PRESSURE COOKED

THE DISTANCE BETWEENSt. John’s, Nfld., and Ufa, Russia is 4,251 miles. Ron Tugnutt can only hope that gulf is wide enough to give Canada’s goalies some breathing room at this year’s world juniors. It’s a debatable notion, but Hockey Canada’s goaltending consultant believes the stoppers on his country’s WJC team have faltered so badly in crucial moments the past three years because of the suffo-cating pressure they’ve faced playing on home soil or in a border city. Of the past three tournaments, two were in Canada and the other in Buffalo, an event drawing so many Canadian fans that chants of “This is our house!” rang out in the First Niagara Center during Canada’s semifinal game against the host Americans. But the goaltenders have not been able to protect their house at…

The Instigator

DREAFT WATCH

1 SASHA BARKOV Finland, Center Sure to be a focal point of the Finnish attack, Barkov is a big-bodied playmaker who became the youngest ever to score a goal for Suomi at last year’s tournament. 2. ELIAS LINDHOLM Sweden, Center Likely the second Euro to go in the draft this year after Barkov, Lindholm is talented and tenacious and proving he can score against much older competition back home. 3. RASMUS RISTOLAINEN Finland, Defense Returning to the world juniors for a second go, Ristolainen has proven himself against men in Finland’s top league by playing a mature, physical game with offensive upside. 4. NIKITA ZADOROV Russia, Defense The lone CHLer on the list, Zadorov brings an intimidating 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame to the London Knights, which he uses to punish opponents and shut down scorers. 5. artturi lehkonen Finland, Left Wing Plays well against older…

CANADIAN CRAVINGS

ALTHOUGH THE IIHFWorld Junior Championship has been belittled by some for being a provincial tempest in one country’s teapot, as with anything, it really depends on the way you look at it. Is the tournament as much of a seminal annual event as it is in Canada? Not even close. But that’s like saying tea isn’t all that appealing of a beverage because it’s a religion in the United Kingdom more than it is anywhere else on the planet. When you stop comparing the WJC’s success outside Canada to the runaway success within it, you see the tournament has grown in prominence in a number of other countries. For instance, last year’s final between the eventual-champion Swedes and Russia garnered a TV audience in Sweden of 600,000 in a land of…