Wednesday is the second day of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, which is being held at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
On Tap for Day 2
All games on NHL Network in US, TSN and RDS in Canada
Sweden vs. Switzerland (2 p.m. ET) — Swedish coach Tomas Monten said the goaltending, led by Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota Wild), could be the best he’s had in his six tournaments. The 19-year-old led the Swedish Hockey League with a 1.98 goals-against average and was fourth with a .918 save percentage in 22 games for Lulea last season. Sweden also has a deep group of forwards that could be led by Jonathan Lekkerimaki (Vancouver Canucks), who helped Sweden win the 2022 IIHF Under-18 World Championship with a tournament-best 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in six games. Forward Simon Knak (Nashville Predators) and defenseman Brian Zanetti (Philadelphia Flyers) will be relied upon to help Switzerland improve on its ninth-place finish from the 2021 WJC.
Latvia vs. Canada (6 p.m. ET) — The host team plays its first game against Latvia, which lost 6-1 to Finland on Tuesday. Coach Davie Cameron said goalie Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings) will start for Canada; Cossa was Canada’s third goalie when the tournament was held in December but has since helped Edmonton win the Western Hockey League championship, including five shutouts in 19 WHL playoff games. The spotlight will also be on forward Connor Bedard, expected to be the No. 1 pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. As a 16-year-old he had a four-goal game in December. He’s since turned 17 and finished fourth in the WHL with 100 points (51 goals, 49 assists) in 62 games for Regina, and could use the added spotlight to showcase himself for NHL teams. Latvia will need more than the 20 shots on goal it had against Finland if it has any chance of staying close with Canada.
Germany vs. Austria (10 p.m. ET) — Germany will try to rebound from a 5-1 loss to the United States on Tuesday, when it had 11 shots on goal. Austria is looking for its first win (0-17) in its fifth appearance at the top level of the under-20 tournament. Without forward Marco Kasper (Red Wings), the No. 8 pick of the 2022 NHL Draft, Austria will look for offense from forward Senna Peeters, who scored Austria’s only goal at the 2021 WJC. The 20-year-old had 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 34 games for Halifax of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last season.
Quick links
World Junior Championship predictions
Group A preview
Group B preview
World Juniors Championship rosters
Tournament schedule
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