Every December, there's something extra in Santa's bag for all the hockey fans of the world. Starting the day after Christmas, the annual World Junior Championship will kickoff in Toronto and Montreal. This season, the Texas Stars will again have a participant with Denis Gurianov leaving the team Sunday to hit training camp and ultimately play for the Russian national team.
"I am happy to play at the World Juniors," said Gurianov. "It's every players dream to play in the World Juniors for their country."
Gurianov is not the first player to take the mid-season sojourn to the tournament.