3 things learned at Day 1 of World Juniors

Tuesday is the second day of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, which is being held at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Day 1 results

Switzerland 3, Finland 2 (OT)
Sweden 11, Austria 0
United States 5, Latvia 2
Czechia 5, Canada 2

What We Learned on Day 1

United States getting contributions from everywhere

The United States' most impactful line in its 5-2 win against Latvia on Monday might have been its grind line of
Dylan Duke
(Tampa Bay Lightning),
Redmond Savage
(Detroit Red Wings) and
Tyler Boucher
(Ottawa Senators).
Savage and Duke assisted on a first-period goal by defenseman
Sean Behrens
(Colorado Avalanche) that gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead, with Duke and Boucher screening goalie Patriks Berzins (2023 draft eligible).
Then it was Duke spinning in the slot and firing a shot that Berzins stopped, but Savage was in the right spot to score on the rebound.

And Boucher nearly had a goal in the first period but it was ruled the puck crossed the goal line after the whistle blew.
The line set the tone with its physicality and strong forecheck, and their reward was a big hand in the offense.
The U.S. got goals from its first line (
Jimmy Snuggerud
) and second line (
Chaz Lucius
), but that's expected. If its grinders can turn into scorers, it will make the quest for a gold medal that much easier.

Jiricek's gear, game show up

Czechia defenseman
David Jiricek
(Columbus Blue Jackets) was a game-time decision against Canada on Monday for a simple reason -- he didn't have any of his hockey equipment.
Jiricek played for Cleveland of the American Hockey League on Thursday, and then like thousands of other travelers was delayed getting into Halifax because of the winter storm that blanketed most of the United States and Canada.
He arrived Sunday, but without his equipment. So no sticks, no skates, no pads.
Jiricek practiced in borrowed equipment Monday morning. Fortunately his gear arrived before the game and he was able to play.
Czechia certainly was happy, as he played 16:47 and assisted on a power-play goal by
Jaroslav Chmelar
(New York Rangers) in the second period, skating the puck into the Canada zone, dumping it behind the net, and then digging it out and passing to Chmelar in front to give Czechia a 4-2 lead.

Canada facing rare adversity

Canada lost its opening game at the World Juniors for the first time since a 6-4 loss to the United States at the 2016 WJC.
The biggest issues for Canada appeared to be lapses and missed coverages in the defensive zone. Adam Fantilli (2023 draft eligible) and
Logan Stankoven
(Dallas Stars) failed to check
David Spacek
(Minnesota Wild) skating in for a backdoor tip-in in the first period, and 35 seconds later, David Moravec (2023 draft eligible) had more than enough time and space to skate into a shot that got past Canada goalie
Benjamin Gaudreau
(San Jose Sharks) to give Czechia a 2-1 lead it never would relinquish.

Then 44 seconds into the second period, defenseman
Stanislav Svozil
(Columbus Blue Jackets) took the puck from the blue line to below the face-off dot on the left side of the Canada zone before he encountered a defender and scored to make it 3-1.

Canada will have time fix its issues better before it plays Germany on Wednesday and Austria on Thursday.
"For us we always say we win or we learn, and we have to learn from this," Canada coach Dennis Williams told TSN. "It's a short-term event so we've got to make sure we figure out what went wrong throughout it."

On Tap for Day 2

All games on NHL Network in U.S., TSN and RDS in Canada
Finland vs. Slovakia (11 a.m. ET) -- Finland is looking to rebound after losing 3-2 in overtime to Switzerland on Monday. It will need to find its offense after managing 16 shots on goal, and more is needed from its top offensive players.
Joakim Kemell
(Nashville Predators) had three shots on goal, all in the third period, and
Brad Lambert
(Winnipeg Jets), who was moved down the lineup after starting the game on the top line, had one shot. Slovakia, which will play its first game, has two top prospects for the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft among its forwards, Dalibor Dvorsky and Samuel Honzek.
Germany vs. Sweden (1:30 p.m. ET) -- Germany is expected to have
Nikita Quapp
(Carolina Hurricanes) in goal for its tournament opener. Forward Bennet Rossmy (2023 draft eligible), Germany's captain, is back after leading the team with five points (four goals, one assist) at the 2022 WJC in August. Sweden, which struggled for offense at the 2022 tournament, had no problem in its opener against Austria on Monday, with nine players scoring in its 11-0 victory.
Isak Rosen
(Buffalo Sabres), who tied for Sweden's lead with four goals in August, had two goals and an assist Monday, as did forward
Filip Bystedt
(San Jose Sharks).
Switzerland vs. Latvia (4 p.m. ET) -- Switzerland will try to win consecutive games at the World Juniors for the first time since 2020. Defenseman
Lian Bichsel
(Dallas Stars) was dominant in the win against Finland. He played 26:41, and his end-to-end rush led to him assisting on Attilio Biasca's overtime goal. Latvia played well for two periods against the United States and was tied entering the third period Monday, but couldn't keep that same energy level in the final period. It likely will need a win here if it has any hope of avoiding the relegation round.
Austria vs. Czechia (6:30 p.m. ET) -- Austria won't have much time to recover from getting routed by Sweden, and will have to handle a Czechia team riding a high following its 5-2 upset of Canada on Monday. Czechia got three goals from defensemen, including a goal and an assist from Svozil, its captain. With
Jiri Kulich
(Buffalo Sabres),
Matyas Sapovaliv
(Vegas Golden Knights),
Jakub Brabenec
(Vegas Golden Knights) and Eduard Sale (2023 draft eligible), Czechia has forwards who can put the puck in the net. But getting big contributions from its defense corps only will help in its quest to win a WJC medal for the first time since a bronze in 2005.

Quick links

World Junior Championship predictions
Group A preview
Group B preview
World Juniors Championship rosters
Tournament schedule
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