2023 World Junior Championship Group A preview

The 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship is scheduled in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Moncton, New Brunswick, from Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Today, we preview the Group A preliminary-round bracket.

Canada will have eight players back from the team won the gold medal at the 2022 World Junior Championship in August.
Though that memory will live forever, the focus has shifted to creating another lasting moment at the 2023 WJC.
Canada is the last country to win consecutive tournament championships, winning five straight from 2005-09.
"All the guys that are coming back really want that," said forward Connor Bedard, one of the returning players and the projected No. 1 pick in the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft. "And for the guys that are new, it's something that we want to give them."
Bedard, who leads the Western Hockey League in goals (27), assists (37) and points (64) in 28 games with Regina, tops a forward group that includes two players with NHL experience,
Shane Wright
(Seattle Kraken) and
Dylan Guenther
(Arizona Coyotes).
RELATED: [World Junior Championship schedule | Group B preview]
"There's so much talent on this team," Bedard said. "If we get into the [offensive] zone it's going to be tough to stop us."
Also back from the 2022 championship team are defensemen Ethan Del Mastro (Chicago Blackhawks) and Olen Zellweger (Anaheim Ducks); and forwards Nathan Gaucher (Anaheim Ducks), Zack Ostapchuk (Ottawa Senators), Brennan Othmann (New York Rangers), Joshua Roy (Montreal Canadiens) and Logan Stankoven (Dallas Stars).
But it's Bedard who likely will be the centerpiece of Canada's offensive attack. He had eight points (four goals, four assists) in seven games at the 2022 WJC, when he became the seventh 16-year-old to play for Canada at the tournament, joining Wayne Gretzky (1978), Eric Lindros (1989), Jason Spezza (2000), Jay Bouwmeester (2000), Sidney Crosby (2004) and Connor McDavid (2014).
"He's super strong," Wright said. "You see him off the ice and his legs are huge. He's got a super strong lower half of his body. Even though he might be smaller (5-foot-10, 185 pounds), I think that helps with his center of gravity. He's always pretty low to the ice but he's super stable on his feet."
Bedard understands the pressure facing him at the tournament but said he won't let it affect him.
"I don't think about it too much," he said. "We've got a goal to win a gold medal here. It's not a goal to make me look good or for personal stats for anyone. It's about winning a gold medal and focus on that. I'm not really thinking about that outside noise."
Canada will play in Group A in the preliminary round, along with Sweden, Czechia, Germany and Austria, with its games at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax. Group B consists of the United States, Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia and Latvia, with its games at Avenir Centre in Moncton.
Canada opens tournament against Czechia on Monday (6:30 p.m. ET; NHL, TSN).
The top four teams in the group advance to the quarterfinals.
Here's a look at each Group A team, in predicted order of finish:

Canada

Coach: Dennis Williams
2023 NHL Draft Watch: Connor Bedard, F, Regina (WHL); Adam Fantilli, F, Michigan (NCAA); Thomas Milic, G, Seattle (WHL)
Schedule:Dec. 26, Czechia (6:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 28, Germany (6:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 29, Austria (6:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 31, Sweden (6:30 p.m. ET)
Outlook: Canada will use Wright between Bedard and Othmann on its top line, but the second line of Fantilli between Stankoven and Guenther could be just as productive. Fantilli, who could be a top-three pick in the 2023 draft, is tied for third among NCAA players with 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in 26 games. Stankoven is averaging 2.10 points per game with Kamloops in the WHL (44 points in 21 games), second to Bedard (2.29). And Guenther had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 21 games with the Coyotes. Canada's defense also is mobile and skilled, led by Zellweger (Anaheim Ducks), Brandt Clarke (Los Angeles Kings) and Kevin Korchinski (Chicago Blackhawks). The only question for Canada will be in goal. Benjamin Gaudreau (San Jose Sharks) will start the tournament opener, but Milic also will get a chance to prove he can handle the No. 1 job. Regardless of who is in goal, with just solid play Canada should be the best team in Group A and will have a great chance of repeating as tournament champion.

