5 Things learned from Day 1 of World Juniors

Monday was the first day of the 2017 World Junior Championship, which is being held in Toronto and Montreal. See the full schedule here.

Results

Sweden 6, Denmark 1
Czech Republic 2, Finland 1
USA 6, Latvia 1
Canada 5, Russia 3

Five things we learned

Keller strong for United States
United States forward Clayton Keller was impressive with two goals in a win against Latvia at Air Canada Centre.
Keller, selected No. 7 by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2016 NHL Draft, is no stranger to success on the big stage; he had four goals and 10 assists in seven games, helping the United States to a bronze medal in the World Junior U18 championship in 2016 and four goals and five assists in seven games, helping the United States to a gold medal in 2015.
"We got better as the game went on," United States coach Bob Motzko said. "You could tell there were some nerves in the first period, but after the guys settled in we found our style of play and got the job done. We'll learn from this as we get ready for the next one."
Keller, 18, scored his first goal at 18:45 of the second period for a 3-1 lead, and increased it to 4-1 with his second goal of the game, unassisted, at 12:19 of the third period.

Strome powers Canada in tournament opener
Forward Dylan Strome drove Canada's power play to a win against Russia at Air Canada Centre.
Strome, who was selected by the Coyotes in the first round (No. 3) of the 2015 NHL Draft, gave Canada a 2-1 lead with his first power-play goal at 13:15 of the second period. He scored his second power-play goal in the third period.
Forward Nicolas Roy (Carolina Hurricanes) also scored for Canada on the power play, which converted on three of six opportunities.

Czech Republic buoyed by scoring in win over defending champion Finland
Czech Republic players were joyfully whooping it up on the way to their Bell Centre locker room after a 2-1 win against Finland. Forward Michael Spacek (Winnipeg Jets) scored the winning goal with 1:18 remaining.
"I think especially it's a lift after our exhibition games before the tournament because we haven't scored a goal and we played top nations like U.S., Canada, and then another one was Finland," Czech Republic coach Jakub Petr said.
Defenseman Olli Juolevi (Vancouver Canucks) was among the veterans who spoke up to offer their perspective in Finland's locker room.
"I think some of the leaders tried to wake up the team and remind that we have to play (Tuesday), Juolevi said. "It's not that big a deal. We lost some games last year also, so you can't start overthinking things."

Nylander optimistic about Sweden as one of tournament favorites
Forward Alexander Nylander (Buffalo Sabres) scored two goals in Sweden's win against Denmark in the tournament opener at Bell Centre.
Nylander, who is the son of former NHL player Michael Nylander and younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander, had four goals and five assists in seven games at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship for Sweden, which finished in fourth place.
"I think that we've got good prospects, both hard workers, we've got some skilled guys, and it all mixes together really well," Nylander said. "I think we played good today, just bring all the positive from this game into the next game, and I've got experience from last year. I'm just trying to help out the new guys, just help them out as much as possible."

Dahlin, 16, gets two points in World Junior Championship debut
Sixteen-year-old Sweden defenseman Rasmus Dahlin had a productive World Junior Championship debut. Dahlin, who is one of the top-ranked 2018 NHL Draft eligible prospects, had a goal and an assist despite being limited to 8:50 of ice time, including 1:39 in the first period and 2:48 in the second.
"This is his first game, and I think playing in the world juniors as a 16-year-old that's a pretty big thing and we wanted to give him an easy start, and I think he got it," Sweden coach Tomas Monten said. "So he showed that he can play and we know that he can be an asset for us in the offensive part of the game, for sure."

What's next

Tuesday | Complete Schedule
Czech Republic vs. Switzerland (1 p.m., Bell Centre, NHL Network, TSN) - Upbeat Czech Republic carries the momentum of its upset win over Finland into Switzerland's tournament opener.
Latvia vs. Russia (4 p.m., Air Canada Centre, NHL Network, TSN) - Latvia faces a tough task against Russia. Eastern Europe rivals each try to avoid starting with consecutive losses.
Denmark vs. Finland (5:30 p.m., Bell Centre, NHL Network, TSN) - Defending champion Finland looks to bounce back from its opening game loss against Denmark.
Canada vs. Slovakia (8 p.m., Air Canada Centre, NHL Network, TSN) - Slovakia faces a big test in its tournament opener against host Canada, which will be buoyed by a partisan crowd after three power-play goals in its win against Russia.