FTB: The Junior World Championship begins on Tuesday

It wouldn’t be summer without an international hockey tournament…it’s not something people usually say, but here we are!

The Junior Men’s World Championship begins on Tuesday, which means you can spend the next two weeks watching the hockey all afternoon and evening. It’s like December, except it’s 30 degrees outside.

The full tournament schedule is linked here, but generally the first match of the day will start around 2:00 p.m. ET, while the last match will start at 10:00 p.m. Team Canada’s first game is Wednesday against Latvia, a team you will remember that scared Canada in the recent past. Latvia was certainly on the rise in the hockey world before COVID. We’ll see if they kept up that momentum on Wednesday.

If you want to watch a warm-up game, the final game of the Hlinka Gretzky Under-18 Cup tournament is tonight and Team Canada will play.

I have a good word from our own Brigstew that the Canadian team is “ridiculous”. You will no doubt see several in this game who will be chosen in the first round of the next NHL Draft.

Other news

Healthy Tavares believes Maple Leafs core can end playoff woes – NHL.com
“I actually didn’t feel too bad last summer, but it’s good to know that, as great as this summer is, [rehab] is not part of it.

[PODCAST] Looking back on the 2015-2022 draft years – Center Of Leafs Nation
In this week’s episode, we look back over the past seven years in the draft for the Maple Leafs. We take a look at who is to blame for the failures, what prospects fans should be looking for, and settle the debate once and for all who drafted better Mark Hunter or current GM Kyle Dubas!

Jonathan Huberdeau: The Flames ‘made me think they really care about me’ – TSN
The biggest off-season dinner in Calgary Flames history took place in a private room at a low-key hotel bar just steps from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. “Obviously that dinner went really well,” Huberdeau said.

The restaurant where Huberdeau and the Flames worked out the outline of his new 8-year, $10.4 million AAV deal would be Bar George, which is located at Le Mount Stephen hotel. Their menu is compact, with a focus on cocktails (which makes sense for a hotel) and a wide variety of meat entrees, all listed in the $60 range, which I think is a little high, though that hotel restaurants are generally expensive.

The restaurant is described on the menu as follows:

Paying homage to Sir George Stephen’s British and Canadian connections, chefs Anthony Walsh and Kevin Ramasawmy playfully and thoughtfully blend classic British cuisine with current Quebec flavor and quality local ingredients.

Well, the Flames certainly bring a Quebec touch to their team. I’m not sure they had the opportunity to do it thoughtfully, but more out of necessity. I hope they at least had a good steak from that dinner too (and I’m not talking about the cauliflower steak).