The World Junior Championships (WJC) by and large is upheld as a very wholesome sporting event. The players by most accounts are still amateurs, emotions are clearly played out on the players' faces when they lose, Larry Fitzgerald celebration decorum is an afterthought when a team scores a big goal and off-ice related problems are rarely if ever conducted. With the event being held in no frills North Dakota you can bet they'll be no Eugene Robinson type stunts before the Super Bowl or Barrett Robbins meltdowns in Tijuana which makes this an event the whole family can rally around.

	"The Ralph" is an incredible and rightful setting for the 2005 WJC to be played out on.

For Team Canada they're just hoping that the Ralph Engelstad Arena affectionately known as "The Ralph" doesn't leave them wanting to do just that if they have to settle for silver once again. Canada perennially fields one of the strongest clubs in the tourney and this year is no different. Canada fields 12 returnees as well as the addition of Patrice Bergeron who missed last year's tourney because of his season-long exceptional play with the Boston Bruins. The defense is anchored by Calgary Flames prospect Dion Phaneuf who is best remembered for steamrolling Florida Panthers draftee Rostislav Olesz last year. As a result of Phaneuf's hit, concussion concerns lingered with the young Czech winger up until the draft where his stock took a Nortel-esque drop. Olesz returns this year with revenge on his mind and he is just one of many great players to keep an eye on.

Jeff Carter - C, Canada: A tall 6'3 forward with great offensive skills. Canada's no.1 centre has great hands and a soft touch around the net. Along with fellow Flyers' prospect Mike Richards he will be in the pro game shortly after the NHL lockout ends.
Patrick O'Sullivan - C, USA: O'Sullivan had his breakthrough at the 2004 WJC when he scored two goals in the gold medal game including the game winner. He has an awesome quick release and deadly accurate shot.
Lauri Tukonen - RW, Finland: The L.A. Kings' draft pick is a physical winger who overmatches opponents down in the corners. Good stickhandler and great wrist shot.
Evgeni Malkin - C, Russia: The Pittsburgh Penguins heir apparent has extremely soft hands and great vision and routinely makes an assortment of seeing eye and no look passes. Malkin also has great speed for his 6'3 frame.
Alexander Ovechkin - LW, Russia: A complete offensive player. He is gifted as both a playmaker and even more so as a scorer. He's very strong and hard to knock off the puck. Has great speed and isn't afraid to get physical. This guy's a winner and always competes.
Sidney Crosby - C/LW, Canada: Crosby's greatest talent is his vision. He has an innate knack of finding his teammates and when he has to carry the puck he has blazing speed. Crosby had only a bit part in last year's tourney. This year he will team with Patrice Bergeron to compromise one of Canada's top offensive duos.

	Mullet Jagr can't be happy with the hype overshadowing Crosby's entrance into the NHL. (Source: NHL.com)

Speaking of Crosby he enters the tournament with greater hype and star power than Alexander Ovechkin had last year. For the past two years outrageous proclamations have been made about Crosby's potential in which many scouts and media members have called Crosby the best player to come along since Gretzky. Even the Great One himself has predicted that Crosby will likely break some of his scoring records when he reaches the NHL. All of this amped up hype is simply setting Crosby up for failure. To call Crosby the best player since Gretzky is a slap in the face of Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman and mullet Jaromir Jagr. Regardless of how good Crosby becomes he will never touch any of Gretzky's records because Gretzky was the beneficiary of playing in an era of high-powered offenses and a non-existent free agency impact that allowed dynastys like the Oilers to remain intact for as long as they did. If the media hype machine could just lay off young prodigies like Crosby, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Michelle Wie we would all be able to appreciate their talents and not question why they're not living up to their media-created expectations. But since that will never happen especially in the glutted media world of instant headlines, cable TV and the Internet, Crosby will simply need to learn to accept the fame and roll with it.

Canada's chances for success in North Dakota will likely take one of the routes played out on NBC's 7-hr finale of The Apprentice. Will Canada play the role of Jennifer and settle for a 4th straight silver medal finish and in turn have to agonize through that awkward moment of watching Kelly be praised for an hour and half or in Canada's case watch the gold medal be handed out? Will Canada have an unexplainable moment of sheer deer-in-the-headlights daze like Trump's COO which was like Marc-Andre Fleury's unforgettable moment of banking a shot of his own defender for the tying goal in last year's gold medal game? Or perhaps everything will go according to script for Canada the same way the opening theme for The Apprentice is scripted and perfectly timed to have the phrase "Brother, can you spare a dime" playing at the exact time Kevin, the only black male contestant gets introduced. For everything to go according to script for team Canada they would need to hear the words, "Canada has just captured their first WJC gold medal since 1997" on January 5th around 10:30pm EST.

Predictions:

Canada will top Russia in the gold medal game with a very deep defensive unit and exceptionally skilled offensive unit, which will help them overcome their one glaring weakness of an unproven goaltending duo. The U.S. will settle for the bronze. Ovechkin and Malkin will star offensively and finish one-two in tournament scoring with Jeff Carter and Patrick O'Sullivan following closely behind.