Two Leafs players saw action on the opening day.
In Copenhagen, Nikita Zaitsev had two assists as Russia beat France 7-0. Notable in this opening game was his stated usage on a pairing with Nikita Nesterov behind the second line of younger and fast players Mikhail Grigorenko, Artyom Anisimov and Pavel Bushnevich. In fact, he assisted on two goals by top-line forward Kirill Kaprizov, including the opening goal of the game.
In the other game in Copenhagen, Sweden beat Belarus 5-0.
Over in Herning, the day started with a wild game between Canada and the USA that pitted Darcy Kuemper against Keith Kinkaid and went to a shootout, won by the USA.