While day six of the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship features the New Year's Eve classic of Canada vs. USA, more importantly, all three Winnipeg Jets prospects at the tournament are in action today.
Michael Spacek's Czech Republic squad will take on undefeated Sweden to kick things off. Led by Alexander Nylander (BUF) and his seven points in three games, the Swedes have looked unstoppable in Group A action. Though defenceman Rasmus Dahlin only has two points, the 2018 NHL draft eligible player has bedazzled:
16-year old Rasmus Dahlin makes it 5-0 for Sweden. #WJC2017 pic.twitter.com/q23123qm8X
— Robert Söderlind (@HockeyWebCast) December 26, 2016
Both Canada and the USA have perfect 3-0-0-0 records, so something's got to give this afternoon. For what it's worth, Canada has dominated its Group B competition by ever so slightly more than the Americans; the home side has a plus 15 goal differential, vs. the USA's plus nine. One would expect Jets prospect Jack Roslovec to continue skating between Kieffer Bellows and Tage Thompson. While they provide more than adequate depth to counter the Canadians, Team USA will need its top-line of Clayton Keller, Colin White and Joey Anderson to show they can keep up against Canada's best.
Finland's 0-0-0-3 record means their best of three relegation series against Latvia is already set in stone, no matter what happens against Switzerland. According to the Canadian Press, "It's the first time in tournament history that a country has gone from winning gold to playing relegation games the following year." The Finns responded to their disappointing situation by firing the entire coaching staff, in an unprecedented move. While they will certainly be the favourites against Latvia, it'll be interesting to see if they can head into those tilts with momentum from today.
Somebody go get a picture of the Finnish coaching staff waiting for a cab.
— Totally Offside (@Totally_Offside) December 31, 2016
