It's Boxing Day, which means that the World Junior Championship is kicking off. This year's event is in Buffalo, New York, and will include an outdoor game at New Era Field between the U.S. and Canada on Dec. 29.
What are you most looking forward to at the World Junior Championship?
Greg Wyshynski: Beating Canada.
Look, it's been exhilarating to watch the growth of the World Junior Championship in the U.S. over the past decade, as more and more fans smarten up to the fact that the hockey is great and the stars of tomorrow -- from their favorite teams, from rivals and in future drafts -- all begin to shine in that tournament. The media and television coverage has grown. It may not be the obsession it is in other nations, but interest certainly has escalated.
Another reason for this? American sports fans will watch anything when we're good at it internationally. And thanks to the infrastructure created by USA Hockey and the NHL's growth in "nontraditional markets," the quality of the U.S. world juniors teams has spiked in the past several years. From 1989 to 2009, the Americans won one world junior gold: in 2004, with forward Zach Parise and goalie Al Montoya leading them. Since 2010, the Americans have won three golds, in 2010, 2013 and 2017.
Two of those more recent victories were against Canada -- the other, won in 2013, was over Sweden -- and in dramatic fashion. There was John Carlson's overtime goal in 2010, and the U.S. shootout win in 2017. So these weren't just wins over Canada, but the best kinds of wins: epic for the winner, and heart-shattering for the opponent.
So the World Juniors has become this delightful international hockey oasis where the Americans aren't getting steamrolled by Canada when it counts the most, like at the Olympics (for both men and women) and at the World Cup, and are actually bettering their neighbors to the north on a consistent basis.
And here's the best part about world juniors for an American fan: None of it really matters!
For the Canadians, it's an annual holiday tradition, an ingrained part of their culture, and when they lose, there are national symposiums on things like how to deepen the goalie pool. For the Americans, at this point in our maturation as an international hockey power, winning at world juniors is still new and fun. Losing at world juniors is bothersome, but not nearly on the level of losing at the Olympics and not even on the level of seeing a Canadian NHL team raise the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1993 (and we know that's coming).
So, good luck to Team USA. If you lose, hey, it happens, and Canada is of course the greatest hockey power in the world and it's their game and their ice and all that. If you win, then it's the greatest victory in the history of hockey until the next one, and another example of our burgeoning hockey dominance that will, within the next 100 years, lead us to an Olympic gold ... maybe.
Emily Kaplan: There are two reasons I'll be tuning into the World Junior Championship. The first: I love watching the best compete against the best. If these are the most talented under-20 hockey players in the world -- and save for a handful of under-20 dynamos in the NHL, they are -- let's see them go at it. This is the type of tournament that can galvanize even the casual hockey fan.
A quick story: On Christmas Day, I received a text from my friend I know through covering football. "This world juniors game is crazy!" he texted me. "Bout to go to a shootout. McAvoy has played legitimately 60% of the game."
It pained me deeply to report back to him that the game he was watching was actually from last year's tournament. Charlie McAvoy is now, in fact, a rookie on the Bruins (and still shouldering some hefty ice time). The point is, my friend doesn't watch a ton of hockey. But he knows a captivating game when he sees one, and this is the type of tournament that produces riveting action. By the way, he sent this text during the fourth quarter of the Cavs-Warriors game. The world juniors can hold its own against LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
The second reason I'll be tuning in is that for me, it's the first introduction to a lot of future NHL stars. When you look at a list of alumni from this tournament, well, it's a right of passage for elite players, like McAvoy. My first time watching McAvoy play was the 2016 World Junior Championship from Finland. His teammates included some kids named Brock Boeser, Alex Debrincat, Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk and Zach Werenski. They all turned out to be pretty decent. Unfortunately, I have a hard time keeping up with all of the NHL action as it is, and I don't find myself watching a ton of juniors games or college hockey games. And when I do, it's usually a passing glimpse. (It's why I find Chris Peters' work on our site so important -- he keeps me informed!)
The WJC is a perfect entry into watching a lot of these guys at the same time. Rasmus Dahlin is the projected No. 1 pick? Let's see him play on this stage. Another Tkachuk brother (Brady) in the pipeline, and he might be more talented than Matthew? Jack Eichel might get an elite talent to pay with in Buffalo next season, in Casey Mittelstadt? Should be a fun tournament, I'm looking forward to tuning in.
Chris Peters: First off, I'm really excited to be going to the World Junior Championship. I'll be there for the duration of the tournament, and I think Buffalo is going to do an amazing job as host for the second time after such a memorable 2011 WJC. It's too hard for me to narrow things down to just one, but here are a few things that I'll be paying really close attention to:
First off, this is going to be North America's best chance to get a look at Rasmus Dahlin before the draft this year. The consensus No. 1 pick for the 2018 draft has been playing extremely well in Sweden's top pro division. He should play a ton of minutes for a loaded Sweden team in this tournament, and be a force at both ends of the ice. As good as he is against pros, he has the chance to be a dominant player in this tournament, even though he's still considered an "underager" as in he's not 18 or 19, as most players will be in Buffalo. Additionally, it appears that consensus No. 2 pick Andrei Svechnikov will likely have to play an important role for Russia, while the U.S. has a pair of potential top-10 picks in defenseman Quinn Hughes and power forward Brady Tkachuk.
This tournament will also be a great showcase of recently drafted players. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen, picked third overall by the Dallas Stars last year, has been having a huge year in Finland's top pro division and will anchor a Finnish blue line that features five first-round picks. Canada's D corps is going to be really good as well, highlighted by last year's No. 4 pick by the Avalanche, Cale Makar. As far as forwards, few teams are going to be able to match Sweden's skill with Vancouver Canucks prospect Elias Pettersson, who is having a historic season in the Swedish league, New York Rangers pick Lias Andersson and Buffalo Sabres pick Alex Nylander.
One of the most-anticipated players in Buffalo will be Team USA forward Casey Mittelstadt, picked seventh overall by the Sabres this past summer. He has been dominant in pre-tournament play and is incredibly skilled. Also, don't sleep on last year's 30th overall pick, Eeli Tolvanen, who has been lighting up the KHL this season. He'll be Finland's top scoring threat up front.
I could go on and on about the quality of prospects at that tournament, but you can check out some much more detailed player rundowns of Team USA, Canada and the rest of the field to get you prepped for a truly loaded world juniors.