WJHC 2009-10 - The King is Dead! Long Live the King!

Team U.S.A succeeded in book-ending the five straight gold medals won by Canada. The Americans won their 2nd World Junior title last night by defeating Team Canada 6-5 in overtime. The Americans had a two-goal lead in the game but Jordan Eberle forced overtime with a pair of late goals. However, the furious comeback was all for naught as John Carlson scored the overtime winner.



Jordan Eberle of Canada was named the top forward and most valuable player at the World Junior Hockey Championship.



In ending Canada's run of five straight gold medals, Team U.S.A. also exhibited a punishing transition game. The intense, back-and-forth game saw both starting goalies pulled by their coaches.

"I just closed my eyes and let it rip," confessed the 19-year-old Carlson, who has played three games in the NHL for the Washington Capitals. "I think I got a little lucky."



In the bronze medal game, Team Sweden ended the tournament on a positive note. Andre Petersson had a hat trick and Jakob Silfverberg and Daniel Brodin had two goals each as Sweden demolished Switzerland 11-4.

"We didn't play that well against the U.S. We showed we can play good hockey, so I'm pleased," said Swedish coach Par Marts. "It's a medal. Sometimes you have to take that, but for sure I wanted the gold medal." Sweden outshot the Swiss 50-20.

For rookie cards of these players in upcoming products from In The Game and Upper Deck, this year and beyond, visit Canada Card World.

WJHC 2009-10 - Golden Prospects

For a team to make the finals of the World Junior Hockey Championships, they need talent and depth. Team Canada and Team U.S.A. have no shortage of either. The future is bright for many players in tonight's game.

Jordan Eberle - He can do some amazing things with the puck and he continues to be a clutch member of Team Canada. Eberle set a Canadian record by scoring a point in 11 straight games at the WJHC tournament.

Nazem Kadri - He made controversial throat-slashing gestures to a Slovakian team member earlier in the tournament but has rebounded with smarter actions and play as the tournament progressed. The London Knights star has shown flashes of the offensive skill that will make him a future star in Toronto.



Jerry D'Amigo - Another Leaf prospect, D'Amigo has scored five goals and ten points over the course of the tournament.

Taylor Hall - Potential 1st overall pick of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and a highlight reel every time he hits the ice.

Danny Kristo - A second round pick of the Montreal Canadiens, Kristo has provided Team U.S.A. with seven points in six games, five of which were goals.

Jordan Schroeder - The Vancouver Canucks used their first round pick in 2009 on Jordan Schroeder and are now watching him contribute to Team USA's run towards gold. The 5'9", 185 lbs. Schroeder has two goals and five assists in his time away from the University of Minnesota.

Alex Pietrangelo - The most experienced NHL player in the game as he's played parts of two seasons with the St. Louis Blues already. The defenseman has been lighting up the scoresheet throughtout the tournament.

Brayden Schenn - An emergency call-up by the Los Angeles Kings this season, Schenn was a top draft pick in 2009.



Jared Cowen - Selected ninth overall in the last year's draft, Cowen is a future #1 defenseman.

Greg Nemisz - Yet another 1st round pick, Nemisz is a scoring machine. The Calgary Flames draft pick has 24 goals in only 34 games this season in the OHL.

For rookie cards of these players in upcoming products from In The Game and Upper Deck, this year and beyond, visit Canada Card World.

WJHC 2009-10 - The Final - Rematch!

Team Canada will attempt their record sixth straight gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championships on Tuesday night. After defeating Switzerland 6-1 in the semifinal, Canada needed to wait the winner of tonight's other semifinal game between Sweden and the United States to see who their opponent would be. Team U.S.A. left no doubts as to who belong in the finals after beating Team Sweden 5-2.



Taylor Hall scored twice while Jake Allen made 20 saves to secure the victory. The final score could have been much higher but Swiss goaltender Benjamin Conz was often heroic between the pipes. Jordan Eberle beat Conz for his sixth goal and 11th point of the tournament. Eberle, a Edmonton Oilers' prospect, has points in 11 straight games at the tournament setting a Canadian record. He also pulled even with Jason Allison for second on the all-time list for scoring by a Canadian in tournament history. It is also his 12th career goal in the tournament, only one short of the Canadian record set by John Tavares. Alex Pietrangelo picked up two points to grab a share of the tournament scoring lead with teammate Jordan Eberle and Derek Stepan of Team USA.

