Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Day One Of The World Junior Championship

12/26/2022 at 10:19am EST

from Adam Kimelman of the NHL website,

Monday is the first day of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, which is being held at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Latvia vs. United States (4 p.m. ET) -- Latvia has 15 players back from its surprising trip to the quarterfinals in August, including forward Sandis Vilmanis (Florida Panthers), who has 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 29 games with Sarnia of the OHL. The United States will be looking to improve from its disappointing 4-2 loss to Czechia in the quarterfinals. The defense, led by Luke Hughes (New Jersey Devils), is skilled and mobile, and the top line of Cutter Gauthier (Philadelphia Flyers), Logan Cooley (Arizona Coyotes) and Jimmy Snuggerud (St. Louis Blues) could be one of the most dynamic in the tournament. Also keep an eye on forward Charlie Stramel, a top 2023 draft prospect who likely will start in a bottom-six role but could work his way up the lineup.

Czechia vs. Canada (6:30 p.m. ET) -- Czechia came up just short of winning its first WJC medal in August when it lost 3-1 to Sweden in the bronze medal game.

more information on the other games today...

Paul

from Chris Peters of Flo Hockey,

In order to help NHL fans get better prepared to watch the tournament, I put together this little NHL fans guide to the World Junior Championship, which will air on NHL Network in the U.S. and TSN in Canada. Find out which of your favorite teams prospects will be playing in the tournament and a little bit extra on what their role might be with their respective national teams.

If you ever wanted a glimpse of the NHL stars of tomorrow, it really doesn't get better than the World Juniors.

more

Paul

With just over 5 minutes left in period two, CZE leads CAN 5-2.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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