The 44th World Junior Championship opens today in Ostrava and Trinec, in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic.
Grigori Denisenko (Russia), Spencer Knight (USA) and Justin Schutz (Germany) are the three Florida Panthers prospects participating in this year’s tournament, which will run from December 26 to January 5.
Last year, Florida prospect Aleski Heponiemi, now playing in Springfield, captured gold with Finland while Denisenko earned a silver medal. The two players tied for the tournament lead in scoring.
Ten countries are taking part in this year’s tournament with the preliminary round splitting them into two groups of five.