NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman and NHL.com staff writer Mike G. Morreale are picking the U.S. to win. LNH.com staff writer Guillaume Lepage, who works at the NHL office in Montreal, believes defending champion Canada will win again.
Kimelman and Morreale predict Canada will finish second. Lepage has Russia taking silver.
Each writer also made his picks for best goaltender, best forward, best defenseman and top 2019 NHL Draft performer.
The 2019 WJC starts Wednesday and runs through Jan. 5, in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. Group A, which will play preliminary round games at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, consists of defending champion Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Russia and Switzerland. Group B, which will play at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, consists of Finland, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Sweden and the U.S.
The preliminary round ends Dec. 31. The top four finishers in each group advance to the quarterfinals Jan. 2, and then the semifinals are Jan. 4. The bronze-medal and gold-medal games are Jan. 5.
Many WJC games will be televised on NHL Network, including all U.S. games. A full schedule can be found
here
.
