Some Slovakia WJC Previews

Tomas Jurco and Team Slovakia aren’t exactly getting a whole lot of media attention prior to the World Junior Hockey Championships. But they are getting some, and we’ve compiled it in this post for your convenience. Click the links for the full previews.

• NHL.com’s Group A preview: “After back-to-back eight-place finishes, Slovakia is looking to improve on that spot. This will not be the year for Slovakia, which has not earned a medal since 1999. Returning forward Tomas Jurco will shine, but his individual effort will not be enough to claw Slovakia into medal contention,” writes Aaron Vickers. Mike Morreale of NHL.com predicts Slovakia to finish eighth.
• Puck Worlds' Slovakia preview: “There isn't a lot of depth in this group, but there's also some pretty strong high-end talent here,” writes Bruce Peter. “Both Jurco and Tvrdon are top point producers in major junior, with Tvrdon being a bit under the radar having lost most of his draft year to major knee operation.” Puck Worlds predicts Slovakia to finish 4^th in Group A.
• The Calgary Herald’s capsule: “Who to watch: Kosice’s Tomas Jurco of the QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs and Marek Tvrdon of the Vancouver Giants are expected to be among their most dangerous players. Jurco, a right-winger, is 12th in league scoring with 45 points, while the left-winger Tvrdon sits in 20th in WHL stats with 14 goals and 23 assists.”
• The Pipeline Show’s Slovakia preview: TPS lists Jurco as one of Slovakia’s keys to success. “Jurco will be looking to improve on his one point he notched in last year's event, and the Detroit Red Wings are excited to see him and how the 2nd round pick from last June measures up against the rest of the World. He's not on an Island with Slovakia, but the high end skill is pretty thin.” They predict Slovakia to finish sixth or seventh.
• OurHometown.ca's 20 players to watch at the WJC: Jurco is listed at No. 17. Nathan Beaulieu and Jonathan Huberdeau both made the list as well.
• The Hockey News’ preview: In the January 2^nd edition of THN, they predict Slovakia to finish sixth.
• Yahoo! Sports' preview. “Mostly I think we have a better defence this year than offence, so it’s going to be more defensive play,” said Jurco. “We can still do some things in the offensive zone … but on defence we have a lot of drafted guys. If we play together, I hope we can go farther than last year, to quarter-finals.”

Slovakia takes on Charlie Coyle and Team USA tonight in Three Hills, Alberta. The Slovakian junior team has been practicing in the Alberta town this week.

“We can practice, we can do our stuff, what we need to do,” Jurco told Global Edmonton. “We’re really thankful that we could be here.”

Here’s Slovakia’s round-robin schedule for the tournament.

December 27 – Latvia vs Slovakia

December 28 – Slovakia vs Russia

December 30 – Slovakia vs Sweden

December 31 – Switzerland vs Slovakia