The United States earned the rematch by beating the Swedes. They will be looking to avenge a New Years Eve collapse where they blew a 4-2 lead in the 3rd period and suffered a 5-4 shootout loss to Canada in a battle for first place in Group A. The two countries will face each other in the championship game for the first time since 2004, when Team U.S.A defeated Canada 4-3 in Finland, for the Americans' first world junior title.

Jerry D'Amigo, a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, scored a pair of goals for the Americans.



Sweden went undefeated to finish first in Group B. The Swedes hoped to advance to the final for a 3rd straight year but instead will play Switzerland for bronze. "I can't tell you in words (how much)," said Swedish forward Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson.

For rookie cards of these players in upcoming products from In The Game and Upper Deck, this year and beyond, visit Canada Card World.

WJHC 2009-10 - Goal Scoring Leaders

The goal scoring leaders at the 2009-10 World Junior Hockey Championships are all from different countres, all have different styles, and have all been drafted by different NHL teams.

Jordan Eberle - Canada - 5 goals, 10 points
Drafted - Edmonton Oilers
1st round, 22nd overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.



Andre Petersson - Sweden - 5 goals, 8 points
Drafted - Ottawa Senators
4th round, 109th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.



Richard Panik - Slovakia - 5 goals, 7 points
Drafted - Tampa Bay Lightning
2nd round, 52nd overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.



With five goals each, Jordan Eberle, Andre Petersson, and Richard Panik were not the most celebrated players entering the tournament but have now put themselves into the spotlight. Start adding them to your collection before the rush begins.

For rookie cards of these players in upcoming products from In The Game and Upper Deck, this year and beyond, visit Canada Card World.

WJHC 2009-10 - Team Canada vs. Team U.S.A.

The classic battle is tonight. Who is your money on?

Both Team Canada and Team U.S.A carry impressive 3-0 records into the game and they have combined for 52 goals while only allowing 6 goals in total.



For Team Canada, Gabriel Bourque, Jordan Eberle, Alex Pietrangelo, Taylor Hall, Brandon Kozun, and Ryan Ellis are all in the top twelve in tournament scoring. Team U.S.A has Derek Stepan and Kyle Palmieri in the top twelve.

Last year, these two teams met on New Year's Eve and Team Canada and John Tavares put on a show in a 7-4 victory which gave the Canadians the momentum they needed to grab their 5th gold medal in a row.



For rookie cards of these players in upcoming products from In The Game and Upper Deck, this year and beyond, visit Canada Card World.

WJHC 2009-10 - Taylor Hall and Alex Pietrangelo

Another day, another win... and another dominating display by Team Canada.

Taylor Hall finally put forth a statement with a hat-trick. The potential 1st overall pick of the upcoming 2010 NHL Entry Draft also had an assist to make it a four-point night and gave him seven points for the tournament in just three games.

Hall is already looking forward to a New Year's Eve match-up with Team USA. "As soon as I made the team, this was the game that I marked on the schedule," said Hall. "Any time I've played the Americans, it's always been a tough game. There's a lot of excitement involved and a lot of energy so it's going to be fun."



Alex Pietrangelo is having a fine tournament as well and is showing his leadership and experience with each shift. Pietrangelo is a rare player who is playing in the WJHC tournament again but is also in the middle of his second NHL season with the St. Louis Blues. After scoring a goal against Slovakia, Pietrangelo now has 2 goals and 6 assists in 3 games to put him into a tie for the overall scoring lead at the tournament. Not bad for a defenseman!



Taylor Hall and many other players from Team Canada are available in various products from In The Game which are available at Canada Card World. Alex Pietrangelo's rookie cards are available in many products from Upper Deck's 2008-09 products which are also available from CCW.

WJHC 2009-10 - Jordan Eberle & Brandon McMillan

Brandon McMillan of Team Canada scored in the first minute of the game and completed his hat-trick just before the game finished in a 6-0 victory over Switzerland at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Saskatchewan, Canada.

