Get to know these World Juniors

Tuesday, December 26, 2006 | Feedback | Print Entry

The World Junior Championships (officially known as the IIHF Under-20 Championships) opened Tuesday in the small Swedish cities of Leksand and Mora, which are about 200 miles northwest of Stockholm.

Each winter, the 10-team tournament draws the best young talent – and the top amateur scouts – from around the globe. In recent years, Sidney Crosby (believe it or not, he's still eligible!), Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin displayed their many talents in this venue. In fact, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Peter Forsberg stand among the multitude of budding stars to have taken their turn in this competition.

This year, Team Canada is the favorite to win a third straight WJC title. The Canadians have 11 returning players, but they'll be without coach Brent Sutter, who steps away after handling the bench for the past two tournaments. In his place, longtime NHL defender/current Sault Ste. Marie head coach Craig Hartsburg is running the show.  
 

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  • E.J. Hradek E.J. Hradek

    E.J. Hradek is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, joining the staff prior to its launch in 1998. He began covering hockey as a writer/editor for Hockey Illustrated in 1989. The following year, he beat the Stars to Dallas (by three years), taking over as the editor of Beckett Hockey Monthly. When the Stars finally did arrive in Big D, he hosted a weekly hockey radio show and tried (unsuccessfully) to convert ESPN's Skip Bayless to the greatest game on ice.

    In 1996, Hradek left Dallas, but not the Stars. Relocating back to the New York area, he became a part-time pro scout for the club, seeing more than 100 NHL/AHL games for each of the next two seasons. The scouting gig was a great learning experience, offering a different view of the game.

    Hradek grew up in Tuckahoe, N.Y., about a 40-minute train ride from New York City. Despite the proximity to the Rangers, Hradek embraced the Islanders when the expansion franchise debuted in 1972. Eight years later, he was part of the sellout crowd at the Nassau Coliseum that witnessed the Islanders' first Stanley Cup championship.


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