2021 WJC GAME DAY THREAD: CANADA (3-0-0-0) vs. Finland (3-0-0-0) DEC. 31st, 2020 6pm EST TSN1, 3, 4 and 5
Top spot in Pool A is on the line tonight as Canada faces Finland in the final round robin game at the 2021 World Junior U20 Championship in Edmonton. Finland will give Canada its toughest matchup to date and Canada will have to have their best game of the tournament so far. Winning Pool A would give Canada a slight more favourable matchup in their quarter-final however Pool B is quite strong this year and Canada would likely face the Czechs should they finish atop Pool A. No new injuries to report for the Canadian team, they will ice their full lineup tonight, minus Kirby Dach of course. Dylan Cozens leads the team in scoring with 4 goals and 5 assists in 3 games.
Leafs fans have had a special reason to keep an eye on Finland this year as 3 of their recent draft picks are playing on this year’s team. Roni Hirvonen has 4 assists in 3 games so far. Mikko Kokkonen has one assist and is a +2 in his 3 games. However defenceman Topi Niemela has been a very nice player for Finland and is looking like he was a nice pick by Leaf GM Kyle Dubas. Niemela has 2 goals and 4 assists in 3 games and is tied with Cam York of USA for scoring points by defencemen thus far in the tournament. He looks very calm on the point and is able to get his shots through to the net.
In past years, the New Years Eve matchup traditionally has been Canada vs. Russia or Canada vs. USA. This year it’s Finland, it should be a great game to watch, and also because it gets us all closer to kissing the terrible year that was 2020 good-bye. Here’s to a better year ahead, bring on 2021. Have a fun and safe New Years Eve and Happy New Year all you puckeads.