The 2018 Word Junior Championship starts on Tuesday in Buffalo.

For the Dallas Stars it’s a particularly intriguing tournament this year. The Stars have six prospects in the tournament, including a trio of first-round picks.

Here is the team-by-team viewing guide for Stars fans heading into the tournament.

Team USA

The Americans have never won back-to-back titles and never won on home ice. With a pair of Stars prospects, this team could set a new precedent in Buffalo.

Similar to the 2017 team, the Americans bring a lot of skill, move the puck well, and should have a reliable goaltender — all the ingredients for a gold medal team. A potential top line of Logan Brown (Ottawa), Kailer Yamamoto (Edmonton), and Casey Mittelstadt (Buffalo) would be amongst the most-skilled in the tournament.

Stars fans will be most interested in the progress of Riley Tufte and Jake Oettinger, a pair of first-round picks and college sophomores that both rank amongst the franchise’s top-10 prospects.

Stars connection:

Jake Oettinger, goalie
First-round pick (26th overall) in 2017

The goalie was a back-up when the Americans won gold in 2017, and is battling with Joseph Woll for the starting gig in Buffalo. Oettinger has had a bit of an up-and-down season as a sophomore with Boston University, but that’s been highly impacted by the up-and-down nature of the Terriers team.

“It’s a really tough tournament to stand out in, but he could do that, as the starting goalie for the Americans, if he gets that role, it’s a really good sign,” Stars director of amateur scouting Joe McDonnell said. “He’s so composed and just smart with how he plays. It’s hard to figure out goalies, but we think we’ve got a good one with him and and I think you look at this season as a learning experience, hopefully this will be another big learning experience for him.”

Riley Tufte, left wing
First-round pick (25th overall) in 2016

Tufte likely would have been part of the championship-winning team in 2017 if he hadn’t dealt with injuries and essentially lost the first half of his freshman season to recovery time. Since 2017 started things have been clicking for Tufte, and through 19 games with Minnesota-Duluth he has eight goals and 11 points. Tufte could be an asset in front of the net for the Americans, particularly on the power play, and is going to be asked to play a more physical role.

“The injuries set him back quite a bit last year, but he snapped out of it halfway through the year. Any time it’s your rookie season in any league, and you start with an injury, it’s hard to get into the groove. It’s nice to see that he did that,” McDonnell said. “And this year he’s had some really good games, some ones where you sort of have to look for him, so consistency for him is going to be the biggest thing. But when you get a kid that size, usually that is the issue at that age. So you’ve just got to wait for him and just show the consistency level with him.

Draft watch:

The Americans are a team heavy on experience and already drafted players, in their preliminary camp 24 of the 28 players had already been drafted. Of those still draft eligible and likely to make a difference, Brady Tkachuck is going to be a player to watch. A freshman at Boston University, he had 14 points in 19 collegiate games this season. He should be a first-round selection in Dallas.

Team Canada

Canada came extremely close to winning a gold medal last January, falling in a thrilling shootout against the Americans. Canada is missing a couple big-name players that made an early jump to the NHL (Pierre-Luc Dubois in Columbus, Tyson Jost in Colorado), but did get a boost when the Montreal Canadiens decided to loan defenseman Victor Mete to Team Canada for the tournament.

He won’t be the starter, but the Stars prospect Colton Point was a bit of a surprise selection for Team Canada and should play at least one game in pool play.

Stars connection

Colton Point, goalie
Fifth-round pick (128th overall) in 2016

Point has dual citizenship and could have played for either the Americans or Canadians at this tournament. He picked Canada and after beating out two other goalies in pre-tournament camp, the Colgate product became the first college goalie to play for the Canadians since 2003 (and just the third overall in tournament history).

Point is having a tremendous season and is the backbone of a Colgate team that is playing above it’s punching weight. In 16 NCAA games, Point has a 1.90 GAA and .938 SV%.

“His consistency has been really good. Last year he came in and it was hard for him with injuries and illness, but he worked and he learned,” McDonnell said. “He learned some off ice things that he was to do, and this year he’s just carried it right over. He had a good summer, and the consistency with him has been excellent at Colgate. He’s figuring things out off the ice, workouts and different things like that. And it’s been really good to see.”

Draft watch:

None. All of the Canadians on the roster have been drafted already.

