Finland, Sweden lead Group A at World Juniors

Finland and Sweden will play at Bell Centre in Montreal on Thursday, and that game should decide which finishes first in Group A at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Whatever the final score of that game is won't change the championship hopes for each team.

Finland, which won the gold medal for the second time in three tournaments, is a contender to repeat as champion at the 2017 WJC, which runs Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Montreal and Toronto.
Group A also includes Czech Republic, Denmark and Switzerland.
All three members of Finland's top line at the 2016 WJC, Patrik Laine (Winnipeg Jets), Jesse Puljujarvi (Edmonton Oilers) and Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes) are in the NHL. However, Finland has quality talent ready for larger roles.
No European team has repeated as WJC champion since Russia in 2002-03.
Sweden, which last won the gold medal in 2012, lost 8-3 to the United States in the bronze-medal game at the 2016 WJC and will be trying win a medal of any kind for the first time since 2014. Sweden has talent and depth at all positions.
Czech Republic, which has been off the medal podium since winning bronze in 2005, should advance to the quarterfinals. Denmark and Switzerland will battle to avoid a spot in the relegation round.
Here's a look at the Group A field (teams listed in alphabetical order):

Czech Republic

Coach -- Jakub Petr
2017 draft watch -- David Kvasnicka, D, Plzen (CZE), Martin Necas, C, Brno (CZE), Simon Stransky, LW, Prince Albert (WHL)
Schedule -- Dec. 26, Finland (5 p.m. ET; NHLN); Dec. 27, Switzerland (1 p.m. ET; NHLN); Dec. 29, Denmark (1 p.m. ET); Dec. 31, Sweden (1 p.m. ET)
Outlook -- Offense should be a strength, led by Necas, a 6-foot, 167-pound center who has 13 points in 29 games as a 17-year-old playing in the top professional league in the Czech Republic. He earned an A rating from NHL Central Scouting in its players to watch list. Stransky, another top 2017 draft prospect, leads Prince Albert of the Western Hockey League with 12 goals and 29 points. Also expected to play a top role will be forward Filip Chlapik, who leads Charlottetown of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 20 goals and 44 points, and who signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. Making that offense stand up could fall to goaltender Daniel Vladar, a 2015 third-round pick (No. 75) of the Boston Bruins who has split the season between Providence of the American Hockey League and Atlanta of the ECHL.

Denmark

Coach -- Olaf Eller
2017 draft watch -- Oliver Gatz Nielsen, D, Herning (DEN); Jonas Rondbjerg, RW, Vaxjo Jr. (SWE-JR)
Schedule -- Dec. 26, Sweden (1 p.m. ET); Dec. 27, Finland (5:30 p.m. ET; NHLN); Dec. 29, Czech Republic (1 p.m. ET; Dec. 30, Switzerland (5 p.m. ET; NHLN)
Outlook -- Eleven players return from the 2016 WJC team which pushed Russia to overtime in the quarterfinals before losing 4-3. Among the returnees are forwards Mathias From (Chicago Blackhawks) and Alexander True, who tied for the team lead with two points. Also back is Rondbjerg (6-0, 176), who had one assist in five games at the 2016 WJC and is a B-rated player for the 2017 draft. Lasse Petersen, the third goalie at the 2016 WJC, could be the starter this time. Denmark has beaten Switzerland in the preliminary round in each of the past two tournaments, and will have to do so again to remain in the top level for the 2018 WJC.

Finland

Coach -- Jukka Rautakorpi
2017 draft watch -- Miro Heiskanen, D, HIFK (FIN), Eeli Tolvanen, RW, Sioux City (USHL), Juuso Valimaki, D, Tri-City (WHL), Kristian Vesalainen, LW/RW, HPK (FIN)
Schedule-- Dec. 26, Czech Republic (5 p.m. ET; NHLN); Dec. 27, Denmark (5:30 p.m. ET; NHLN); Dec. 29, Sweden (5:30 p.m. ET; NHLN); Dec. 31, Switzerland (5:30 p.m. ET; NHLN)
Outlook - Though eight of Finland's top 10 scorers from the 2016 WJC have aged out or are in the NHL, there shouldn't be much of a drop-off. Tolvanen (5-10, 170) is second in the United States Hockey League with 16 goals and 27 points, and Vesalainen (6-3, 207) has one goal in nine games with HPK in Liiga, Finland's top pro league; each earned an A rating from NHL Central Scouting. Forwards Henrik Borgstrom (Florida Panthers), Julius Nattinen (Anaheim Ducks) and Kasper Bjorkqvist (Pittsburgh Penguins) also will be counted on to provide offense. Olli Juolevi (Vancouver Canucks) will return to anchor a strong defense that will include Heiskanen and Valimaki, also A-rated draft prospects. The competition in goal will be between returnee Veini Vehvilainen, Markus Ruusu (Dallas Stars) and Karolus Kaarlehto. Barring injury, Finland likely will be in the running for its third gold medal in four tournaments.

Sweden

Coach -- Tomas Monten
2017 draft watch -- Lias Andersson, C, HV 71 (SWE), Elias Pettersson, C, Timra (SWE-2), Tim Soderlund, C/LW, Skelleftea (SWE)
Schedule -- Dec. 26, Denmark (1 p.m. ET); Dec. 28, Switzerland (5 p.m. ET); Dec. 29, Finland (5:30 p.m. ET; NHLN); Dec. 31, Czech Republic (1 p.m. ET)
Outlook -- Scoring should not be a problem. Alexander Nylander (Buffalo Sabres), who led Sweden with four goals and nine points in seven games in 2016, will be counted on for a repeat performance. Joel Eriksson Ek, who will be captain, had five points in nine games with the Minnesota Wild earlier in the season. Andersson (5-11, 198), an A-rated prospect for the 2017 draft, likely will have a prominent role after an outstanding performance at the summer evaluation camp in Michigan and a strong first half that earned him promotion to the Swedish Elite League. Goaltender Felix Sandstrom (Philadelphia Flyers) had a rough time in the bronze-medal game loss at the 2016 tournament but has a 2.00 goals-against average in 11 games with Brynas in the SEL. The defense will feature Oliver Kylington, who has been playing well for Stockton, the Calgary Flames' AHL affiliate, as well as Jacob Larsson (Anaheim Ducks) and Gabriel Carlsson (Columbus Blue Jackets), each a 2015 first-round draft pick. Sweden has a chance to win its first WJC gold medal since 2012.

Switzerland

Coach -- Christian Wohlwend
2017 draft watch -- Tobias Geisser, D, (Zug Academy, SUI-2), Nico Hischier, C, Halifax (QMJHL)
Schedule -- Dec. 27, Czech Republic (1 p.m. ET; NHLN); Dec. 28, Sweden (5 p.m. ET); Dec. 30, Denmark (5 p.m. ET; NHLN); Dec. 31, Finland (5:30 p.m. ET; NHLN)
Outlook -- It's been a rough go for Switzerland since reaching the quarterfinals in 2014; losses to Denmark in the preliminary round at the past two tournaments have dropped it to the relegation round. Hischier (6-0, 176), an A-rated 2017 draft prospect, will be counted on to prevent that from happening again. He's in the top six in the QMJHL in goals (23) and points (45) in his first season in North America. Hischier will have help from returning players forwards Damien Riat (Washington Capitals) and Calvin Thurkauf (Columbus Blue Jackets), and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler (Washington Capitals). Goaltender Joren van Pottelberghe (Detroit Red Wings) likely will play the majority of the games after a solid showing at the 2016 WJC. That experience could help Switzerland win a game and put a scare into the other Group A teams.