2018 World Junior Hockey Championship: Canada vs. Slovakia — Preview, start time, TV schedule, and lineups
Victor Mete and Team Canada go for a second win at the WJC, as they take on a relatively unknown group in Team Slovakia.
Read our recap of the game right here!
It was set up to be a great game on the opening day of the 2018 World Junior Hockey Championship. Canada and Finland both brought lineups to the tournament loaded with skilled defencemen who promised to offer a speedy back-and-forth contest.
The two sides did just that, but it was the relentless attack of the Canadian forwards that was the difference, with Boris Katchouk leading the way on the front end. His scoring of the opening goal by skating through the net set the tone for the team, with many chances around the net all night.
With that experience under their belts, a matchup with Slovakia probably seems like a cake walk. Up against a team with just two players who have been drafted by NHL clubs, on paper there doesn’t seem to be much of a contest. But taking any opponent lightly in such a short tournament oftens proves to be a recipe for disaster.
For Slovakia, they’ll be counting on a relatively experienced group, with several 19-year-olds. The team will be hoping their goaltender can hold them in the contest, while those two drafted players — Marian Studenic and Adam Ruzicka — chip in a goal or two at the opposite end.
Slovakia may have to take a gamble on which of Canada or the USA they have a better chance of beating, deploying goalie David Hrenak against the perceived weakest of those two options in an attempt to steal at least a point. Their best chance to get a positive result comes later in the preliminary round, but taking one of the North American contenders to extra time would be a major boost to their chances of avoiding the relegation series.
How to watch
Puck drop: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In Canada: TSN1, TSN3, TSN4 (English,) RDS2 (French)
In the United States: NHL Network
Streaming: TSNGO
Team Canada’s projected lineup
CAN Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #9 Dillon Dube | #23 Sam Steel | #25 Jordan Kyrou |
| #12 Boris Katchouk | #27 Robert Thomas | #16 Taylor Raddysh |
| #11 Jonah Gadjovich | #20 Michael McLeod | #19 Drake Batherson |
| #14 Maxime Comtois | #21 Brett Howden | #24 Alex Formenton |
| #17 Tyler Steenbergen |
CAN Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #28 Victor Mete | #3 Conor Timmins |
| #10 Kale Clague | #8 Dante Fabbro |
| #2 Jake Bean | #7 Cale Makar |
| #6 Cal Foote |
CAN Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| #31 Carter Hart |
| #1 Colton Point |
Team Slovakia final roster
| # | Player | Position | League | Current team (NHL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Roman Durny | G | Slovakia | Team Slovakia U20 |
| 1 | Dávid Hrenák | G | NCAA | St. Cloud State University |
| 2 | Jakub Kostelny | G | Slovakia | Team Slovakia U20 |
| 5 | Martin Bodák | D | WHL | Kootenay Ice |
| 6 | Martin Fehérváry | D | Allsvenskan | IK Oskarshamn |
| 27 | Samuel Fereta | D | Slovakia | Team Slovakia U20 |
| 3 | Tomas Hedera | D | Slovakia | Team Slovakia U20 |
| 12 | Michal Ivan | D | QMJHL | Acadie-Bathurst Titan |
| 7 | Marek Korencik | D | SuperElit | Luleå HF J20 |
| 9 | David Matejovic | D | Slovakia | Team Slovakia U20 |
| 24 | Vojtech Zelenak | D | Slovakia | Team Slovakia U20 |
| 13 | Samuel Bucek | F | USHL | Chicago Steel |
| 14 | Viliam Cacho | F | Slovakia | Team Slovakia U20 |
| 17 | Milos Kelemen | F | Slovakia | Team Slovakia U20 |
| 16 | Filip Krivosik | F | LeKi | Mestis |
| 20 | Peter Kundrik | F | Slovakia | Team Slovakia U20 |
| 18 | Adam Liska | F | OHL | Kitchener Rangers |
| 26 | Milos Roman | F | WHL | Vancouver Giants |
| 21 | Adam Ruzicka | F | OHL | Sarnia Sting (CGY) |
| 4 | Erik Smolka | F | Slovakia | Team Slovakia U20 |
| 23 | Samuel Solenský | F | NAHL | Johnstown Tomahawks |
| 19 | Marian Studenic | F | OHL | Hamilton Bulldogs (NJD) |
| 25 | Alex Tamasi | F | Slovakia | Team Slovakia U20 |