Team Finland

The 2017 tournament was a source of embarrassment for the Finns. One year after winning gold they were playing in the relegation round and the coach was fired in the middle of the tournament. This year the Finns should be a stout defensive team, and that starts with Stars first-round pick Miro Heiskanen, who leads a group of four first-round picks on the blue line. Finland should also have an electric power play with Heiskanen and Nashville Predators first-rounder Eeli Tolvanen.

Stars connection

Miro Heiskanen, defense
First-round (3rd overall) in 2017

It’s going to be a busy year for Heiskanen. In addition to racking up more than 20 minutes a game in Finland’s top league as a teenager, he’s also expected to play for the Finns in the Olympics, maybe make an AHL cameo, and then play for the senior team in the World Championships in the spring. Even with that workload Heiskanen has been impressing scouts, there are very few flaws in his game, and he could be a regular in Dallas as early as next season.

I haven’t really seen anything different with him or anything like that, he is as advertised since and he’s exactly what we thought once we called his name back in June. We’re happy he’s developing, he’s playing against men in that league and he’s doing a real nice job so far.

Draft watch:

Another team heavy with already-drafted players (that’s a theme with the realistic contenders in this tournament), but the Finns have a couple names to watch in Juha Jaaska and Jere Innalla, a pair of forwards that could impress scouts for the 2018 Draft in Dallas.

Team Sweden

The Swedes are going to be a popular team to watch this year. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is likely going to be the No. 1 pick in June, Lias Andersson (New York Rangers) and Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks) also have bright futures and will be closely watched by scouts. Sweden finished fourth last January and haven’t medaled since 2014, but could reverse that trend with Stars prospect Fredrik Karlstrom on the roster.

Stars connection

Fredrik Karlstrom, forward
Third round (90th overall) in 2016

Karlstrom started as an extra forward in the tournament last year, but ended up securing regular playing time and moving up the lineup as Sweden reach the semifinals. He’s been in a bit of a tough spot this season in the SHL playing against older competition (just three points in 26 games) and has been forced to play limited minutes with Linkoping. But against his age group and peers Karlstrom has put together an encouraging resume, and should be a top-six forward in the tournament for the Swedes.

“I think the development path for him has been excellent. And I think part of that is has been his off-ice stuff. He’s gotten bigger, stronger, his skating has improved because of the leg strength and upper-body strength. So he’s just on an upward curve, so it’s really nice to see him. He’s taken a couple steps forward with his physical development,” McDonnell said. “He’s a skilled a smart hockey player, you can see it and you can just tell. Before he was sort of weak and it was tough to win some one-on-one battles and things, but now with the added strength and weight he’s tough to knock off the puck and he’s got really good hockey sense.”

Draft watch:

Rasmus Dahlin is likely going to be the top prize in the 2018 NHL Draft, and he’s going to be a player to watch in this tournament. The defenseman is a highlight reel on skates as a teenager in Sweden’s top league and should be even better agains his peers. He should be easy to notice, he’ll still be wearing a full cage since he won’t be 18 until next April.

Team Czech Republic

The Czechs have lost in the quarterfinals in six straight years and this could be the year they compete for a medal. Martin Necas (Carolina Hurricanes) and Filip Chytil (New York Rangers) are a dynamic duo, while 2018 draft eligible Filip Zadina could be a top-five pick. The Stars have keen interest in the Czech success with defenseman Ondrej Vala.

Stars connection

Ondrej Vala, defenseman
Undrafted free agent

Vala was a savvy signing by the Stars after the defenseman went undrafted. A physical defenseman with a heavy shot, he’s going to play big minutes for the Czechs and that could be the difference between a medal and another quarterfinal loss — if there is a weakness on the Czech team, it’s the lack of depth on the blue line.

“His game since he’s come to North America is going in the right direction. And again he’s just learning being at the training camps and the development camps, and things like that,” McDonnell said. “He’s learned from our development coaches different things he has to do, and he’s going in the right direction for sure. This year on the Czech team he’s going to play a bigger role, and he’s already playing a big role in Kamloops up there for them. So he’s having an excellent year for them and hopefully this World Junior will propel him to another level in the second half of the year, I’m looking forward to that.”

Draft watch:

Filip Zadina is likely going to be a top-10 pick when the draft comes to Dallas next year. The Czech is lighting up the QMJHL with the Halifax Moosheads to the tune of 46 points in 32 games, and should be one of the best players on his team. Also keep an eye on the the Czech goalie Jakub Skarek, who could sneak into the top-three rounds in Dallas.

