5 things learned from Day 1 of World Juniors

Wednesday was the first day of the 2019 World Junior Championship, which is being held in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia.

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Results

Czech Republic 2, Switzerland 1 (OT)
United States 2, Slovakia 1
Canada 14, Denmark 0
Sweden 2, Finland 1

Five things we learned

A Canadian keeper

Michael DiPietro (Vancouver Canucks) wasn't busy Wednesday but that didn't stop coach Tim Hunter from naming him the No. 1 goaltender for Canada after he made 14 saves in a 14-0 win against Denmark in a Group A game at Rogers Centre.
Ian Scott (Toronto Maple Leafs) will start for Canada against Switzerland on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN), but Hunter said the starting job beyond that belongs to DiPietro.
"Mikey started the first game because we believe in Mikey," Hunter said. "You start the regular season with your No. 1 goalie and you start the tournament with Mikey, and he showed he can play well. So it's not really an evaluation process, Mikey is our guy, he is going to carry the load and we're quite capable of putting Ian in as well."
DiPietro, who won the Memorial Cup with Windsor in 2017 and was named the Ontario Hockey League goaltender of the year in 2018, was a late cut from Canada last season. He made his best saves while facing seven first-period shots in his WJC debut, got an assist with a stretch pass on a goal scored by Morgan Frost (Philadelphia Flyers) in the second period, and stopped Denmark forward Phillip Schultz on a penalty shot in the third period.
"I've never been a part of a game where I've made as many saves as we had goals," he said. "Anytime you get a shot under your belt you feel like you're in control. It makes you feel like you're 6-foot-10 in the net. You slowly gain more confidence, you get a feel for the game."

United States survives scare

The United States showed resolve with the game on the line in a 2-1 win against Slovakia in a Group B game at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
The U.S. overcame a big effort by Slovakia goalie Samuel Hlavaj (32 saves), a B-rated goalie in NHL Central Scouting's November Players to Watch list for the 2019 NHL Draft, to win its 12th straight WJC opener.
Defenseman Michael Anderson (Los Angeles Kings) and forward Evan Barratt (Chicago Blackhawks) scored in the third period, and goalie Kyle Keyser (Boston Bruins) made 13 saves, including a penalty shot attempt 13:15 into the third, to help maintain the lead.
"I tried to stay as patient as possible and not give up my ice (on the penalty shot)," Keyser told the IIHF website. "I wanted to hold my ground as much as I can. I could see he was trying to shoot five-hole, so I tried to close it as quick as possible."
Coach Mike Hastings wasn't happy with the start but was pleased with the finish.
"That game was far from perfect, but good teams have to find ways to win tough games and this team did that," Hastings said. "The first one is a hard one in this tournament so I'm glad we got it."

Positive perspective for Switzerland

Switzerland captain Nando Eggenberger, a C-rated skater in NHL Central Scouting's November Players to Watch list, said his team could give Canada a run when they meet in Group A on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TSN, NHLN).
Switzerland lost 2-1 in overtime to the Czech Republic at Rogers Center on Wednesday but players and coach Christian Wohlwend remain optimistic, pointing to the 14 underage players returning to the lineup from the 2018 WJC.
"We know now," Eggenberger said. "We knew before, but we now know that we are a very good team and we can beat anyone and self-confidence is much bigger now. If we have the same passion and same game like [against Czech Republic], I think we can beat Canada."
Switzerland lost 8-2 to Canada in the quarterfinals of the 2018 WJC in Buffalo. At that time, Wohlwend said Canada "can do everything better" than his team.
"In this age group 12 months is huge," he said. "You can grow physically, you can grow tactical, individual, everything. The [players] have way bigger roles than what they had last year in their teams. They play men's hockey and that's why we are for sure more competitive."

Zadina admiring Elias on Czech bench

Filip Zadina (Detroit Red Wings) not only was happy he could play in the WJC after an injury scare with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League, but the fact the forward gets a chance to be mentored by 20-year NHL veteran forward Patrik Elias, an assistant coach with the Czech Republic.
"He's a huge presence," Zadina said. "I always looked up to a player like him and (Jaromir) Jagr and (Tomas) Plekanec. It's huge for us to have him on the bench. He had a huge career in the NHL and now he's trying to help us to maybe have the same career he had. He's trying to help us with little things in the O-zone."
Zadina, 19, has 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 27 AHL games, and didn't appear affected Wednesday by the lower-body injury that kept him out of one AHL game shortly before being loaned to the Czech Republic to play in his second WJC.
He had one shot on goal, hit the crossbar with another attempt and created several scoring chances against Switzerland with slick individual moves.
"I'm feeling good, I am feeling comfortable and trying to skate with the puck," Zadina said. "It's feeling better than I felt right after the hit."

The streak continues for Sweden

Sweden celebrated its 45th straight victory in preliminary-round play at the World Junior Championship with a 2-1 win against Finland in a Group B game at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
Erik Brannstrom (Vegas Golden Knights) scored two power-play goals, and goalie Samuel Ersson (Philadelphia Flyers) made 29 saves for Sweden, which hasn't lost a preliminary-round game at the WJC since a 3-2 overtime loss to the United States on Dec. 31, 2006.
Sweden has outscored its opponents 236-78 during that stretch; it's won the gold medal once and the silver medal five times.
In the all-time series against Finland at the WJC, Sweden has 18 wins, 16 losses and has tied its rival twice.
NHL.com correspondent Kevin Woodley contributed to this story
What's next | Complete schedule

Thursday

Russia vs. Denmark (4 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN)
Slovakia vs. Sweden (6:30 p.m. ET; TSN)
Switzerland vs. Canada (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN)
Finland vs. Kazakhstan (10:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN)