WJC Report is new to Flyerdelphia, and will provide a glimpse at how the seven Flyers prospects fare in the tournament on days that they play.
For many, the holiday season represents a time for familial gatherings and exchanging gifts. But for hockey fans, it symbolizes the beginning of the annual World Juniors tournament, where the best prospects from around the world compete.
This year, the USA, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark and Finland will meet in the wonderful Finnish city of Helsinki, as the Canadians will look to defend their gold medal from last year and claim their sixth gold in the past 10 years.
Canada
A pair of first-round Flyers picks are representing Team Canada — Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny. Both players were held without a point, as the Canadians fell 4-2 to USA. Konecny was panned as one of Canada's top players after preliminary games, so he will be worth keeping an eye on as the tournament progresses. Canada will next take the ice on Monday, and will face Denmark.
Sweden
Oskar Lindblom, a fifth-round pick in 2014's draft, scored the second goal in Sweden's 8-3 romp of Switzerland. The Orange and Black's third-round pick this year, Felix Sandstrom, was relegated to the bench as the backup to Linus Soderstrom (who saved 15 of 18 shots). Tre Kronor is off until Monday, when they will take on the United States.
Russia
Radel Fazleev set up Artur Lata for the tying goal with 10:51 to play in Russia's opening game against the Czech Republic, which the Russians ultimately won, 2-1, in a shootout. This year's seventh-overall pick, Ivan Provorov, was held without a point, and neither Flyers prospect participated in the shootout. Russia will next play Monday, as they play the host, Finland.
Czech Republic
David Kase, taken in the fifth round this year, was a non-factor in the game against Russia. He was held without a point as well, and limited to just one shot on goal. He and the Czech Republic will next play Slovakia on Monday.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
