It’s finally that time of year again! The Holiday season is in full stride, and the classic World Junior tournament is underway! Tonight at 6:30 EST, Team Canada will host Team Czechia to open up their campaign at this year’s tournament! The last time these two sides met was in the semi-final of the 2022 World Juniors in Edmonton. Team Canada was victorious in that, winning 5-2 en route to their gold medal! Tonight’s game will be entertaining for sure. Let’s take a deeper look behind the two sides that’ll go at it tonight!
Starting with Team Canada, a lineup full of talent that doesn’t lack size at the back end. Canada’s roster might be the most entertaining squad we have seen at this tournament in quite some time. Being headlined by “generational” prospect Connor Bedard and top prospect Shane Wright, this team is a serious contender again to win it all. Starting in goal for Team Canada is goaltender Benjamin Gaudreau. Gaudreau is a 19-year-old goaltender of the Sarnia Sting in the OHL. Benjamin is a goaltender that likes to play a butterfly-hybrid style, using his frame down low to protect the bottom of the net but isn’t afraid to remain up tall for the higher shots. The San Jose Sharks selected Gaudreau in the 3rd round in 2021. Below is a tweet of what I’d project to be Team Canada’s lines for tonight’s game!
As for Czechia, this team is no joke! With sixteen of seventeen players returning to this year’s tournament, Team Czechia is looking to do some damage. Highlighted by defenseman David Jiricek, this team has some real top-tier prospects. A player that almost all hockey fans should tune in for is forward Eduard Sale. Sale is a 17-year-old forward who plays for the HC Kometa Brno in Czechia and is draft eligible this year. Sale is an offensive player with good size and carries a lot of potentials, making him a projected high pick next June! In goal for Czechia is Tomas Suchanek. Suchanek was one of the returning players for Czechia from last year. In the 2022 tournament, Thomas posted a 3.02 goals against average, and a .899 save percentage. The 19-year-old goaltender will look to provide stable goaltending for a roster that clearly has a shot for a medal.
As for top prospect defenseman David Jiricek, it is still unclear if he will play tonight. A transportation issue for the Columbus Blue Jackets prospect who went 6th overall might see out for Czechia’s opener. Jiricek is a fantastic defensive prospect who shows all the signs of a future NHLer. A good shot from the point with some high-end hockey instincts makes him one of my favorite prospects to watch. This season in the AHL with Cleveland, Jiricek has 20 points in 19 games, a really encouraging stat count for all Blue Jackets fans. Jiricek was on the ice this morning for Czechia, but it is still unclear what the team will do. Jiricek arrived in Halifax yesterday, but his equipment still has not.
Tonight’s game will be a fun one, to say the least! Make sure you tune in to catch some of the best prospects in hockey go at it! My prediction for tonight’s game is a 4-1 victory for Team Canada! A positive start for the hosts is the likely outcome, but don’t sleep on this Czechia team! Czechia’s squad is talented and a real threat that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Thanks for reading! For more hockey content, follow me on Twitter at ITR_Anselmo. Enjoy tonight’s game!
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