Just hours after Finland ended its exhibition Saturday, coach Harri Rindell and the Finnish Hockey Federation announced the 23 players it will take to Ufa, Russia, for the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Among the players going to Russia is Alexander Barkov, the top 2013 NHL Draft candidate who had a goal and two assists in the third period of Finland's 5-1 defeat of the United States in the team's final pre-tournament exhibition game.

He has 14 goals and 28 points in 32 games with Tappara in SM-liiga, the top Finnish professional league, and is NHL Central Scouting's top-rated Finnish skater in its preliminary rankings of skaters for this year's draft.

The pressure of being the youngest Finnish forward to represent his country at the 2012 World Junior Championship never seemed to get the best of forward Aleksander "Sasha" Barkov.

In fact, Barkov, who was one of only four 1995-born players participating at the 2012 WJC, became the youngest Finnish player to score a goal at the Under-20 tournament. At 16 years and four months, the 6-foot-2, 209-pound center made history when he connected for the decisive goal in an 8-5 victory against Slovakia in the tournament's quarterfinal round.

"It was a great experience and it was nice to score a goal against Slovakia," Barkov told NHL.com. "The best hockey experience ever was that tournament."

It took Sweden 31 years to win its second World Junior Championship gold medal. Will the third take a little less time?

Sweden enters the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship as the defending champion after its 1-0 overtime defeat of Russia in last year's gold-medal game. Six players return from that team, and among the missing are both goaltenders; a pair of top defensemen; and offensive star Mika Zibanejad, who scored the golden goal in Alberta.

Sweden does have a few important players returning, among them captain Filip Forsberg, a top prospect for the Washington Capitals.

"Sweden does have a team that can win again," NHL Director of European Scouting Goran Stubb told NHL.com. "That team has a lot of talent and skill."

They're not the only team in Group A that fits that description.

Finland features a lineup that includes a pair of potential 2013 NHL Draft first-round picks: Center Alexander Barkov likely will go in the top five in June, and could challenge for No. 1, and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is tough and talented at both ends of the ice.

The Czech Republic could be a dark-horse medal contender, while Switzerland and Latvia will do their best to avoid relegation-round play.

Preliminary-round games start Dec. 26, with all Group A games played in the 3,900-seat Ufa Sports Palace.

Here's a breakdown of the five teams competing in Group A. The top-seeded team from the group will earn a bye into the semifinals of the medal round. The second- and third-place teams play cross-over quarterfinal contests with Group B.

After spoiling Canadian hockey fans with five straight gold medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship, the Canadian National Junior Team hasn't produced a memorable finish for its rabid followers the past three years.

First there was a 6-5 overtime loss to the United States in the 2010 gold-medal match in Saskatchewan, followed by an inexcusable meltdown in the third period against the Russians in the 2011 gold-medal game in Buffalo when Canada yielded five unanswered goals on 10 shots in a 5-3 defeat.

Last year marked the first time in 11 years Canada would not play for the gold medal at the 10-team competition after dropping a 6-5 semifinal decision to Russia in Calgary. Russia would lose to Sweden in overtime, 1-0, in the gold-medal game, while Canada took home the bronze with a 4-0 win over Finland.

One of the most memorable quotes following Russia's victory over Canada was provided by captain Yevgeni Kuznetsov.

"We just won, and that question [of who is the better team] has become clear, so we're stronger than Canada," Kuznetsov said. "We're happy. I'm glad that Canada will not win gold this year."

There's no question Canada would enjoy ending the heartache on Russian soil with this year's tournament held in Ufa.

Canada will join Russia, the United States, Slovakia and Germany in Group B at the 2013 WJC. Preliminary-round games start Wednesday at 7,950-seat Ufa Arena.

Here's a breakdown of the five teams competing in Group B. The top-seeded team from the group will earn a bye into the semifinals of the medal round. The second- and third-place teams play cross-over quarterfinal contests with Group A.

In the ninth installment of our series on the NHL in the 1980s, we focus on the 1987-88 season.

It was a year when fans were kick-started into playoff mode in the late summer with the Canada Cup tournament, an elite best-on-best international showdown.

That was quickly followed by an NHL season that featured a scoring race between Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux as well as several history-making and totally unexpected moments.

Here’s a look back at some of the headlines and personalities that kept fans on the edge of their seats in ’87-88.

1. GREAT & MAGNIFICENT

The 1987 Canada Cup -- contested from Aug. 28 through Sept. 15 -- proved to be one of the most memorable international tournaments of all time.

It marked the only time Gretzky and Lemieux skated on the same side in a meaningful competition during their remarkable careers. And Canada’s megastar combo didn’t disappoint. Working on the same line, they combined for nearly 30 percent of the club’s offensive production.

After a five-game round-robin schedule, Canada, Sweden, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union advanced to a one-game-elimination semifinal round. The Canadians and Soviets moved on to the best-of-3 final with victories over the Czechs and Swedes, respectively.

The history of Russians playing in the NHL has plenty of watershed moments.

There is 1989, when the first Soviet player, Sergei Pryakhin, officially was allowed to leave for the NHL, and the first defector, Alexander Mogilny, made his way to the world’s top league in a much more clandestine fashion. Then we have 1994, when the league honored its first Hart Trophy winner of Russian descent, Sergei Fedorov, and the Stanley Cup Final was first shown on Russian television, instantly creating hundreds of thousands of new NHL fans. That summer the first Russian names were etched on the legendary trophy following the New York Rangers' Cup victory.

Who will forget 1997, when the Detroit Red Wings, featuring the famed Russian Five, claimed the Stanley Cup and became, at least for a while, arguably Russia's favorite hockey team? It wouldn't be wrong to point to 2001, when a Russian finally heard his name called first at the NHL Draft, or to 2004, when for the first and so far only time Russians were chosen with the first two picks. Or, indeed, to pretty much every year since, as not a single conversation about the League's top stars nowadays possibly can proceed without mentioning guys who hail from places like Moscow, Yekaterinburg or Magnitogorsk.

At least, that's what Schultz is saying these days. Whether you believe him is a topic for a different debate.

"It still is difficult. I'm learning every day," Schultz, Edmonton's top defensive prospect, humbly told NHL.com earlier this week in a phone interview from Oklahoma City, where he is playing for the Barons in the American Hockey League. "It's tougher at this level. It's still a challenge, but obviously I've had a good start."