Winnipeg Jets: IIHF Releases New Exhibition Game Schedule for WJC

Two Winnipeg Jets prospects were supposed to play in an IIHF World Juniors exhibition game tonight unfortunately, their game was canceled.

Earlier today we published an article stating that you would be able to watch Ville Heinola and Henri Nikkanen in a World Juniors warmup game tonight when Finland faces off against the Czech Republic. Unfortunately for these Winnipeg Jets‘ top prospects, the game was called off.

Also, all the exhibition games scheduled for today (the 20th) and tomorrow (the 21st) were also canceled and there is now a revised pre-competition game schedule. All of the original matchups were canceled due to eight players on Team Germany testing positive for COVID-19 and two members of Sweden’s staff also tested positive for the virus.

Members of both Germany and Sweden are forced to quarantine, so the Internation Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) had to draw up a new pre-tournament schedule.

The new schedule will start on Tuesday afternoon and conclude on Wednesday evening. The remaining eight teams, who are not included in the quarantine, will each play one warmup game. Ville Heinola, Henri Nikkanen, and Team Finland will be facing off against the United States on Tuesday night. Also, Cole Perfetti and Canada will be playing Russia on Wednesday afternoon, in their exhibition matchup.

The full pre-competition schedule is listed below. All games where a Winnipeg Jets prospect is playing can be found in bold and the games are listed in Central Time. The games will be televised by TSN in Canada and by the NHL Network in the United States.

December 22, 5:00 p.m. Switzerland v Austria

December 22, 8:30 p.m.  Finland v USA

December 23, 5:00 p.m. Canada v Russia

December 23, 8:30 p.m. Slovakia v Czech Republic

The prestigious tournament is scheduled to begin on Christmas Day and these tuneup games will be your first glimpse to see Ville Heniola, Henri Nikkanen, and Cole Perfetti in action before the tournament begins.