11 Days of Great Hockey

Today marks the opening of the 2011 IIHF World Under-20 Hockey Championship  in Buffalo, NY. This tournament features the best young hockey stars countries have playing for bragging rights and gold. This is the best hockey you will see (besides the NHL playoffs) as every player is playing for their country and are putting it all on the line. For many players, this tournament is in their draft eligibility year which makes this tournament an impression maker for teams, scouts and fans.

With team USA  winning the championship last year, they are the strong favourites going into battle this year. The top three teams that will give team USA a run for their money will be Canada, Sweden  and  Russia. Luckily for team USA, their three toughest competition play in the same division and will wear themselves out a little bit before facing them in the playoffs.  

Your Ottawa Senators have three prospects playing in the tournament that will play significant roles for their respective teams. For team Canada, defensive prospect Jared Cowen  will help anchor a very large defensive corps that should be very tough to play against. This will be Cowen’s second straight World Juniors as he was on the silver winning team last year. Look for Cowen to play a bigger role than he did last year (in his limited role as the 6th/7th d-man) as he is part of the leadership core with an ‘A’ on his chest.

Tending goal for team Sweden will be Ottawa’s future starter, Robin Lenher. Lenher currently plays for Ottawa’s minor league team, the AHL Binghamton Senators, where he is having a good season in his first pro year. Lenher is expected to be the starter for team Sweden and lead them back to medal contention after failing to medal in last years tournament.

The third Ottawa prospect is Jakub Culek  who will suit up for the Czech Republic. Drafted in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by Ottawa in the third round (76th overall), Culek has been playing in the Qucbec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Having a breakout campaign last season with 47 points in 63 games, Culek has slowed his pace this year with only 14 points in 31 games. Culek will play on one of the top two forward lines for the Czech Republic and it will be interesting to see how he fares against the worlds best.

My call is that it will be Team Canada  and  Team Sweden  in the finals playing for gold. Who do you think it will be?

Here is the schedule  for the tournament. I highlighted  some games that will be the most interesting to watch. Enjoy!

** All times are displayed in Eastern Time**