents or trade for a player from one of the teams that are over the cap right now, like the Lightning! Ironic that the last 10 years the Hawks have been in cap space hell, having to trade away good young players for next to nothing since their entry level contracts are coming due and are in line for a big raise.

There aren't many worthwhile FA's to pick up leftover. Sami Vatanen on RD for $4m or less would be a good value. The Hawks didn't really have cap issues until after 2012 iirc. Big Buff being a major casualty, but he wasn't the Dman force that he's been in recent seasons back then either. Just a semi-skilled F/D combo with Hulk size, a versatile weapon. I always liked John Madden (but hate the Devils), glad he got another cup ring in CHI. Kim Johnsson too. Teuvo Teravainen was the young gun that was a loss, but he wasn't a L1 forward at the time either. Stan Bowman did well dancing around the cap & building a team (Scotty, his dad being a Sr. Team Advisor) probably had a lot to do with it...Bowman Sr.'s fingerprints are all over the '09-'16 Hawks. Other players were addition by subtraction (though nobody knew it at the time), like Bolland, Ladd, Huet etc. Versteeg was pretty good too.

Wow, some lopsided scores last night. Gotta hope CAN vs FIN is a closer game at least! SUI vs GER should be a fun matchup too.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2020-12-30 10:30 by Topi.

Quote
Topi
I am, but I root for Canada in international hockey. Yes, even when they play against Finland.

Topi,
shame on you...! HYI!

Go FINLAND Go!

Matti

The European & Russian teams are at a disadvantage this year, as they're playing in Canada. N.A. uses 200x85 ft. rinks, with rounded corners. In Euro leagues & KHL/VHL/MHL etc, they use 200x100 ft. rinks with corners not as rounded, a lot more skating & 2-way/Dzone coverage is required. Players have more time to carry the puck & make decisions with/without it. In N.A. they have much less time & space to do so.


That being said, Finland are the defending champs. Red Wings '19 draft pick Eemil Viro is playing LD for Finn & is among the best D in the tourney @ zone entries & zone exits (not my opinion, saw a graphic earlier which rated all Dmen in the tourney) as skating is his best asset. I think Sweden will surprise the US tomorrow. Canada OTOH, has played in a much easier Group & haven't faced a good team yet.


Russia vs. Sweden tonight @ 9:30 EST.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-12-30 22:59 by KevinM.

KevinM, actually, Canada is the defending champion. They beat Russia in the final last year in the Czech Republic.

Finland won two years ago in Vancouver, beating USA.

Quote
Topi
KevinM, actually, Canada is the defending champion. They beat Russia in the final last year in the Czech Republic.

Finland won two years ago in Vancouver, beating USA.

I mixed up the WC with the WJC...Marko Anttila was the captain.

Thanks for the correction. The last 5+ years have been fuzzy memories for me, for various reasons.

Marko Anttila - Team Finland


Hoping the Finns beat Canada for 1st place in Group A. Finns only allowed 4G, scored 15, perfect 3-0 record. Canada allowed 3G, scored 29, also 3-0.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-12-31 06:58 by KevinM.

Sweden lost this early morning (03:30 CET) to Russia. 4-3 in the fourth period. Only 17 seconds left before penalties. The game against Team USA tonight (03.30 CET) will decide Sweden's opponent in the quarterfinals.
No one wants to face Canada or Finland in the quarters. Another interesting game coming up is Canada vs Finland. That one will decide the winner in group A.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-12-31 15:16 by Stoneage.

Awesome game by Team Canada beating Finland 4-1, including outshooting them 17-1 in the first period! 4-0 in the round robin, now on to the playoffs.
Captain Dylan Cozens looked really good out there. He's going to look good playing for the Sabres! Buffalo sports teams are starting to look really good, both Sabres and Bills are exciting young up and coming teams.

FIN vs CAN was no contest.

FIN vs SWE should be a dandy on Saturday!

Poor efforts by both Sweden and Finland this morning/night. Which means they will face each other in the quarterfinal tomorrow. The other QF.s looks like this. With my odds added:

Russia - Germany (90/10)
Finland - Sweden (50/50)

Canada - Czechia (85/15)
USA - Slovakia (90/10)

Gamedays January 2 and 3. Switzerland and Austria will meet in an elimination game since they finished last in their groups. Some random notes so far. The biggest disappointment so far is Team Switzerland.
Seems lik a backlash of some sorts. They were closing in on the bigger teams but now they seem to be back on square one again. The same goes for Czechia who used to be a great team. Now they are closing
in on the lesser teams.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2021-01-01 22:15 by Stoneage.

