World Junior Hockey Tournament

[Brahmsian]

Hello, and a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! 

A favourite tradition that many Canadians look forward to, as do other hockey fans too, is watching the annual World Junior Hockey Tournament.  It starts every year on Boxing Day, December 26th.

If you love hockey played at a super skilled, high level, fast paced, this is the tournament to watch.  Many future NHLers (some already drafted), and some that are too young to be drafted but will likely be.

It is a highly competitive tournament, and the players here don't play for money - simply for pride in their country and for the passion of the game.

The perennial powerhouse teams are:

*Russia
*Canada
*USA
*Sweden
*Finland
*Czech Republic
*Slovakia

As well, Switzerland and Germany, are not to be discounted.

In the history of the tournament, it has been dominated by Russia and Canada, who combined, have won the majority of the Gold medals.  However, the gap has considerably narrowed, and especially by Sweden and USA, who have very, very strong teams.

This year's should be another great tournament.

Looking forward to the start of the tournament tomorrow!  Good luck to all the participating countries, but of course I'll be cheering for Team Canada!