4 Countries Unveil WJC Camp Rosters

December is World Junior Championship month on The Pipeline Show. As one of our four "Majors" on our seasonal calendar, you can expect a lot of talk focusing on the 2013 WJC. 

Today the preliminary and camp rosters of four different countries were named. A quick rundown follows after the jump.

Finland Upsets USA

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It was an outcome not many would have predicted before the tournament and even fewer after the first games had been played but with a win by Finland over USA, the WJC just became a lot more interesting.

After the Americans pounded Denmark 11-3 and Finland was embarrassed 8-1 by Canada, everyone expected that USA would come out on top of their meeting with the Northern nation on Wednesday. But a strong goaltending performance at one end with strange bounces and odd goals at the other gave Finland the victory.

With both teams now sporting 1-1 records, the importance and unpredictability of the final three days of round robin action is off the charts.

Postgame comments from players and coaches follows...

Canada Hammers Finland in Opener

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Most headlines after Canada's 8-1 blowout of Finland on Monday are probably along the lines of "Canada Stones Finland" or "Finland Stoned at WJC". Canadian forward Mark Stone registered a hat trick but Jonathan Huberdeau's 5-point night and Ryan Strome's 4-point effort should not be overlooked after game 1.

Post game comments after the jump.

WJC team by team preview: Finland

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We continue our team by team preview series here with 2 more countries today. Already we've explored Latvia, Denmark, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Now it's time to dig into the Fins.

Pool B- Edmonton
First Game vs Canada December 26th, 1:30 pm mst.

3 Keys to Success:

1. He ain't heavy he's my brother - It's amazing to think that had he not been injured last year Mikael Granlund would be suiting up for a 4th time in this tournament. It was obvious they missed him last year losing to Russia in the Quarter finals. But as good as Granlund is, Finland hasn't won a medal with him on the roster. The Minnesota Wild first rounder in 2010 was leading the elite league before joining the national team and looked to have some nice chemistry with his brother Markus, a Flames prospect in their first pre tournament game against Canada. Markus will be making his first WJC appearance but has led Finland in U18's before, as a captain last year and offensive leader with 10 points in 6 games. His older brother is captain for Finland this year and will look to add to the 13 points in 12 WJC career games.

2. Joel Armia - He's the biggest Finnish forward at 6.04 and will have to be a pest in front of the net for Finland to be successful. The Sabres first rounder, 16th overall last year, will also need to pick up his play from last year's tournament where he netted just 1 assist. Armia will rely on his U18 experience where he was exceptional for the Fins.

3. Olli Maatta - He's young (3rd youngest on the team) but might not believe that after watching him play. Maatta is eligible for the 2012 draft but already has a year of the World Junior Championship under his belt. Maatta plays with London of the OHL regularly and plays in all situation with the Knights. It will be no different with Finland as he could be their top rear guard in all situations. He's mobile, big and plays a smart game.

Wild Card

Aleksander Barkov - The second youngest player in the tournament could be a crowd favourite. He will become the youngest Finnish player to ever play in the tournament, adding more milestones to his resume. Earlier this year he became the youngest player to score a point in the Finnish Elite League. Barkov's father is of Russian decent and played many years for Russia, he's also a coach in the KHL right now. Barkov could make an early statement for the 2013 draft with a strong performance and could take some heat off the Granlunds and Joel Armia.

Expectations: Despite their last medal coming in 2006, a bronze, the Fins still expect to medal every year. I'm not sure they're worried about what colour it is.

Predictions: I like the Fins this year. Michael Granlund could lead the team in scoring and their goaltending looks to be very good. Bronze medal.

Disappointing Finn-ish: Country Fine with Players in CHL

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Finland had high hopes of earning a medal at the World Junior Championship after facing relegation and finishing 7th at last year's tournament but those hopes were dashed by the United States Saturday night. Finland will now face Russia for 5th place on Monday.

Finland had 7 returning players on this year's squad including their top line of Teemu Hartikainen (Edm 2008), Toni Rajala (Edm 2009) and Mikael Granlund (eligible 2010). However the trio, along with the entire Finnish offence was underwhelming.

TPS Blogger Helps Canada Win Tune Up

Canada kicked off it's exhibition portion at the Under 18 tournament with an overtime win over Finland.

Dylan Olsen, who will be guest blogging for The Pipeline Show scored the overtime winner 1:58 into overtime in the game played in Minneapolis, Minnesota Sunday.

The Camrose Kodiak D-man blasted a power play goal to win it for his country.

Curtis Hamilton (Saskatoon Blades) lit the lamp twice for Canada, while John McFarland (Sudbury Wolves), Brett Connolly (Prince George Cougars) and Simon Despres (Saint John Sea Dogs) also scored for the winning side.

Oshawa Generals goaltender Michael Zador went the distance in the
making 23 saves.

Canada will take on Slovakia Tuesday in their final exhibition game, and opens the tournament Thursday against Germany in Fargo.