I don't think the Czechs have had much World Jrs. success lately. Their last medal is from 2005 (bronze). They did win back-to-back gold medals in 2000 and 2001.

One problem Canada has always had is that often we'll go through the round robin undefeated so everyone has high expectations but then in the single knockout playoffs, we'll lose!
As KevinM mentioned above, playing in Edmonton is an advantage to the North American players who are used to playing on the standard 200x85 surface, although there are a number of European players who play junior over here. The reverse is true when the tournament is held in Europe or playing the World Championships or even the Spengler Cup.
There has been talk over the years to make current NHL size rinks larger since players are bigger than ever. One problem for owners would be losing a number of prime seats and also in some rinks the second or third tiers might not be able to see the full ice surface depending on the slope of the tiers

Quote
DGA35
One problem Canada has always had is that often we'll go through the round robin undefeated so everyone has high expectations but then in the single knockout playoffs, we'll lose!
As KevinM mentioned above, playing in Edmonton is an advantage to the North American players who are used to playing on the standard 200x85 surface, although there are a number of European players who play junior over here. The reverse is true when the tournament is held in Europe or playing the World Championships or even the Spengler Cup.
There has been talk over the years to make current NHL size rinks larger since players are bigger than ever. One problem for owners would be losing a number of prime seats and also in some rinks the second or third tiers might not be able to see the full ice surface depending on the slope of the tiers

I'm in favor of a hybrid 200x85 ft. but with the (more) rounded corners a la NHL rinks. That would keep the flow of the game going (hard-arounds on the dump-ins), & more space for the bigger & faster players. Not to mention systems deployed by NHL coaches could get even more creative (east-west especially). The angles would be a bit different, but it would also be fair for all as far as adjustment to it, since the LxW is Euro, but the corners are N.A. I'm glad the NHL addressed the off-sides rule this year (skate/blue-line).

As far as CAN (or any other hockey superpower: USA/Russia/sometimes SWE/FIN/CZECH), I'm sure most would prefer the stacked roster vs. the "warm up field of teams", to gear up & flip the proverbial "switch" in the elimination/medal rounds. It's still better than the alternative, but I understand your point too. A more balanced grouping would address that issue for CAN & other future superpower teams.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-01-06 01:26 by KevinM.

LA Kings fan here. Kings have 9 prospects in the tournament scattered on all teams except Russia and Germany. Have enjoyed watching the games so far (particularly here in LA County, where COVID is worse than ever).

Looking forward to watching Byfield (Team Canada), Turcotte and Kaliyev (USA), Bjornfot (Sweden) and the others at Staples Center for years to come.

4 games tomorrow...expect USA vs Canada in the finals but that’s why they play the games.

Congrats to Finland. Sweden stopped playing after the first period (2-0). Idiot tactics by the coaches. 3-2 to Finland. A well deserved win. Russian nerves? They almost lost to Germany earlier today. They managed to win with 2-1 in the end. Much talk about Swedish stars and number one NHL drafts before the tournament. In the end half of the team was completely anonymous. And those who played well weren't the ones supposed to do so. I must mention Elmer Söderblom though. 2 meter tall and and a very good hockey player.

That's World Jrs. for you right there!

Got my score bet right for the Finland game.

Quote
Stoneage
Congrats to Finland. Sweden stopped playing after the first period (2-0). Idiot tactics by the coaches. 3-2 to Finland. A well deserved win. Russian nerves? They almost lost to Germany earlier today. They managed to win with 2-1 in the end. Much talk about Swedish stars and number one NHL drafts before the tournament. In the end half of the team was completely anonymous. And those who played well weren't the ones supposed to do so. I must mention Elmer Söderblom though. 2 meter tall and and a very good hockey player.

You nailed it regarding Sweden's coaching. They should've separated Holtz (best sniper) from Raymond (best overall player & F). Raymond deferred to Holtz too much, it was very predictable etc. They were also without their 1C Karl Henriksson, among others. Also played 3 games in 4 days. But they seemed to be passive & inconsistent with effort in the 2nd & 3rd periods. However, Finland has played with such urgency in recent years, they deserved the win, especially after the disallowed/offside goal.

Soderblom with 2 highlight reel goals (between the legs) in this tourney. So glad he, Raymond, Niederbach, Johansson & Berglund were drafted by my team. I think at minimum 3 of them have NHL careers, probably 4...very long shot for Berglund though.