Much like being a teenager, an irresistible feeling of uncertainty surrounds the kick-off of the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship in Vancouver and Victoria.
“Will I pass my final exams? Will I get a summer job? Or...will I tie the game up with five seconds left and become a World Junior legend?”
Anything is possible. Everyone’s a little nervous, but super-excited. And that’s as it should be.
In the 2010s, no nation has won back-to-back titles. Canada’s five-peat team in Ottawa 2009 featured tournament all-stars P.K. Subban, John Tavares, and Cody Hodgson. (Yes, it’s really been that long.)
There’s no room for pompous declarations about the inevitability of any team’s victory or failure. That’ll make this year’s tournament as much fun as any since the inaugural 1977 edition.
Canada, the host nation and defending champion, boasts the most depth among the contenders. Coach Tim Hunter’s top line could dominate with the bull-like intensity of Maxime Comtois (the lone 2018 returnee), the great vision of Cody Glass, and the sniper ability of Owen Tippett – the son of two-time Olympian and long-time NHL coach Dave Tippett.
It will be intriguing to track how QMJHL superstar Alexis Lafreniere’s output stacks up against previous 17-year-old Canadian World Junior performers like Eric Lindros (1991, 17 points), Connor McDavid (2015, 11 points), and Sidney Crosby (2005, 9 points). Much will depend on how the mobile defence – featuring three first-round NHL picks – protects goalies Michael DiPietro and Ian Scott. Netminding has been an Achilles heel each time the Canadians have missed out on gold recently.
The cross-border rival Americans plan to spoil Canada’s home-ice party, as in the Saskatoon 2010 and Montreal 2017 finals. Five players return from last year’s bronze brigade in Buffalo, including offensive defenceman Quinn Hughes, the 2018 first-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks, who will be scrutinized by British Columbia fans.
Jack Hughes, his younger brother, dazzled with 12 points as the MVP of the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship in Russia. If the nifty 17-year-old playmaker from the USA Hockey National Team Development Program is in top form again, it turbocharges America’s hopes of triumphing and his own chances of getting drafted first overall in June. Other NTDP debutants who could shine include gritty forward (and future Gritty favorite) Joel Farabee, one-timer specialist Oliver Wahlstrom, and powerful defenceman K’Andre Miller.
Finnish hockey is setting a high standard right now with Mikko Rantanen leading the NHL in points, Patrik Laine evolving into the heir to Alexander Ovechkin’s goal-scoring throne, and Pekka Rinne vying for his second straight Vezina Trophy. Can the U20 Finns get after it just as hard? Their 5-2 exhibition win over Canada certainly affirmed their special-teams prowess.
With 2018 Olympic all-star Eeli Tolvanen (nine points in PyeongChang) making his third straight World Junior appearance, the Nashville gunner may finally tear up this tournament. Overall, the Finnish forwards have offence to burn, from 17-year-old wunderkinds like Kaapo Kakko (a potential Jack Hughes rival for the #1 overall pick) and Anton Lundell (2020-eligible) to fast, Liiga-savvy 19-year-olds like Rasmus Kupari and Aleksi Heponiemi. On defence, late NHL additions Henri Jokiharju (Chicago) and Urho Vaakanainen (Boston) provide a mega-boost. Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stumbled at last year’s World Juniors, but coach Jussi Ahokas’ confidence in the big Sudbury Wolves starter dates back to 2016, when Luukkonen backstopped his U18 team to gold in North Dakota.
Can Sweden keep its 44-game round-robin win streak alive this year? Among its Group B opponents, Finland has won gold twice and the U.S. thrice in the 2010’s, so that’ll be a tall order for coach Tomas Monten’s boys. Still, the 2018 silver medallists will be tough, particularly with a defence corps featuring Adam Boqvist, Erik Brannstrom and Rasmus Sandin, among others.
Whether the goaltending is championship-calibre and whether the forwards – headlined by returnee Isac Lundestrom of the Anaheim Ducks – can fill the net at crunch time remains to be seen.
Until last year, putting Valeri Bragin behind the Russian bench spelled a guaranteed WJC medal. But in Buffalo, the team settled for fifth place. Bragin, a 62-year-old former Soviet forward who masterminded a 5-3 comeback gold-medal win over Canada in 2011, will motivate his dark-horse roster to seek Russia’s first title in eight years. These U20 Russians bring a solid dose of KHL experience.
