Group A Preliminary Games
1:30 PM ET: Sweden vs Austria
Montreal Canadiens prospect Adam Engström will make his tournament debut for Sweden, who had a tough pre-tournament losing to the United States and getting beat by Switzerland in overtime. One Swede to watch will be 2023 Draft Eligible forward Leo Carlsson. For Austria, Canadiens prospect Vinzenz Rohrer will be tasked with attempting to get the team to avoid relegation, which returns to the tournament. Austria split their two pre-tournament games, an overtime vs. Germany and a loss against Slovakia. The game will be on TSN 1/4/5 and RDS in Canada and NHL Network in the US.
6:30 PM ET: Czechia vs Canada
Czechia defeated Latvia but lost to Switzerland in pre-tournament play. They are hoping to get 2022 sixth-overall pick David Jiricek added to the roster but he has yet to arrive in Halifax after his late release from the American Hockey League. He would play a major role and it will be interesting to see when he is able to join the team. Canada is the tournament favourite, led by Connor Bedard and Shane Wright. Canadiens prospect Joshua Roy is also expected to play a key role for Canada. The game will be on TSN 1/4/5 and RDS in Canada and NHL Network in the US.
Group B Preliminary Games
11:00 AM ET: Finland vs Switzerland
Finland lost both pre-tournament games to the United States and Canada as they were still making their final cuts heading into the two games. Canadiens prospect Oliver Kapanen will have a big role for them. Switzerland lost to Canada in pre-tournament play but then defeated Czechia and Sweden in overtime. They don’t have the top-end talent that they have had in the past, but will look for a team effort to have success. The game will be on TSN 1/4/5 and RDS2 in Canada, NHL Network in the US.
4:00 PM ET: Latvia vs United States
Latvia lost their pre-tournament games by matching 6-3 scores against Czechia and Germany. They will have a tough time in their opener against the group favourites in the United States. Canadiens prospect Lane Hutson will make his tournament debut after the Americans beat Finland and Sweden in their pre-tournament games. The game will be on TSN1 and RDS2 in Canada and NHL Network in the US.
All games shown on TSN will be streamed on TSN Live in Canada, but it requires a subscription.
