Keep up to date on all the news and injury reports from the World Junior Hockey Championship with the daily WJHC Ice Chips.

- Leafs prospect William Nylander status is uncertain after taking a hit to the head agaisnt Switzerland. Sweden team doctor Sofia Sunnerud on Nylander: "Under the circumstances, he's feeling good." He's at the team hotel and will be monitored overnight. It is too early to say what his prognosis is. 

- Adrian Kempe, who was also injured vs. Switzerland, said he was fine and didn't think he'd miss any time after the game.

- Team Canada practised today in Helsinki. The lines and power-play units are listed below. The players and coaches also posed for their official team picture before the practice.  

- Team Canada goalie Mason McDonald noted that he doesn't know much about highly-touted prospect Auston Matthews. "I've heard he's a great player," McDonald said. "I've never seen him play. I'll probably sneak out and take a look at him at practice, see what his tendencies are, but I've never seen him play." Sure enough, McDonald was spotted on the bench watching the Team USA practice, which followed Canada's on-ice workout. Head coach Dave Lowry, who ventured to Lahti to watch Team USA play Finland in a pre-tournament game earlier in the week, didn't need to watch practice. He knows what Matthews is all about. "Obviously, they have a very dominant player and to see him a year older, he's a more mature player, he's a bigger, stronger player and it's no different than what teams were facing last year with Connor McDavid. There's a lot of hype that goes into one player and you are going to have to pay attention," Lowry said.

- McDonald, a Flames prospect, allowed six goals against Sweden on Wednesday in the final pre-tournament game for Canada, but is feeling good ahead of his world junior debut. "I went over some video with (goalie consultant) Fred Brathwaite this morning and we went over some points, some good and some bad and I'm feeling good, I'm feeling confident and I'm really excited to get it going. It's going to be something really special. It's something I've always dreamed of and it's becoming a reality tomorrow and I'm really excited." When asked whether McDonald was where he should be heading into the tournament, Lowry replied, "Absolutely. Like we've said from Day 1, we're not concerned with our goaltending."

- John Quenneville once again skated on a line with Dylan Strome and Mitch Marner. "It's a great opportunity for me," said Quenneville, who has 33 points in 25 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings this season. "They're super-skilled guys, guys that play with a lot of speed and I think I fit in well with them. For me, I got to get in on the forecheck and get pucks away from the other team and then, once I get the puck to those guys, all I have to do is get open and they'll find me. They're such skilled players and really easy players to play with." During the third period on Wednesday it was Rourke Chartier, who skated with Marner and Strome, but Lowry said that had more to do with the fact Quenneville was logging so much time on the penalty kill.

- Brayden Point practised on a line with Brendan Perlini and Jake Virtanen. The Moose Jaw Warriors centre, who was named team captain on Thursday, hasn't played a full game since sustaining a shoulder injury on November 17. But Lowry doesn't expect Point to be rusty. "Not at all. I think the best thing for Brayden Point has been rest. He plays a lot with his club team and he's ready to go." 

- Dylan Strome says he has not be in touch with his Erie Otters teammate Alex DeBrincat ahead of tomorrow's Canada-USA showdown. Why? "I'm trying to focus on the game. It feels like so much more than a hockey game when you play against the Americans. You're playing for pride and for your country and for your family back home. There's so many things you're playing for. You want to win so bad."

- Mathew Barzal appears like he will start the tournament as Canada's 13th forward, but he did impress Lowry with a strong showing between Perlini and Virtanen on Wednesday. "He showed us against Sweden how dynamic he can be, how responsible of a player he can be, how he can play well in both ends of the rink and he's going to be a very versatile guy and I thought he gave us a real good push," Lowry said.

- Excitement is building for the game against the Americans. "It's a big rivalry so I think it's the biggest game of my life to date," said Strome. "I'm looking forward to it. I've been waiting for it for a long time and I'm ready to go." What does the North American rivalry mean to Quenneville? "It means everything. My whole life, as a kid, I was sitting in the living room with my brothers, my sister, my parents, watching Team Canada play the Americans and there's nothing more exciting than that. It's crazy that I'm here now and I'm playing against them myself." Facing the Americans on Boxing Day instead of on New Year's Eve is a change, but a welcome one for most Canadian players. "We've been building up and working towards the tournament and there's no better way than to start against our rivals," said Quenneville. "It's super exciting. There's no other team I'd rather play and rather beat than the Americans."

Practice Lines:

Perlini-Point-Virtanen
Quenneville-Strome-Marner
Crouse-Stephens-Konecny
Chartier-Beauvillier-Gauthier
Barzal

Chabot-Hicketts
Fleury-Hickey
Sanheim-Dermott
McKeown

McDonald
Montembeault
Blackwood (suspended)

* Power play units:

Sanheim/Dermott
Point-Marner-Strome-Virtanen

Chabot-Hicketts
Chartier/Perlini-Barzal-Gauthier