After the American squad finally named their roster for the tournament, it was confirmed that the Jackets would have five prospects taking part in the 2013 World Juniors. Boone Jenner, the Oshawa Generals centerman, is a member of Team Canada. Goaltending prospects Joonas Korpisalo and Oscar Dansk are members of Team Finland and Sweden, respectively. Lukas Sedlak is a returning member of the Czech team, while Mike Reilly will suit up for the ‘States.
– As I mentioned prior to the tournament starting, Jenner was in some hot water after a hard hit on Sweden’s Jesper Pettersson. The resulting discipline was a three game suspension for Jenner. He missed yesterday’s game against Germany, and will miss tomorrow against Slovakia and Saturday’s game against the US. He’ll return for Canada’s last round-robin game against the Russians.
– Speaking of Canada’s game against the Germans yesterday, the final score was 9-3 in favor of the Canucks. Of note was the play of Canada’s top line of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mark Scheifele and Jonathan Huberdeau. The trio combined for ten points. Jonathan Drouin finished with a goal and an assist, while Nathan MacKinnon tallied a helper. For the Germans, 2014 draft eligible forward Leon Draisaitl was very good, finishing with an assist but was easily the best player for the Germans. He’ll be a player to keep an eye on leading up to June, 2014. Canada faces Slovakia tomorrow morning.
– Finland opened the tournament with a 5-1 victory over Latvia. Korpisalo was the man in net for the Finns, stopping 11 of 12 shots.
– The Swedes and Czechs faced off yesterday, with Sweden taking it 4-1. Dansk did not dress, proving to be the third goaltender for the team. The positive from a CBJ perspective was Sedlak scoring the lone Czech goal. Both teams return to action tomorrow with the Czechs taking on Finland and Sweden facing Switzerland.
– The Americans opened their tournament this morning with an 8-0 drubbing of Germany. Reilly did not figure into the scoring, but had a shot on goal and finished +4. The Americans take on the Russians tomorrow.