Group B at the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championships features a trip of top teams. Russia, Canada, and the United States will be competing for the top spot while Slovakia, and Germany look to stop them.
Canada
The Canadians fell to Russian in the semi-final by the score of 6-5. Russia held a comfortable 6-1 lead until the 10 minute mark of the third period when Canada struck for four goals to end the match. The Canadian squad is filled with a plethora of NHL talent and NHL prospects, which should make them a front-runner to win the tournament.
Captain Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was nominated for the Calder Trophy at the NHL in 2011-12 and would have likely won it if not for an injury that dropped his production. On top of Nugent-Hopkins, Canada has such top-tier prospects as Jonathan Huberdeau, Mark Scheifele, Ryan Strome, Dougie Hamilton, Scott Harrington, and Mark McNeill. Strome leads the OHL in scoring with 62 points in 32 games, including 40 assists. In goal, the team is led by Jordan Binnington, Jake Paterson, and Malcom Subban.
Additionally, the team will also showcase Nathan McKinnon who is likely to be drafted first overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Schedule:
Dec. 26, Germany, 4:30 a.m. ET (NHLN-US)
Dec. 28, Slovakia, 4:30 a.m. ET (NHLN-US)
Dec. 30, United States, 4:30 a.m. ET (NHLN-US)
Dec. 31, Russia, 9 a.m. ET (NHLN-US).
Russia
After defeating Canada 6-5 in the semi-final, Russia's potent offense was shutout in a 1-0 loss to Sweden in the final This year's club has a big chance at winning Group A with such stars Nail Yakupov (the first overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft), Mikhail Grigorenko, Nikita Kucherov, Alexander Khokhlachev,Nikita Nesterov, and goalies Andrei Markarov and Andrei Vasilevski. The fact that they are playing at home should provide a major boot for the club.
Schedule:
Dec. 26, Slovakia, 9 a.m. ET (NHLN-US)
Dec. 28, United States, 9 a.m. ET (NHLN-US)
Dec. 29, Germany, 9 a.m. ET (NHLN-US)
Dec. 31, Canada, 9 a.m. ET (NHLN-US).
United States
Back in 2010, the United States side won this tournament and in 2011, the squad finished third. However, last season's seventh place finish was the worst since finishing eight in 1999.
The United States side will look to vindicate themselves and have an arsenal of young talent that could propel them in this difficult group. The team has not yet announced its 23 man squad, but some players that will be a part of the team will include such top prospects as J.T. Miller, John Gibson, and Jack Trouba, all of which were a part of last year's squad.
Defenseman Seth Jones will be under the spotlight as he is being touted as a potential number one overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Schedule:
Dec. 27, Germany, 9 a.m. ET (NHLN-US)
Dec. 28, Russia, 9 a.m. ET (NHLN-US)
Dec. 30, Canada, 4:30 a.m. ET (NHLN-US)
Dec. 31, Slovakia, 5 a.m. ET (NHLN-US).
Slovakia
Last year, Slovakia finished in third place behind Sweden and Russia in Group A but wound up losing 8-5 to Finland in the quarter finals. The team only features one NHL prospect and will likely struggled with the United States, Canada, and Russia Vying for the top spot in the group.
Schedule
Dec. 26, Russia, 9 a.m. ET
Dec. 28, Canada, 4:30 a.m. ET
Dec. 30, Germany, 9 a.m. ET
Dec. 31, United States, 5 a.m. ET
Germany
The Germans won the Division I, Group A tournament last year, but has just one NHL prospect in Tobias Rieder (Edmonton Oilers' fourth round raft pick in 2012). NHL.com has the team finishing fifth in Group B.
Schedule:
Dec. 26, Canada, 4:30 a.m. ET
Dec. 27, United States, 9 a.m. ET
Dec. 29, Russia, 9 a.m. ET
Dec. 30, Slovakia, 9 a.m. ET
Group Predictions
1. Canada
2. Russia
3. United States
4. Slovakia
5. Germany
NHL.com has Russia in first, United States in second, and Canada in third, but the wealth of talent in the Canadian team makes them too good to overlook. Russia will put up major battle and could win the group if they win the long group match between the two squads.
Read about Group A HERE.