It’s finally here! Day 1 Preview

When teams have only had a game or two to play together before the start of the tournament, it’s always tough to predict what will happen. On the opening day of this year’s Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, we’ll see which teams can get off to a good start, and which will be behind the eight ball.

USA vs Sweden

Břeclav, 15:30 CET/ 9:30 am ET

The Americans went to the final of last year’s tournament, but they have a tough challenge to start this tournament against the team many figure to be the class of the Břeclav Group. Although the Swedes do not have defenceman Rasmus Dahlin on their tournament roster - he recently played in the World Junior Showcase in the USA - they do have an array of talent, led by defenceman Adam Boqvist and Timra forwards Jacob Olofsson and Filip Hallander. The Americans, who are coming off pre-tournament wins against the Hungarian U20 team and Slovakia, also have an Adam on their back end - Adam Samuelsson, the son of former Swedish star Ulf Samuelsson, so opening up the tournament against Sweden will be special for him.

Canada vs Russia

Bratislava, 15:30 CET/ 9:30 am ET

After winning eight straight titles, Canada’s run of dominance at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial came to a screeching halt last year with a 5th place finish. This year they’re determined to recapture the title, and no player is more motivated than captain Joe Veleno, the only returnee from last year’s team. The team arrived in Europe on Thursday and then in their only pre-tournament game, they beat the Czechs 3-1 in Břeclav on Saturday. As for the Russians, like the Swedes they are without a top prospect - Andrei Svechnikov - but they do have Danila Galenyuk, a returnee from last year. Russia won a pair of pre-tournament games against Belarus and Linz U20, but things will get a lot tougher now. When these teams met last year, Canada dominated most of the game, but two late Russian goals ultimately proved fatal to Canada’s semi-final chances.

Czech Republic vs Switzerland

Břeclav, 19:00 CET/ 1:00 pm ET

The Czechs won last year’s tournament and the fans in Břeclav have become used to some success at this event, with a silver and a bronze as well in the last four years. After dropping a pre-tournament game against Canada, their title defence begins against the always tricky Swiss. Last year’s Czech squad included stars Martin Nečas and Filip Zadina but those players are too old now. This year’s roster does include a potential first-round pick in forward Jakub Lauko, and defencemen Zack Malík and Libor Zábranský Jr. are sons of former pro hockey players. The Swiss finished last place last year with Nico Hischier in their lineup. They don’t have him back but many think this team is better overall than last year’s squad. They’re not big on high-end talent but defenceman Nico Gross from Zug is a ranked prospect.

Slovakia vs Finland

Bratislava, 19:00 CET/ 1:00 pm ET

In the last game of last year’s tournament, the Slovaks ended a seven-year, 30-game losing streak at the Hlinka Memorial. The team had been competitive all tournament thanks to top-end players Adam Ružička and Adam Liška and finally got the win to finish 7th. This year’s squad is thinner on talent and they’re in a tough group, so they’ll surely need a solid team game and better penalty-killing than they got in a pre-tournament game against the USA, who scored four power-play goals against them. As for the Finns, they don’t have the star power that has become the norm in recent years, but they do have a decent amount of talent, led by centres Rasmus Kupari and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and will be tough to beat as always.