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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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TSN reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes on Team Canada. Team Canada and Team Czech Republic held optional morning skates at Ostravar Arena on Tuesday. 

While Nico Daws and Olivier Rodrigue worked with goalie coach Jason LaBarbera at one end, Joe Veleno did loops around the other, the only position player to take the ice during Team Canada's optional skate. 

"It was tough for him to not be dressed and to see the boys go to war," said assistant coach Andre Tourigny. "He did want to skate this morning and get the feel for the game. He will be ready tonight, no doubt."

"He seems really excited," said alternate captain Ty Smith. "It was killing him to sit out a game."

Veleno was suspended for Monday's game against the Germans for head-butting Russian defenceman Daniil Misyul. It was a controversial ban with Hockey Canada issuing a statement disputing the decision by the IIHF disciplinary committee. 

"I was definitely surprised," said forward Nolan Foote, "it didn't seem that aggressive."

"I think it was a little soft, personally," said defenceman Calen Addison, "but that's up to them."

Canada used the adversity as a rallying point and responded to the 6-0 beatdown from Russia by posting a complete 4-1 win against Germany. And now they get Veleno, a top-two centre, back with first place on the line. 

"The positive side of it," said head coach Dale Hunter with a smile, "Joe's fresh."

But where Veleno slots in remains unclear. He played with Alexis Lafreniere before the Rimouski left winger went down with a knee injury. Lafreniere will miss a second straight game tonight although he did take part in some off-ice work.  

"We're not set yet on the lines," said Tourigny. "We'll shuffle things around for sure a little bit."

Tourigny did confirm Veleno will return to the top power-play unit, likely slotting in on the flank rather than the bumper spot where he played previously. It was Foote who played in the middle on the man advantage against Germany.   

A win of any kind tonight and Canada will finish first in Group B earning a date with Slovakia in the quarter-finals. But a regulation loss, coupled with a Russia regulation win over Germany, would see Canada tumble all the way to fourth place. 

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Czech alternate captain and top-line forward Jan Jenik is out for the tournament after sustaining a knee injury in Monday's game against the United States. 

"It's unfortunate," said assistant coach Patrik Elias. "He went to get a MRI this morning and the extent of the injury is that he will not be continuing with us."

The Czechs also lost Jakub Lauko to injury in the opening seconds of their first game and it's unclear if yet another forward, Jan Sir, will be able to play again. The hosts still had an empty spot on their roster and officially registered forward Vojtech Strondala today. 

Lukas Dostal remains out, although the Ilves Tampere goalie returned to the ice on Tuesday morning and is making progress. Dostal knocked Canada out of the under-18 World Championship in 2018 with a brilliant 33-save performance in the quarter-finals, but won't get a chance to reprise his giant-killing role, at least not today. 

Instead, Lukas Parik will start again for the Czechs after making 39 saves in the 4-3 OT loss to the United States. 

"He had a good game for himself yesterday," Elias said with a smile, "and the posts were set up the right way."

Parik is 9-2-2 with a .914 save percentage in the WHL this season where he plays with Smith. 

"It will be cool to play against him," the Team Canada defenceman said. "Obviously, maybe some bragging rights on the line in Spokane. Parik played really well last night against the Americans."

But Smith won't be providing a scouting report to his teammates; he's leaving that to LaBarbera. 

"He probably knows more than me even though I play with Parik," Smith said with a laugh. 

Parik has faced projected Team Canada starter Joel Hofer once in the WHL the season with Spokane taking that one 4-3 in overtime on Nov. 15. 

Considering the injury issues, the deck seems stacked against the Czechs heading into this one, but Elias is quick to point out Group B has been unpredictable. 

"Honestly, every team can beat everybody," the long-time New Jersey Devil said. "Certain teams have more talent, certain teams have more structure, but the work ethic and the heart goes a long way and our guys proved that yesterday. If we play that way again we can play a pretty good hockey game against Canada."

If Russia beats Germany in regulation this afternoon, the Czechs will be guaranteed a quarter-final spot. But what if the Germans somehow get a point and push the Czechs outside the playoff picture? 

"Don't even say that," Elias said with a smile. "But strange things happen during this tournament. The tactics or the way we're going to go into this game is the same way. We still have to play the way we did yesterday."

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Foote scored his second goal of the World Juniors with another blistering shot on Monday. 

"The puck was just loose in front and I just tried getting it on net and it was a good shot," he said.

Foote's shot has been a constant source of amazement for his teammates, even those he faces in the WHL. 

