The World Juniors -- officially called the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship -- will be held this year (and part of next), in Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Republic. And the tournament has a heavy New England influence.
A total of nine players on Team USA are either from the region or have a connection to it. And none is no more important than Boston College standout goalie Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.).
The World Juniors start Dec. 26 and run through the final, which is Jan. 5. Below are the main storylines to watch over the course of the popular tournament.
Knight in shining armor
Knight, 18, has been shutting the front door for the Eagles, the National Development Program and pretty much any other team he has played for. As a freshman this season with BC, Knight has already posted his first shutout, and it wasn't exactly easy: he made 39 saves against Colgate in just his second start. And that, of course, came after he won his first career NCAA start, which was against Wisconsin, when he stopped 23 of 26 shots. The 13th-overall pick by the Florida Panthers in June is currently tied for the lead with four shutouts.
Knight has the stones to be the deciding factor for the Americans, as is evident by his play under pressure. In two seasons with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, he set the program record for wins, with 59. He has also been on the winning team at the under-17 challenge, two Five Nations Cups as well as one Four Nations Cup. And in three IIHF tournaments, he has two silvers and one bronze, the latter coming as the third goalie for Team USA at last year's World Juniors. All that experience will bode well for Team USA when the puck drops on Dec. 26.
Other key New Englanders
Aside from Knight, Northeastern sophomore defenseman Jordan Harris (Haverhill, Mass.), Providence freshman center Parker Ford (Wakefield, R.I.), and New York Islanders right wing Oliver Wahlstrom (Yarmouth, Maine) are the New Englanders on the 2020 U.S. National Junior Team.
Other players with ties to New England: Boston Bruins first-round pick Johnny Beecher of the University of Michigan, Harvard sophomore center Jack Drury, Yale sophomore center and Bruins fourth-round pick Curtis Hall, UMass freshman defenseman Zac Jones, former South Kent Selects Academy star Shane Pinto of the University of North Dakota and Boston University center Trevor Zegras.
For more on the region's connection to Team USA, check out Jeff Cox's story.
Team USA is extra motivated
Last year's 3-2 loss to the Finns in the final in Vancouver was heartbreak and then some for a team that was reasonably expected to walk away with the gold. Didn't happen, and they had to settle for silver, which is the most tarnished medal in this kind of tournament because you only get it by losing. As a result, Team USA will be extra motivated to storm to the final this year, and they won't get a chance to warm up with an easy first opponent, either: the Americans face Canada in their first game, on Dec. 26. Even after four medals in the last four years, including gold in 2017, no game will be bigger than its first in the Czech Republic. At the World Juniors, it's all about what you've done lately.
Biggest game: Dec. 26 vs. Canada
Speaking of which, if there's a team more motivated than the Americans to make up for a disappointing 2019 tournament, it's the Canadians. Annually favored to get to the gold medal game, the Canadians flamed out in the quarterfinals against the Finns (there's that team again), losing a heartbreaker in overtime. This came after three dominant wins in the preliminary round that was followed by a 2-1 loss to the Russians. The World Junior tournament is practically a national holiday in Canada, so all eyes will be trained on how they do. Thus, the opening game featuring the Americans and the Canadians will be tense from the get-go. If you watch only one game during the tournament, this is it. (Unless the two teams meet again in the playoffs.) Game time is 1 p.m. ET.
Yes, the defending champs are the Finns
The Finnish program is perennially strong, but few predicted they would win the gold last year, especially after they lost 4-1 to the Americans in preliminary action on New Year's Eve. But, full marks to the Finns for pulling it off, especially on the smaller rink in North America. Whether they can get it done again this season is an open question. As we've learned over the years, if Kazakhstan can beat Denmark twice, as they did last year, then anything is possible at the World Juniors.
Paul Grant is an editor and a writer for HockeyJournal.com and Seamans Media. He previously oversaw hockey content at ESPN.com and Sporting News. You can connect with him at pgrant@hockeyjournal.com.
