Canes prospects make splash at WJC
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Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images
The World Junior Championships commenced on Tuesday with the Americans taking home the gold over Canada in a 2-0 shutout. Ryan Suzuki was the only Canes’ prospect to bring home hardware being a part of the silver medal Canadian squad.
In total, four prospects took part in the tournament representing three countries. 2019 first-round pick Ryan Suzuki for Team Canada, 2020 second-round pick Vasiliy Ponomarev for Team Russia, and 2020 second-round and fourth-round picks, Noel Gunler and Zion Nybeck, for Team Sweden.
The tournament had a few big story lines throughout seeing Sweden’s 54-game WJC preliminary winning streak fall at the hands of Russia and having Team Canada nearly pitch a perfect tournament by not conceding a single 5v5 goal until the Finals.
Four Canes prospects competing in annual tournament by Michael Smith @MSmithCanes / Hurricanes.com
The 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship begins on Christmas Day and culminates with medal games on Tuesday, Jan. 5.
The timing couldn t be more ideal, too. With the news that the National Hockey League will begin its 2020-21 season in mid-January, the World Juniors will serve as an eye-catching hockey appetizer before the main course arrives.
The Carolina Hurricanes have four prospects competing in this year s tournament, which will be held at Rogers Place in Edmonton without fans in attendance in a secure bubble similar to the NHL s 2020 postseason. All games will be broadcast live on NHL Network in the United States and TSN In Canada.
Team Canada practised inside the Edmonton bubble on Saturday.
They re probably not destined for a Matthew Tkachuk versus Zack Kassian type feud, but one day soon Oilers 2020 first rounder Dylan Holloway and Flames 2019 first rounder Jakob Pelletier hope to be part of the Battle of Alberta. For now, though, they are joining forces on what is shaping up to be a key line for Team Canada at the World Juniors.
Will it be harder to hate each other in the NHL one day if they win gold together? I think probably a little bit, Holloway said with a grin. We re close teammates . I really like playing with Pelts. He s super fast, plays really hard and a really smart player.
Tweetmail No. 245: Fan Appreciation Week by Michael Smith @MSmithCanes / Hurricanes.com
Hello and welcome to Tweetmail, a regular feature on Hurricanes.com in which I answer your Twitter questions, which are mostly about the Carolina Hurricanes. It s a mailbag of tweets. It s Tweetmail. Maybe you learn something, and maybe we have some fun, too.
It s Fan Appreciation Week, and you don t want to miss any of our deluge of giveaways, so let s get to it.
Assuming a Jan. 13 start date, when does training camp open up? - @BornACaniac
If reports from NHL insiders are accurate - and they typically are, given how dialed in reporters like Elliotte Friedman, Pierre LeBrun and Frank Seravalli are -