Here. We. Go.
The 2012 World Junior Hockey Championships begin this afternoon in Edmonton as Team Canada takes on Team Finland at Rexall Place. Game time is 4:30pm. TSN’s pre-game show begins at 4pm. Buzzing The Net will be live blogging all the action.
Canada, whose roster features Saint John Sea Dogs forward Jonathan Huberdeau and defenseman Nathan Beaulieu, went 2-1 in pre-tournament play with wins over Finland and Switzerland and a loss to Sweden. Huberdeau, coming off a broken foot, played okay in exhibition action but clearly still isn’t operating at 100%. Beaulieu played very well in his role of being an offensive defenseman, creating several scoring chances in all three games.
“Ready to roll here after a great sleep ! Here we go,” tweeted Huberdeau this morning.
Beaulieu and Huberdeau will become the third and fourth Sea Dogs to suit up for Team Canada in the history of the club. Forward Chris DiDomenico (Gold, 2009) and defenseman Simon Despres (Silver, 2011) are the others.
Finland fell 3-1 to Canada back on December 19. Mark Stone, Boone Jenner, and Brendan Gallagher all scored for Canada. Mark Visentin got the win in goal.
OTHER GAMES
In other action today, Charlie Coyle and Team USA take on Denmark tonight at 9pm in a game that can be seen on TSN2. Coyle had two goals in the United States’ 5-0 win over Slovakia on Friday. They went 2-1 in pre-tournament play, beating the Swiss and Slovaks but fell to the Russians.
Sweden takes on Latvia and Switzerland faces Russia later today. Both of these contests can be seen on TSN2 as well.
Q PLAYERS
Even Strength has a list of all the QMJHL players taking part in the world juniors. 18 players will be there in total.
PANTHERS PROSPECTS
Huberdeau is one of several Florida Panthers prospects participating in this year’s tournament.
“If you have seven guys in that tournament, it means your scouts did a pretty good job,'' general manager Dale Tallon said to the Miami Herald. “Our future looks very bright. These are all very good players who are playing on the world stage. This is good for them. It's a tough tournament to play in and it's tough to make these teams. We're real pleased with the development process and our depth chart.''
“These are the best kids in North America,'' Tallon added. “We have a bright future and a good core. Our fans should be excited about what's coming. You talk and talk about your prospects but until you see them in action, fans don't know. But they should be excited to know the kind of players we have.''
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