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The MVP in Edmonton begins on Christmas Day, but Sweden will play their first game on the second night of Swedish time when the Junior Crowns take on the Czech Republic.
The main opponents of the Czech Republic started the 2000s with two consecutive golds at the JVM in 2000 and 2001, but since then the Czechs have had a difficult time convincing at the JVM.
The last time they won a medal was in 2005 when it was converted to bronze.
Despite Sweden Messy reloads can be seen as the favorites at the premiere, but Juniorkronorna national team regular captain Tomas Montén believes the Czech Republic will offer stiff opposition.
– My feeling is that the Czech Republic is about to change, so I have to score because I think they are better this year compared to last year, says Montén, who is not in Edmonton due to the covid-19 infection but you can support the Sweden team.
– For several years, they lost many juniors in North America, but a few years ago they took action around their junior business and it is starting to pay off.
In the other one the group game party Sweden will face Austria, who are newcomers to the A-WC.
– They have a real top player in Marco Rossi (he belongs to the NHL Minnesota team). I’d say he’s one of the top five forwards in the tournament. So we definitely need to keep an eye on Rossi. He is a player who can decide a match if you cannot close it, says Tomas Montén.
In the last two group matches, Sweden will have to seriously admit color when the team takes on Russia and the USA.
– How good is Russia, they showed it in Karjala (senior tournament that the Russian juniors won) in November. Since then, they have added four players to the roster, which probably makes them even better at JVM, says Tomas Montén.
– They are a very good team with an edge and attack speed, but they also have a solid defensive game with great backs and good goalkeepers.
Together with canada, who play in the second group, Russia are the advance gold favorites.
– Yes, there is a lot of talk about Canada and Russia, but in that conversation I think the United States is a bit forgotten. I think America is as good as Russia and Canada. He has a very sharp forward and a good goalkeeper.
Sweden enters the JVM tournament at Edmonton with an almost unlikely winning streak to defend.
The youth crowns have won 52 consecutive group games. The last time Sweden lost a group stage match at a JVM was on New Year’s Eve 2006, when the United States beat Sweden in the last group stage match in Leksand.
