2018 World Junior Hockey Championship schedule: December 26, 2017
Everything you need to know about the tournament’s first day
Group A Preliminary Games
4 PM ET: Canada vs Finland
A pair of Montreal Canadiens prospects go head to head on the first day of the tournament. Victor Mete and Joni Ikonen are both expected to play significant roles on their respective teams. For Canada, they are looking to bounce back after a disappointing loss in the gold medal game a year ago, while for Finland, it’s a chance to get back on track after being in the relegation round last year. The game will be shown on TSN 1/3/4/5 and RDS in Canada and NHL Network in the USA.
8 PM ET: USA vs Denmark
The defending Gold Medal winners will look to continue their run of success as hosts this year. This year, the Americans will feature Habs first-round pick Ryan Poehling who is expected to be in their top six. For Denmark, they have made the quarterfinals each of the last three years, and will be looking to keep their run of success going. The game will be on TSN 1/3/4/5 and RDS in Canada and NHL Network in the United States.
Group B Preliminary Games
12 PM ET: Russia vs Czech Republic
Last year’s bronze medal winners get their tournament underway against the Czech Republic in the tournament’s opening game. Russia will be led by first-round picks German Rubtsov and Klim Kostin as well as 2018 top prospect Andrei Svechnikov. The Czechs will be led by 2017 first-round pick Martin Necas and they look to bounce back after a big loss to Canada in the pre-tournament games. The game will be on TSN 1/3/4/5 and RDS in Canada, NHL Network in the US.
2 PM ET: Belarus vs Sweden
Sweden has one of the strongest rosters on paper in this tournament, with Alexander Nylander being loaned from the Rochester Americans, Timothy Liljegren from the Toronto Marlies and 2018 top prospect Rasmus Dahlin among many others. Belarus is back in the top division this year, and their road to staying in the top group will depend on the rest of their games. The game will be on TSN Go and RDS2 in Canada.
All games shown on TSN will be streamed on TSN Go in Canada, but it requires a subscription to TSN.