The USA team was fast, skilled and used this to their advantage all tournament.

As usual the round robin did not feature too many competitive games, as Sweden walked over their pool, as did Canada and the USA did in theirs. The last round robin game in Pool A featured a Canada vs. USA match with the winner getting a bye to the semifinals on New Years Eve. Exactly one year before, the Canadians had rallied from a three-goal deficit to win one of the greatest games I have ever seen. This year lived up to the hype. With the USA leading by two entering the third, Canada stormed back once again. With five minutes left, Canadian defenseman Alex Pietrangelo scored while short handed to tie the game, and the tie would last into a shootout, where Canada shooters went 3-for-3 to take the win. However, the American squad powered back to face the Canadian in the gold medal game and payback was all they could think about. Once again, the Americans were leading by two late in the third when Canada would come back lead by Oiler draft pick Jordan Eberle to tie the game and send it to overtime. However the Americans were able to overcome this shocking comeback thanks to John Carlson’s goal at the 4:31 mark of the extra session that took the gold away from Canada for the first time in 5 years.

It is unfortunate that this tournament does not get any recognition in the United States because it truly is the best hockey to watch. Here are some of the highlights of the World Juniors:

-          Jordan Eberle: The tournament MVP and Canada’s leading scorer was more than clutch in his two tournament of his career. Last year he scored to tie the game with 5.4 seconds left against Russia in the semi-finals and this year he tied with one minute left in the gold medal game against the USA. This kid the real deal. You can take every cliche about being a clutch player and he personifies all of them. Watch out for him on the Edmonton Oilers when they return to the post season in a couple of years, the more pressure, the better he plays.

-          Draft Choices: No matter what team you cheer for in the NHL, you will have some player in this tournament to watch. Nearly every player has been drafted and it brings a lot more interest because you are watching your teams top prospects play the top prospects of all the other teams, and bring excitement to te future of the franchise they are on. This tournament has seen tons of NHL stars emerge, ranging from Wayne Gretzky to Jonathon Toews, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Joe Thronton, Peter Forsberg and many more.

-          The Battle for Number 1: More often than not, the top two ranked player for the upcoming draft play in this tournament and duke it out for show should be number one. This year it was Cam Fowler and Taylor Hall going at it, with Hall having an outstanding tournament and becoming the consensus pick among scouts and fans alike with his excessive speed and skill.

-          Excitement: Yes, some of the round robin games are not that fun to watch, like when Canada beat Switzerland 16-0. But, there is guaranteed to be some amazing games in the elimination round, including the battle of North America, which is always a classic, and combination featuring the big four: Canada, USA, Russia, and Sweden. There is also usually a Cinderella team like this years Switzerland that shocked the world when the beat Russia in overtime of the quarterfinals. Not to mention all the highlight reel goals and saves by the world best young players.

Overall, this tournament is absolutely amazing and does not get the attention it deserves in most of the hockey world, but hopefully that will change in the near future. The 2011 IIHF World Junior Tournament moves to Buffalo, New York.