Russia has the longest active medal streak at the World Junior Hockey Championships, with two straight medals. After a bronze and a silver, they will likely be disappointed to once again be fighting for bronze instead of gold. Their 5-0 loss to Canada saw Yaroslav Askarov struggle early on and the team couldn’t recover. Askarov did rebound from his slow start, and it will be interesting to see whether Igor Larionov goes back to him with bronze on the line. If Askarov doesn’t start, it will be the second straight medal game where he was replaced as the starter.
2021 World Junior Hockey Championship schedule: January 5, 2021