The mercurial Klim Kostin, finding his way with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, is the only 2018 WJC alumnus. This could be a revelatory tournament for high-IQ, towering 19-year-old forward Vitali Kravtsov. The Russians will also lean on Washington first-round pick Alexander Alexeyev on defence. And after captaining the Russian World Junior A Challenge team to silver with eight points, what kind of a difference-maker could Vasili Podkolzin be? The explosive 2001-born winger was a late addition to Bragin’s final roster.
Beyond the traditional “Big Five” teams, who else could contend for a medal?
The resurgent Czechs yearn to prove that last year’s fourth-place finish – their best since 2005’s bronze – wasn’t an aberration. They last won gold in 2001. Coach Vaclav Varada’s opportunity to reunite the 2018 trio of Martin Necas (3-8-11), Filip Zadina (7-1-8) and Martin Kaut (2-5-7) looks promising.
Neighbouring Slovakia is more of a long shot, even with close to half the 2018 team returning. Just to stay afloat offensively in Group B, coach Ernest Bokros will need stellar play from forwards ranging from Filip Krivosik – who scored twice in last year's 3-2 upset over the U.S. – to three-time WJC participant Adam Ruzicka.
The underdogs have big dreams too. All would love to upset a “Big Five” nation. Do the hard-working Swiss have what it takes to finish higher than seventh for the first time since 2013? Can 2018 team scoring leader Jonas Rondbjerg spark Denmark to bounce back from a ninth-place finish last year and stay in the top division for the fifth straight time? And will newly promoted Kazakhstan fare better than its last World Junior appearance in 2009 when it was outscored 60-4?
Questions, questions, questions. So much uncertainty. So much fun. The only guarantee at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship is that the fans in Vancouver and Victoria and millions more watching on TV will be royally entertained – and get those teenage chills.
NOTE: The teams registered players last night. You can find them in the TEAMS section. Not all teams registered a full roster of 23 players (20 skaters, 3 goaltenders) and can add more players up to two hours before a game.
“Will I pass my final exams? Will I get a summer job? Or...will I tie the game up with five seconds left and become a World Junior legend?”
Anything is possible. Everyone’s a little nervous, but super-excited. And that’s as it should be.
In the 2010s, no nation has won back-to-back titles. Canada’s five-peat team in Ottawa 2009 featured tournament all-stars P.K. Subban, John Tavares, and Cody Hodgson. (Yes, it’s really been that long.)
There’s no room for pompous declarations about the inevitability of any team’s victory or failure. That’ll make this year’s tournament as much fun as any since the inaugural 1977 edition.
Canada, the host nation and defending champion, boasts the most depth among the contenders. Coach Tim Hunter’s top line could dominate with the bull-like intensity of Maxime Comtois (the lone 2018 returnee), the great vision of Cody Glass, and the sniper ability of Owen Tippett – the son of two-time Olympian and long-time NHL coach Dave Tippett.
It will be intriguing to track how QMJHL superstar Alexis Lafreniere’s output stacks up against previous 17-year-old Canadian World Junior performers like Eric Lindros (1991, 17 points), Connor McDavid (2015, 11 points), and Sidney Crosby (2005, 9 points). Much will depend on how the mobile defence – featuring three first-round NHL picks – protects goalies Michael DiPietro and Ian Scott. Netminding has been an Achilles heel each time the Canadians have missed out on gold recently.
The cross-border rival Americans plan to spoil Canada’s home-ice party, as in the Saskatoon 2010 and Montreal 2017 finals. Five players return from last year’s bronze brigade in Buffalo, including offensive defenceman Quinn Hughes, the 2018 first-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks, who will be scrutinized by British Columbia fans.
Jack Hughes, his younger brother, dazzled with 12 points as the MVP of the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship in Russia. If the nifty 17-year-old playmaker from the USA Hockey National Team Development Program is in top form again, it turbocharges America’s hopes of triumphing and his own chances of getting drafted first overall in June. Other NTDP debutants who could shine include gritty forward (and future Gritty favorite) Joel Farabee, one-timer specialist Oliver Wahlstrom, and powerful defenceman K’Andre Miller.