Sweden

Coach: Magnus Havelid
2023 NHL Draft Watch:Leo Carlsson, F, Orebro (SWE); Axel Sandin Pellikka, Skelleftea Jr. (SWE-JR)
Schedule: Dec. 26, Austria (1:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 27, Germany (1:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 29, Czechia (1:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 31, Canada (6:30 p.m. ET)
Outlook: Sweden will be looking to recover from an offensive drought in August. It struggled to a 2-1 win against Latvia in the quarterfinals and then lost 1-0 to Finland in the semifinals, when it had 23 shots on goal. It's only consistent offensive presence during the tournament was defenseman Emil Andrae (Philadelphia Flyers), who had eight points (four goals, four assists) in his final WJC. Sweden has the players in place to create more offensively, including Isak Rosen (Buffalo Sabres), who tied for the team lead in August with four goals. Jonathan Lekkerimaki (Vancouver Canucks), Liam Ohgren (Minnesota Wild) and Fabian Lysell (Boston Bruins) also will be back looking for a better WJC experience, and Carlsson, projected to be a top-five pick in the 2023 draft, will be out to showcase his well-rounded skillset for a wider audience. Ludvig Jansson (Florida Panthers) is the only returning defensemen, but Sandin Pellikka, who has experience in the Swedish Hockey League with Skelleftea, could be an impact player. Havelid will coach for the first time, replacing Tomas Monten, who had coached the previous six tournaments.

Czechia

Coach: Radim Rulik
2023 NHL Draft Watch:Eduard Sale, F, Brno (CZE); Ales Cech, D, Karpat Jr. (FIN-JR)
Schedule:Dec. 26, Canada (6:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 27, Austria (6:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 29, Sweden (1:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 31, Germany (1:30 p.m. ET)
Outlook:Czechia brings back 16 players from the team that defeated the United States in the quarterfinals and reached the bronze-medal game, including goalie Tomas Suchanek (2023 draft eligible), who made 28 saves in the 4-2 win against the U.S. and has two seasons of experience on the smaller North American ice with Tri-City of the WHL. He'll have great support in front of him with a group of defensemen that will be led by Columbus Blue Jackets prospects David Jiricek and Stanislav Svozil. Jiricek, the No. 6 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, is one of the top rookie defenseman in the American Hockey League, with 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 19 games with Cleveland. Jiri Kulich (Buffalo Sabres), is the leading returning scorer with seven points (two goals, five assists) in the 2022 WJC. With its skill and experience, Czechia could have a chance to win its first tournament medal since a bronze in 2005.

Germany

Coach:Tobias Abstreiter
2023 NHL Draft Watch:Ryan Del Monte, F, London (OHL); Luca Hauf, F, Edmonton (WHL)
Schedule:Dec. 27, Sweden (1:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 28, Canada (6:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 30, Austria (4:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 31, Czechia (1:30 p.m. ET)
Outlook: Bennet Rossmy (2023 draft eligible) is back after the forward led Germany with five points (four goals, one assist) at the 2022 WJC. Also expected to play a top offensive role will be forward Julian Lutz (Arizona Coyotes), who led Germany with four points (two goals, two assists) at the 2022 IIHF World Under-18 Championship. Nikita Quapp (Carolina Hurricanes), who had an .893 save percentage in two games at the 2022 WJC, likely will start the tournament as Germany's No. 1 goalie. It will be a rough start, with Sweden and Canada on back-to-back days, and it likely will need a win in one of its final two games to secure fourth place in the group and a spot in the quarterfinals.

Austria

Coach: Kirk Furey
2023 NHL Draft Watch:David Reinbacher, D, Kloten (SUI); Ian Scherzer, C, Rogle Jr., (SWE-JR)
Schedule:Dec. 26, Sweden (1:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 27, Czechia (6:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 29, Canada (6:30 p.m. ET); Dec. 30, Germany (4:30 p.m. ET)
Outlook: Austria will have experience, with 14 players back from the 2022 WJC, including Scherzer, who had three points (one goal, two assists) in four games and is a C-rated prospect on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list presented by BioSteel. Vinzenz Rohrer (Montreal Canadiens) also should play a big role; the forward has 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) in 26 games with Ottawa of the Ontario Hockey League. Reinbacher, who had two assists and averaged 16:09 of ice time in four games in August, likely will lead the defense. He's a B-rated prospect for the 2023 draft. Thomas Pfarrmaier, the third goalie at the 2022 WJC, likely will have the starter role. Without Marco Kasper, who the Detroit Red Wings would not release for the tournament, Austria likely will need a win against Germany in its final game to avoid the relegation round.
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