<p>Canada kicked off its World Junior Championship title defense by beating Finland 5-2 to begin action at Scandinavium Arena in Gothenburg, Sweden.</p>



<p>It was a strong goaltending battle, with Canada’s Mathis Rousseau and Finland’s Niklas Kokko keeping things interesting. It was a fluky goal that gave Canada a 1-0 lead in the first, with Nate Danielson directing a shot off his rear end to open the scoring. His linemate, Owen Allard, would make it 2-0, but Aleksanteri Kaskimaki cut the lead in half at 35:56.</p>



<p>The game remained close, but Macklin Celebrini managed to restore Canada’s two-goal lead in the third period. It required a review, but he managed to sneak the puck below Kokko’s right leg and in for the 3-1 lead. The teams would trade goals late in the game, but it didn’t matter as Celebrini’s goal ended up proving to be the game-winner.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="146"></div>



<p>Here’s a look at the top players for both teams:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Projected lines for Finland vs. Canada. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldJuniors?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldJuniors</a> <a href="https://t.co/P5mRX0X9yj">pic.twitter.com/P5mRX0X9yj</a></p>— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEllisHockey/status/1739625750829949150?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2023</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-canada">Canada</h2>



<p><strong>#30 Mathis Rousseau, G (Undrafted): </strong>There were questions about Canada’s goaltending heading into this game, especially after a pair of subpar performances from Rousseau during the pre-tournament. But his huge glove say on the play just before Canada’s first goal helped shift the momentum, and Rousseau looked great the rest of the way. They’ll need more efforts like that if Canada is going to win this tournament.</p>



<p><strong>#13 Maveric Lamoureux, D (Arizona Coyotes):</strong> From a big hit early to the shot that led to Danielson’s opening goal, Lamoureux was Canada’s most noticeable defenseman in this game. It helps he’s 6-foot-7, but he played a great two-way game and did a great job of just getting in everyone’s way. That’s his game – and the empty netter was a bonus.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="147"></div>



<p><strong>#21 Owen Allard, LW (Undrafted): </strong>Allard scored Canada’s second goal of the game, capping off a tremendous period that saw Allard tally three shots. He served on the penalty kill as expected, but he also played on the second power-play unit as the net-front presence. Allard has been one of Canada’s most effective players since the start of selection camp in Oakville, but this felt like his best effort to date.</p>



<p><strong>#9 Nate Danielson, RW (Detroit Red Wings):</strong> Danielson scored the first goal of the game, but it was a tip off his butt. Instead, Danielson’s smart decision-making with the puck, and how he took players out of position stood out to me. You can tell why the Red Wings nearly kept him for its opening night roster: Danielson just seems so mature for his age. Special shoutout to Owen Beck, who was the glue that kept that Canadian energy line together.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="152"></div>



<p><strong>#15 Matthew Poitras, C (Boston Bruins):</strong> That first period alone showed why Poitras is an NHLer. He’s a heads-up playmaker who seemed to find his linemates with ease, creating smart plays throughout. His hands were quick, his shot was deceptive and he was easily Canada’s best player early in the game. Poitras scored an empty-netter with over two minutes to go, but I really prefered how he played in the first half today.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-finland">Finland</h2>



<p><strong>#30 Niklas Kokko, G (Seattle Kraken): </strong>Kokko is the primary reason why Canada didn’t walk away with this one. He made a big glove stop on Poitras in the first, and then, despite allowing two goals in the first 40, he still managed to steal the show in the net. Kokko showed at the World Junior Summer Showcase what he can do with Finland when he’s on the top of his game, and this felt like one of his more dominant efforts in international competition.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="158"></div>



<p><strong>#4 Arttu Karki, D (Vegas Golden Knights):</strong> Once the Finns figured out how to use him on the power play, Karki thrived. His point shot led to Aleksanteri Kaskimaki’s 2-1 goal, with Karki’s decision to shoot the puck down low looking intentional. Karki is gifted with the puck, and I won’t be surprised if he ends up being one of the better defensemen in the tournament once this event gets fully fleshed out.</p>



<p><strong>#9 Konsta Helenius, C (2024 NHL Draft):</strong> Celebrini scored for Canada, but I personally liked Helenius’ two-way game more between the two 2024 NHL Draft stars. He made some good defensive plays and brought the energy we’re used to from him. Helenius wasn’t rewarded on the score sheet, but I still thought it was good showing for the underager.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="132"></div>



<p><strong>#29 Lenni Hameenaho, RW (New Jersey Devils): </strong>Hameenaho is a big part of Finland’s offense, and he was busy with four shots in the first two periods. He was good around the net, but also generated chances in open space, too.</p>



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