Finnish hockey is setting a high standard right now with Mikko Rantanen leading the NHL in points, Patrik Laine evolving into the heir to Alexander Ovechkin’s goal-scoring throne, and Pekka Rinne vying for his second straight Vezina Trophy. Can the U20 Finns get after it just as hard? Their 5-2 exhibition win over Canada certainly affirmed their special-teams prowess.
With 2018 Olympic all-star Eeli Tolvanen (nine points in PyeongChang) making his third straight World Junior appearance, the Nashville gunner may finally tear up this tournament. Overall, the Finnish forwards have offence to burn, from 17-year-old wunderkinds like Kaapo Kakko (a potential Jack Hughes rival for the #1 overall pick) and Anton Lundell (2020-eligible) to fast, Liiga-savvy 19-year-olds like Rasmus Kupari and Aleksi Heponiemi. On defence, late NHL additions Henri Jokiharju (Chicago) and Urho Vaakanainen (Boston) provide a mega-boost. Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stumbled at last year’s World Juniors, but coach Jussi Ahokas’ confidence in the big Sudbury Wolves starter dates back to 2016, when Luukkonen backstopped his U18 team to gold in North Dakota.
Can Sweden keep its 44-game round-robin win streak alive this year? Among its Group B opponents, Finland has won gold twice and the U.S. thrice in the 2010’s, so that’ll be a tall order for coach Tomas Monten’s boys. Still, the 2018 silver medallists will be tough, particularly with a defence corps featuring Adam Boqvist, Erik Brannstrom and Rasmus Sandin, among others.
Whether the goaltending is championship-calibre and whether the forwards – headlined by returnee Isac Lundestrom of the Anaheim Ducks – can fill the net at crunch time remains to be seen.
Until last year, putting Valeri Bragin behind the Russian bench spelled a guaranteed WJC medal. But in Buffalo, the team settled for fifth place. Bragin, a 62-year-old former Soviet forward who masterminded a 5-3 comeback gold-medal win over Canada in 2011, will motivate his dark-horse roster to seek Russia’s first title in eight years. These U20 Russians bring a solid dose of KHL experience.
The mercurial Klim Kostin, finding his way with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, is the only 2018 WJC alumnus. This could be a revelatory tournament for high-IQ, towering 19-year-old forward Vitali Kravtsov. The Russians will also lean on Washington first-round pick Alexander Alexeyev on defence. And after captaining the Russian World Junior A Challenge team to silver with eight points, what kind of a difference-maker could Vasili Podkolzin be? The explosive 2001-born winger was a late addition to Bragin’s final roster.
Beyond the traditional “Big Five” teams, who else could contend for a medal?
The resurgent Czechs yearn to prove that last year’s fourth-place finish – their best since 2005’s bronze – wasn’t an aberration. They last won gold in 2001. Coach Vaclav Varada’s opportunity to reunite the 2018 trio of Martin Necas (3-8-11), Filip Zadina (7-1-8) and Martin Kaut (2-5-7) looks promising.
Neighbouring Slovakia is more of a long shot, even with close to half the 2018 team returning. Just to stay afloat offensively in Group B, coach Ernest Bokros will need stellar play from forwards ranging from Filip Krivosik – who scored twice in last year's 3-2 upset over the U.S. – to three-time WJC participant Adam Ruzicka.
The underdogs have big dreams too. All would love to upset a “Big Five” nation. Do the hard-working Swiss have what it takes to finish higher than seventh for the first time since 2013? Can 2018 team scoring leader Jonas Rondbjerg spark Denmark to bounce back from a ninth-place finish last year and stay in the top division for the fifth straight time? And will newly promoted Kazakhstan fare better than its last World Junior appearance in 2009 when it was outscored 60-4?
Questions, questions, questions. So much uncertainty. So much fun. The only guarantee at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship is that the fans in Vancouver and Victoria and millions more watching on TV will be royally entertained – and get those teenage chills.
NOTE: The teams registered players last night. You can find them in the TEAMS section. Not all teams registered a full roster of 23 players (20 skaters, 3 goaltenders) and can add more players up to two hours before a game.