Schedule is set for IIHF world junior hockey tournament in Victoria, Vancouver
Victoria and Vancouver co-hosting at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre and Rogers Arena; Canadian camp here
How is this for a curtain raiser? Or should that be Hughes this for an opener?
The Hughes brothers will feature in the first game when the United States plays Slovakia to open Group B on Dec. 26 in the IIHF world junior hockey championships at Save-onFoods Memorial Centre.
There will be strong home-province interest in 18-year-old American defenceman Quinn Hughes, from the NCAA University of Michigan Wolverines, taken seventh overall in the first round of the 2018 NHL draft by the Vancouver Canucks.
His 17-year-old brother, forward Jack Hughes from the U.S. National Development Team, is the projected No. 1 pick for the 2019 NHL draft.
That opening Group B game is a 3:30 p.m. matinée on Blanshard Street on Boxing Day, to be followed that evening by world ice-hockey powers Finland and Sweden playing at 7:30 p.m.
Vancouver will get to host Canada in Group A at Rogers Arena, but Group B in Victoria is considered the Pool of Death in the 2019 world juniors. The schedule was released by the IIHF on Thursday. Group B continues Dec. 27 at the Memorial Centre with Slovakia meeting Sweden at 3:30 p.m. and Finland playing Kazakhstan at 7:30 p.m.
The Victoria group will continue pool play through a marquee New Year’s Eve game when the U.S. closes out against Finland.
Victoria will host two playoff quarter-finals at 1 p.m. at 5 p.m. on Jan. 2, with Rogers Arena getting the other two quarter-finals, the semifinals and the final.
Island fans, however, will get to see Canada play live in two pre-tournament exhibition games at the Memorial Centre on Dec. 19 and Dec. 21 against opponents yet to be announced.
The Canadian training camp, which will attract considerable national media attention, will also take place in Victoria.