The second-best tournament in sports, besides the Stanley Cup playoffs, begins on Christmas Day in Edmonton. It’s the World Juniors, featuring 10 countries and four Calgary Flames prospects, to boot.

We have assembled our roundtable to provide our opinions and handy predictions for the next few weeks of hockey.

Craig: Cole Caufield: the slippery strides and slingshot release he showcased in the exhibition game against Finland teased what could easily be the most potent offensive threat of the tournament.

Ryan: Juuso Valimaki was the best defenseman in Finland over the first two months of 2020-21, but Winnipeg prospect Ville Heinola wasn’t far off. Heinola’s played NHL games already and has a smart, savvy, confident game. On a relatively thin Finnish team, Heinola will need to carry the mail if they’re going to make noise.

Mike G: I’m very curious to see what Marco Rossi can do for Team Austria. It’s the first time his country has made the World Juniors since 2010 and Rossi has the potential to surpass even Thomas Vanek as the best Austrian player to ever reach the NHL. Drafted ninth overall in the 2020 Draft by the Minnesota Wild, one of Vanek’s old teams, Rossi will be a centrepiece of the Wild’s rebuild. Even more so, he’ll be the cornerstone of Team Austria in Edmonton. He’s the only member of the team to carry an NHL affiliation and could be instrumental in helping Austria surprise. If they manage to make it further than expected, Rossi will probably be the reason.

Prajeya: Yegor Chinakhov. One of the biggest surprises out of the 2020 NHL draft, the Russian winger was picked 21st overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets. So far this season, Chinakhov has eight goals and 15 points in 27 games with the Avangard Omsk of the KHL. I’m certainly excited to get a closer look at the Russian enigma, who had draft analysts stumped the day his name was called.

Mike W: Marco Rossi. Rarely, if ever, is Austria a draw but it’s hard not be excited by the tantalizing talent of the alluring and ever dangerous Rossi.

Craig: Yan Kuznetsov: his size, reach and reliability should net him a steady role as Russia’s premier shutdown defender—visions of him foiling odd man rushes starring Lucas Raymond and Alex Holtz are dancing in my head.

Ryan: I’m gonna go with Jakob Pelletier. He’s been getting tons of praise from Canadian head coach Andre Tourigny during camp and I’m curious to see if Pelletier can live up to the hype on the biggest stage he’s played on to date.

Mike G: Jakob Pelletier and Connor Zary are going to be fun to watch on Team Canada. Everyone knows how impressive American goalie Dustin Wolf has been as a junior. But Russian defenseman Yan Kuznetsov, the Flames’ second-round pick in the 2020 Draft, has all sorts of questions associated with him. Where will he play on the Russian squad? Shakir Mukhamadullin, Artemi Knyazev, and Semyon Chistyakov are all solid prospects, but Kuznetsov might be able to steal a bigger role on the team with some excellent early showings up in Edmonton. Kuznetsov has shown an ability to defend against NCAA competition at a young age, but how will he fare against young blue-chip speedsters like Lucas Raymond, Peyton Krebs, and Cole Caufield?

Prajeya: I’ll be looking forward to watching Jakob Pelletier the most. Team Canada head coach, Andre Tourigny, plans to use the Holloway-Newhook-Pelletier line against other first lines during the tournament, allowing Flames fans to have greater insight into the two-way development of the former 2019 first round pick. Furthermore, as the closest Flames prospect to making the NHL roster, the 2020 World Juniors will be an accurate representation of what we can expect from Quebec City native in the near future.

Mike W: Jakob Pelletier. I just love this kid’s energy. Anytime we get to see a Flames prospect dawn the maple leaf it’s a delight but Pelletier’s tenacious and relentless game seems specifically primed for the WJC.

Craig: Canada-Gold, USA-Silver*, Russia-Bronze. *so long as Dustin Wolf overtakes Spencer Knight for starting duties.

Ryan: Canada gold, Sweden silver and Russia bronze. Canada’s just too stacked, and I think Sweden has slightly more offensive punch than Russia. The USA just misses my podium.

Mike G: It’s hard to bet against Team Canada winning gold. Goaltending is a question mark but they have just too much depth everywhere else. That said, Team Russia is going to give them a rough ride along the way. Yarolsav Askarov is probably the best goalie in the tournament and their top-nine at forward is deep and strong. After those two, we’ll go with Team Sweden in third, narrowly beating out the Americans for bronze.

Prajeya: Canada, USA, and Russia will win gold, silver, and bronze respectively.

Mike W: The Canadians are just too damn good. The loads of experience and skill should ensure the northern boys cruise to gold. The Swedes and Russians are fantastic as well but I can’t help but be intrigued (or mistakenly sucked in) by the American’s skill up front. The smart part of my brain says Canada, Sweden, Russia….the fun part of my brain says Canada, USA, Sweden.