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There appears to be a few juicy subplots to anticipate in the 2012 world junior championship.
The Canadians and Russians will not be in the same group in the preliminary round, but they will have a chance to meet in the medal round.
And Canada, which knocked off the U.S. in a semifinal at the 2011 world junior in Buffalo, will have to deal with the Americans in the preliminary round.
Canada, the U.S., Finland, the Czech Republic and Denmark will be in one group next winter in Alberta.
Russia, Sweden, Slovakia, Switzerland and Latvia will be in the other group.
Canada’s games in the round-robin will played at Rexall Place in Edmonton, with the other group competing at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary. The final round will be in Calgary.
Canada’s collapse in the third period against Russia in the gold-medal game continued to be a hot topic on Thursday. One NHL scout who has watched junior hockey extensively said that prior to Wednesday, he could not remember the previous time a team coached by Dave Cameron, who is the boss at Mississauga St. Michael’s, blew a 3-0 lead in the third period.
— Terry Koshan
