The Winnipeg Jets season ended only thirteen days ago when the Jets beat the Seattle Kraken to finish up their underwhelming 2021-2022 season.
Although the Stanley Cup Playoffs are in full force, the offseason is in full swing for the Jets. They have many pending free agents, while they are in the midst of searching for a new head coach for next season.
Even though the Jets are in the offseason, today kicks off the 2022 IIHF World Championship in Finland. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we will get to see four members of the Jets compete on the International stage as they fight to bring home a trophy and Gold Medals home to their respective countries.
The 2022 IIHF World Championship begins today and three of the four Winnipeg Jets competing at this tournament will be in action today
Below we will list each matchup from today’s games that list the scheduled puck drop of the game in central time, where the game is being played, and a quick preview of the game.
USA v Latvia
8:20 a.m. (Nokia Arena)
Nate Schmidt makes his debut for the United States as they look to win Gold for the first time since 1933. The U.S.A. won bronze last summer and will look to build on that performance, but there are only two members from that bronze winning team that are on this year’s team.
It is worth noting that the United States features a younger team and Schmidt will be an assistant captain. Schmidt is the oldest member of the team at thirty years old.
Even though the United States is the heavy favorite, this game will be no easy task for the USA. Latvia is known for pulling off some great upsets.
In the first game of the 2021 edition of this tournament they shut out Canada 2-0, while out of their four losses last year, three of them were by one goal with one of those games going into overtime (3-2 Loss to Finland) and another going into a shutout. Their only two-goal loss in 2021 was a 4-2 loss to the U.S.
Germany v Canada
12:20 p.m. (Helsinki Ice Hall)
Reigning gold medalists, Canada begin their trophy defense today against Germany. Adam Lowry will be making his World Championship debut, while Pierre-Luc Dubois features for Canada at this tournament for the third time.
Canada is looking for a better run through group play compared to last year. Although Canada won the tournament last time out, they lost their first three group games last year and posted a 3-3-1 record. They qualified for the quarterfinals as the final seed in Group B on a tiebreaker over Kazakhstan because Canada had a better head-to-head record.
It will be interesting to see how Canada performs out of the gate this year against a tough defensive team in Germany.
Where to Catch Todays Games
For those who are in Canada and want to watch these games, the USA game can be seen on TSN4 while Canada’s game will be on TSN1.
If you are located in the United States, both of these games featuring the U.S. and Canada can be watched on the NHL Network.
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We will get to see Nikolaj Ehlers and Demark for the first time this tournament in the early hours of tomorrow morning. Demark faces Kazakhstan in the first game of Sunday’s slate of games, with an opening puck drop of 12:20 local time in Finland (4:20 a.m. central time).
Winnipeg Jets Fans: What are your predictions for today’s games at the Worlds? Leave your comments below!
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