"I thought we played well down low. We really cycled on their defencemen and created a lot of opportunities from that," said McMillan, a 3rd round draft choice of the Anaheim Ducks in 2008.



Jordan Eberle had four points as Canada improved to 2-0 and grabbed a share of the Group A lead with the United States. Alex Pietrangelo and Nazem Kadri also scored Canada. Jake Allen became the first Canadian goalie to start the tournament with back-to-back shutouts.



"Our power play was good obviously and that's going to be a big key to our game," said Eberle. "When we came out at the start of the second and got three quick ones, it turned the game around." Eberle was selected 22nd overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers.

Jordan Eberle, Brandon McMillan, and many other players from Team Canada are available in various products from In The Game which are available at Canada Card World.

WJHC 2009-10 - Team Sweden

Team Canada may have turned a lot of heads with a 16-0 victory over Latvia on Boxing Day but Canadian fans have to be concerned over a potential gold medal match-up versus Team Sweden.



Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson had a goal and four assists to help Sweden stomp the Czech Republic 10-1 in the opening Group B game of the World Junior Hockey Championships. Sweden, with 18 NHL draftees on its roster, scored four goals in the first and another four in the third. Florida Panthers draft pick Jacob Markstrom had the easy victory in nets.



Team Sweden followed up their opening day victory with a 7-3 win over Austria. With two games under their belt, Sweden has outscored the oppostion 17-4. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Anton Rodin each had two goals and an assist.

New Jersey Devils draft pick Jacob Josefson opened the scoring for Sweden before the game was a minute old with a top-shelf slapshot from the point. Ekman-Larsson, a Phoenix Coyotes pick, assisted on the goal.

Jacob Josefson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and other players from Team Sweden are available in various products from In The Game which are available at Canada Card World.

WJHC 2009-10 Preview - Jordan Schroeder

Vancouver Canucks prospect Jordan Schroeder will play in his third straight World Junior Hockey Championship this year. He was selected 22nd overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and will be eager to improve on Team USA's fifth place finish last year. Last year, Schroeder led the team in scoring with 11 points and tied for second in the tournament with 8 assists in 6 games. Last year he also became Team USA’s all-time World Junior assists leader with 15, surpassing the record of 14 previously held by Doug Weight. The Americans open play against Slovakia in Saskatoon, Canada on Saturday.



In 2005-06, Schroeder played for St. Thomas Academy and helped lead the team to the Class A State Championship with 62 points in only 31 games. More recently, in 2008-09, he finished second on the Minnesota Gophers with 45 points in 35 games and fourth overall in the NCAA with a 1.3 points per game average.



Where he goes, awards follow. Schroeder was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s Rookie of the Year, the College Hockey News National Rookie of the Year, the Minnesota Gophers Rookie of the Year and an All-WCHA Second Team.

Jordan Schroeder currently has no In The Game or Upper Deck available. Keep checking Canada Card World for details on future releases.

WJHC 2009-10 Preview - Dmitry Kulikov

There has been no shortage of great defenseman who have debuted this season. Young Russian defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is part of that list. He was drafted 14th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and quickly made the jump to the NHL. Although he's playing for an under-manned Florida Panthers team at the age of 19, he is proving himself to be a star of the future.



In 2008-09, Kulikov experienced his first year of North American hockey. He tended the blue line for Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL and tallied 12 goals and 62 points in only 57 games. In addition to his superb hockey sense and confidence, Kulikov is smooth enough on his skates and can thread the needle with soft passes. He will only get better as he ages and the Panthers improve.



Dmitry Kulikov is 4th in defenseman scoring in the NHL this season with 3 goals and 9 assists in 36 games and even leads #2 overall pick Victor Hedman. Kulikov was supposed to appear with Team Russia for the World Junior Hockey Championships however he is currently dealing with an injured knee. Kulikov's absence will be a hard blow for Team Russia to take and will hurt their chances for competing for the gold medal.

Dmitry Kulikov has cards available in various In The Game products and rookie cards in many 2009-10 Upper Deck products available at Canada Card World.