Team Russia

Last year the Russians were a popular team for Stars fans and Dallas prospect Denis Gurianov was a bit catalyst as his country won a bronze medal. The Russians are still medal favorite this season, but there isn’t a local connection.

Like many Russian teams, it’s going to be built on skill. Andrei Altybarmmakyan (Chicago), Vitaly Abramov (Columbus), and Klim Kostin (St. Louis) lead a group of forwards that could put up big goals in the tournament. The biggest question in in goal, where the Russians have to replace Ilya Samsonov, the Washington Capitals super prospect.

Draft watch:

Andre Svechnikov is likely going to be a top-five pick at the 2018 draft, and could potentially be the top selection depending on which team ends up winning the lottery. The Russian forward has taken a more North American development path and played for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL last season and now has 21 points in 16 games this season with the OHL’s Barrie Colts as a 17-year-old.

Team Slovakia

Slovakia is often stuck in that middle ground when it comes to international hockey. The Slovaks aren’t amongst the big-six countries, but they also aren’t gimme wins on the schedule. Part of that comes down to how the Slovaks run their under-20 program. The elite players are already in North America, while the rest of the group is typically selected from Orange 20 — a team that plays together all season in similar sashing to the United States Olympic Development Program.

Draft watch:

Goalie David Hrenak could be a sneak over-age pick for a team at the 2018 NHL Draft. The goalie wasn’t drafted last year, but has had a strong showing in the USHL for the Green Bay Gamblers, and has made noise in six starts this season with St. Cloud State (1.82 GAA, .947 SV%). For a team looking to take a flier on a goalie, he could be worth the risk.

Team Switzerland

Swiss success at World Juniors is often built on the big names. As a team they typically play a smart disciplined enough style to compete, while it’s the big names — like a Nico Hischier last year — that turns them into a sneaky medal threat. This year the Swiss are missing that big name. They aren’t an easy opponent in any sense, but might be more of a contender in 2019.

Draft watch:

Nico Gross played for the Swiss as a 16-year-old and has since made the transition to North America and played for Oshawa Generals in the OHL. Gross is going to play a big role for the Swiss, and he could play his way onto the radar of some teams.

Team Denmark

The Danes have been a fun team to watch in recent years because they’ve smashed expectations and reached the quarterfinals. This year such a trip isn’t expected as Denmark is lacking the big-name players and some have already circled that game against Slovakia as a must-win to avoid the relegation series.

Draft watch:

Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup wasn’t drafted in 2017, but could be an overage pick in 2018. One USHL scout said he would rate Schmidt-Svejstrup as a sixth-round pick.

Team Belarus

Belarus earned promotion to the World Junior Champions last year and are back in the top-tier tournament after a one-year absence. Success for the Belarusians isn’t expected, but they have cohesive team thanks to a similar program to Slovakia — a team of teenagers player in the men’s pro league — and a couple players producing in North American in Maksim Sushko and Vladislav Yeryomenko.
Draft watch:

I’m a bit stumped on this one. Hopefully someone on Belarus surprises us.

Podcast

Ryan Satkowiak and I also put together a podcast preview for the tournament. You can listen in here:

Tournament schedule

Day 1 – Tuesday, December 26th:
Czech Republic vs. Russia – Noon
Belarus vs. Sweden – 2pm
Canada vs. Finland – 4pm
Denmark vs. USA – 8pm

Day 2 – Wednesday, December 27th:
Switzerland vs. Belarus – 3pm
Slovakia vs. Canada – 7pm

Day 3 – Thursday, December 28th:
Finland vs. Denmark – Noon
Russia vs. Switzerland – 2pm
Sweden vs. Czech Republic – 4pm
USA vs. Slovakia – 8pm

Day 4 – Friday, December 29th:
Belarus vs. Russia – Noon
Canada vs. USA (OUTDOOR GAME) – 3pm

Day 5 – Saturday, December 30th:
Czech Republic vs. Belarus – Noon
Sweden vs. Switzerland – 2pm
Finland vs. Slovakia – 4pm
Denmark vs. Canada – 8pm

Day 6 – Sunday, December 31st:
Switzerland vs. Czech Republic – Noon
USA vs. Finland – 4pm
Slovakia vs. Denmark – 6pm
Russia vs. Sweden – 8pm

Day 8 – Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018
Quarterfinals (schedule TBD)

Day 10: Thursday, January 4th, 2018
Semifinals (Schedule TBD)

Day 11: Friday, January 5th, 2018
Medal games (Schedule TBD)