If you have the NHL Network in the United States, get your TV tuned to it for the World Junior Championships, which are taking place in Finland this holiday season. The United States opened on Saturday with a 4-2 victory over Canada in pool play. This morning, Sweden blanked the Americans, 1-0, to take the lead in Group A with a 2-0-0-0 record. (Yes, you will see in the standings that all of these columns are necessary.)
Canada rebounded with a 6-1 victory over Denmark, with Switzerland (Dec. 29) and Sweden (Dec. 31) left in group play. The U.S. have Switzerland (Dec. 30) and Denmark (Dec. 31) left in group play. The top four teams in each group advance to the playoff or medal rounds. The fifth place teams in each group will meet in a relegation round to determine who gets bounced and who stays with the big boys for 2017.
And I do mean boys, as the WJC is the Candy Mountain tournament. You can't be 20 in Candy Mountain, and the same is true in this tournament. But the size of some of these players might require a double-take by the doorman checking the IDs.
For those of you sans cable (like me) or with a modest cable package in the U.S. that does not include the NHL Network, you'll have to rely on YouTube for your video highlights and apps like The Score for timely game updates and recaps. Also the official website provides live tracks games and provides recaps and full statistical breakdowns as well.
As always, Canadians have TSN pumping the tournament into their homes. Yet another reason to wonder why the NHL website does not do more, like live streaming of the games, for example. After all, the future of the game is playing here right now. Oh well, one can always hope that as more cord-cutters emerge, the league will have to adjust their views on how to reach all of their audience.
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