WJHC 2009-10 Preview - Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is a special player and projects as a No. 1 defenseman in the NHL. He was selected sixth overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and currently plays for Leksands IF in Sweden. The 6'2, 180-pound blueliner posted three goals and 14 assists in 39 games in the Allsvenskan, the top farm league in Sweden and had a league best plus/minus at +44.



Ekman-Larsson is a highly skilled defenseman blessed with uncanny hockey sense and impressive skating. He moves smoothly with incredible mobility. He is a playmaker with the potential to put up a lot of points.



Oliver Ekman-Larsson was born with skill as his grandfather, Kenneth Ekman, played on Sweden’s National team and represented his country at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Japan. Oliver will join Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson on this years Swedish World Junior Hockey Championship team who will challenge Canada for the gold medal. Ekman-Larsson will remain in Sweden for 2009-10 season and potentially join the Phoenix Coyotes after that.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson has a few cards available in various ITG products and will have more with the release of In The Game's 2009-10 Heroes and Prospects which will be available at Canada Card World in late January.

WJHC 2009-10 Preview - Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson

Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson was chosen 10th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He is currently playing for Timrå IK in the Swedish Elite League. Pääjärvi-Svensson is the son of retired ice hockey player and coach Gunnar Svensson, who currently is the agent for Henrik Zetterberg among others.



He made his Swedish Elite League (Elitserien) debut in September 2007 at the age of sixteen, becoming the fourth youngest player in SEL's history. He has become a very fast and skilled winger and he drives to the net like a demon. He can get around opposing defenseman with ease and has a quick wrist-shot. He has good hockey sense and often scores spectacular goals and does things that are hard to define.



During the 2008 World Junior Hockey Championships in the Czech Republic, he became the youngest Swedish player ever to play during a World Junior Hockey Championship. Pääjärvi-Svensson has won silver medals in 2008 and 2009 at previous World Junior Championships and will be looking towards gold this winter.

Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson currently only has European hockey cards available. In The Game and Upper Deck will have cards of him in the future. Keep checking Canada Card World for details on future releases. For more information on Pääjärvi-Svensson, check out his own Website and Blog.

WJHC 2009-10 Preview - Team Canada

Team Canada's quest for a 6th consecutive World Junior Hockey Championship gold medal will get underway on Boxing Day when they face Latvia in their opening game in Regina, Saskatchewan.



As most collectors know, this is the big stage for the future stars of the NHL. Some of the Canadian players in the WJHC will already have rookies cards such as Alex Pietrangelo who had rookie cards in 2008-09 and players such as Jared Cowen, Taylor Hall, and Nazem Kadri who have cards available in various In The Game products.



The team will feature an all Windsor Spitfire top line of Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique and Greg Nemisz. The trio currently sit within the top five of all OHL scorers this season. Taylor Hall is a potential #1 overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and will be the spotlight of many In The Game products this season.



Jake Allen, a second round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft will be the #1 goaltender in the net for Team Canada and the coaching staff has announced that Patrice Cormier, who plays for the Rimouski Oceanic, will be the captain for this tournament. Cormier was also selected in the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils.

Goaltenders
Jake Allen STL '08 (2nd Round)
Martin Jones LOS (Signed as Free Agent)

Defence
Jared Cowen OTT '09 (1st Round)
Cal de Haan NYI '09 (1st Round)
Ryan Ellis NSH '09 (1st Round)
T. Hamonic NYI '08 (2nd Round)
A.Pietrangelo STL '08 (1st Round)
M. Scandella MIN '08 (2nd Round)
C. Teubert LOS '08 (1st Round)

Forwards
Luke Adam BUF '08 (2nd Round)
G. Bourque NSH '09 (5th Round)
Jordan Caron BOS '09 (1st Round)
P. Cormier NJ '08 (2nd Round)
S. Della Rovere WAS '08 (7th Round)
Jordan Eberle EDM '08 (1st Round)
Taylor Hall 2010 Draft Eligible
A. Henrique NJ '08 (3rd Round)
Nazem Kadri TOR '09 (1st Round)
B. Kozun LOS '09 (6th Round)
B. McMillan ANA '08 (3rd Round)
Greg Nemisz CGY '08 (1st Round)
B. Schenn LOS '09 (1st Round)

For rookie cards of these players in upcoming products, this year and next, visit Canada Card World.