The 2022 World Junior Championship kicks off today in Alberta, Canada. There are four Winnipeg Jets prospects competing at this edition of this major tournament and each prospect is representing a different country and all four of them will be in action today.
Those prospects competing at the WJC are former 2020 tenth overall draft pick Cole Perfetti (Canada) and 2020 second-round pick Daniel Torgersson (Sweden) and 2021 draft picks Nikita Chibrikov (Russia), and Chaz Lucius (United States).
All four former Winnipeg Jets draft picks will be playing today at the WJC
Below are the games that feature a Winnipeg prospect, and the time (in central time) of the game.
Russia vs. Sweden
1:00 p.m. CT
This game will be most Winnipeg supporters first time watching Nikita Chibrikov and Daniel Torgersson live and this may be the game of the day to watch in Alberta.
Both of these players will be making their WJC debuts in this game. The eighteen-year-old, Chibrikov, is a winger and was selected by the Jets in the second round of last summer’s entry draft and plays his club hockey in Russia. He is known to be a force in the offensive zone. At the u18 world championships in May, he had four goals and nine assists in seven games.
On the other hand, Torgersson also plays on the wing and was playing this season on loan for AIK in HockeyAllsvenskan, which is the second-highest league in the Swedish hockey pyramid. He is known for being more of a power forward and has four goals and one assist in 20 games for AIK this season.
Russia who lost in the Bronze Medal Game to Finland last year is looking for a much better showing this time around and are coming up against Sweden who also had a poor tournament last year as they were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
This game is also the first of games on back-to-back days for both of these teams. Tomorrow Chibrikov and Russia will face off against Switzerland at 3:30 p.m and Torgersson and Sweden will match up against Slovakia at 6:00 p.m.
Czechia vs. Canada
6:00 p.m. CT
Cole Perfetti and Canada are looking for redemption after suffering heartbreak in the Gold Medal Game last year to the United States. Canada had a perfect record (6-0-0) going into the championship and scored a total of 41 goals in the six games leading up to the championship, but the U.S.A. held them scoreless en route to a 2-0 victory.
Canada is projected as the favorite this year and Perfetti is expected to play a big role for his country. The Manitoba Moose star was named an assistant captain for Team Canada.
On December 23, Czechia’s pre-tournament exhibition game versus Switzerland was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
United States vs. Slovakia
8:30 p.m. CT
The U.S.A. and 2021 Jets’ first-round pick, Chaz Lucius, begin their gold medal defense in the final game of the opening day at the WJC.
Slovakia looked great in their pre-tournament game by beating Germany 4-0, but the United States are still the favorites in this one.
Just like Chibrikov, this is Lucius’ first time at the WJC. The centerman is known to be a prolific goal scorer and was known to be one of the best goal scorers in the 2021 draft class.
If you are located in Canada you will be able to watch the World Juniors games on one of the TSN channels. Canadian viewers can find the broadcast schedule by clicking the link here.
If you are in the United States and looking to watch any of these games they will all be available on the NHL Network.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: Which game are you most excited to watch today? Leave your comments below!