2015 World Junior Hockey Championships Schedule- Day Two
The second day of preliminary round play sees two CBJ prospects in action.
After an exciting opening day to the tournament, there are four more games today in Day 2 of World Junior action. Oliver Bjorkstrand and the upstart Danes are quickly becoming the darlings of the tournament after taking the Russians to a shootout yesterday, while Dillon Heatherington and the Canadians are back in action today after smoking the Slovaks 8-0 yesterday.
Here's a look at today's schedule:
Denmark vs. Sweden - 1:00pm ET
Slovakia vs. Finland - 4:00pm ET
Czech Republic vs. Switzerland - 5:00pm ET
Canada vs. Germany - 8:00pm ET
After looking quite weak in pre-tournament play, the Swedes were dominant yesterday in a win over the Czechs. I'm excited as hell to see what the Danes can do against Sweden after taking Russia to a shootout. Bjorkstrand has a chance to add to his goal totals.
Slovakia looked listless against Canada, so unless they can find a spark the Finns will give them a truly hard time. Finland has strong goaltending and some lethal scorers.
The Czechs have some weapons, but I think the Swiss are the better team on paper in this matchup. Led by Kevin Fiala and Timo Meier up front and Mirco Mueller on defense, the Swiss have the ability to go deep this year. They are always in the mix at this tournament, but this is a strong year for them. Speaking of Meier, I've had the pleasure of watching him since he joined the Halifax Mooseheads, and the Jackets would gain a very good prospect if they take him in the upcoming draft. He's a player to keep an eye on.
Canada should have no problem with Germany, especially since the Oilers (stupidly) refused to release Leon Draisaitl to the tournament. It's early, but with Denmark looking legitimate, the Germans are at risk of finishing tenth and being relegated. Belarus has already won the Division 1 tournament, meaning they will join the big tournament next year.
NHL Network will broadcast all Team USA games in the States, while TSN has full coverage in Canada. NHL.com will also stream the Team USA games.