World Junior Summer Showcase

This event and the tuneups for it begin today!

The WJSS is an annual event hosted by USA Hockey in Plymouth, Michigan.  It is the first selection camp for the WJC roster, and several countries are running small selection camps and mini-tournaments of their own.  The Finns are playing the Czechs today.

That stream will be in Finnish, but their quality is usually good and it’s free and usually not geo-blocked in any way.

Toronto draft pick Eemeli Räsänen is on the roster for these two games. The first is Monday (today) at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time.  The second is Tuesday morning.

Wednesday, the Finnish roster for the WJSS is to be announced, but NHL.com, says they already know it.

The WJSS itself starts with USA, Finland and Sweden playing off on Saturday, July 29.  Canada crosses the border (rumour has it they play the Imperial March as they arrive) and joins in on August 1.

TSN broadcast this event last year, but there is no word yet if it is available this year.  Streaming is also sometimes available via pay services such as HockeyTv.com, and the USA Hockey site will list that closer to game time if available.

Aside from the potential for Räsänen to be there, Timothy Liljegren and Joseph Woll will represent their countries as well.

USA Hockey has made this preview which should likely carry a warning for those who react to jerky video and flashing light.

Pre-season is already underway in the KHL

Yegor Korshkov’s Lokomotiv team plays their first game on July 26, in an event called the Minsk Cup.  The KHL site does not seem to be offering streaming packages for pre-season, but once the regular season starts, single games or a full season pass is very reasonably priced.

Lokomotiv begin their regular season on Ausgust 23.

Champions Hockey League

The CHL is a fun introduction to European hockey.  All the games are streamed on their site for a few dollars per game.

The format pits teams from various leagues (not the KHL) against each other, and they play off over the course of the season with a championship in the spring.  Pierre Engvall’s Swedish team, HV71, is playing this year, but Jesper Lindgren’s Finnish team is not.

If there are prospects you’re interested in on teams that are in the mix, it’s a good way to see them get more ice time than they will in league play.  Also, there are many Swiss teams in the tournament, so most of the prospects for Team USA and Team Canada at the Olympics will be playing in a format you can see them in.

Games begin on August 24.

So there you have it! Hockey never takes time off, it just becomes a little harder to find at times.

Maple Leafs Prospects