"He's got the hardest I've ever seen," said Addison, who plays for Lethbridge, "so it's pretty tough to get in front of that and any time you can give him the puck for a big shot there's a good chance of it going in."

Foote is only the latest member of his family to play for Canada on the international stage and the Kelowna Rocket with a rocket has been in touch with dad Adam, an Olympic and World Cup champion, and brother Cal, a World Junior champion, throughout the tournament. 

But Cal, like pops a defenceman, isn't talking about Nolan's shot. 

"He gives me advice on what to do better and that sort of stuff," Nolan, a winger, said of Cal. "He's a defenceman, so he gives me advice on D-zone coverage and how to play that. It's a huge help."

What about dad? 

"He gives me pointers every day through messages and I call him once in a while, I know he's busy with the team back home."

Adam coaches Kelowna and therefore can't be in Ostrava for the World Juniors.  

"When it's over messages it seems like more dad, but at the rink it's definitely coach," Nolan said of the advice. "Definitely, he wants to be here, he was at Cal's (in Buffalo two years ago), but he's coaching back home, he loves coaching and he's happy."

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Senators' general manager Pierre Dorion was at the World Juniors the last few days scouting his team's top prospects and getting some intel on the draft-eligible players. Due to return home on Tuesday, Dorion caught up with TSN on Monday night.

TSN: What sort of progress have you seen from Canadian right-shot defenceman Jacob Bernard-Docker? 

"We've seen enormous progress from when we drafted him over a year ago. He's someone that can play important minutes, can log important minutes against the other team's best players, he defends really well, he skates really well, he takes up ice. So we're really happy with his progress."

TSN: USA centre Shane Pinto has opened up eyes with his goal scoring here. What has he shown you and where do you see him on your big board? 

"We've been extremely happy with the progress of Shane, especially with what he's been able to show this tournament. As far as picture on the big board, I think we see him as either a two or three centre down the road. He's someone that just plays the game the right way. First and foremost, he wins almost every draw, which is key especially when you start on the power play, you get that extra 20-25 seconds when the puck doesn't go down to the other end, and then he plays the game the right way. He really supports the puck offensively, defensively. He's really good in the bumper on the power play to tip pucks. So he does a lot of good things and I think he's someone who's going to help us win down the road."

TSN: What stands out about defenceman Lassi Thomson, who is serving as captain of Team Finland? 

"He's just kept on the same path that we saw at our development camp and in the summer for Finland. He's someone that's really dynamic. He can move the puck, he's competitive defensively, he slides on the blueline, gets his shot through. He does a lot of the little things that you look for in defenceman. And for the defending champions to name him captain says a lot about his character."

TSN: If Lafreniere doesn't play again here, have you seen enough that you know what he's all about? 

"Without a doubt. We know the top end of this draft is really good. Earlier today I had a chance to see both (Lucas) Raymond and (Alexander) Holtz play for Sweden and on the Canadian team you have Lafreniere and (Quinton) Byfield. I've been up to Sudbury a few times this year and I was planning to go to Rimouski a few more times in the second half, but we know where those guys slot and whoever gets those players are going to get special players. We'd like to be competitive and maybe at the end of the year win the lottery, and then we can see what happens from there."

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While Lafreniere, a returning player, exploded for four points on Boxing Day, Byfield has struggled to make an impact in his first World Juniors. The 17-year-old started in a top-six role for Canada, but played fewer than nine minutes on Monday. 

"We all know how dynamic he is," said Tourigny. "Here, he still has a tough time adjusting to the defensive game. He's forcing it offensively. He's a young guy and he wants to generate a lot of offence. He needs to keep working at his game. He wants to do it, so it's a matter of time for him to get adjusted. Maybe it took a little more time than others, but he's so powerful, so much talent, at some point he can be a difference maker."

Byfield has not registered a point and only has two shots in the three games. The Sudbury Wolves forward also has a minus-four rating, worst on the team. 

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The speedy Liam Foudy can go from zero to 60 in a hurry, but in the first period on Monday he was forced to go from eight to 12 slowly. 

"I took a helmet to the face," Foudy said, "and I was bleeding everywhere, all over my jersey, and we didn't have another jersey."

The training staff went to work finding an extra sweater and ripping off the name bar.  

"We had to take another one and 12 was available so I just threw it on and tried to get back out there as quick as I could."

"That was weird," said linemate Ty Dellandrea. "He was bloody and one shift he's wearing eight and the next he's wearing 12 with no name bar."

How'd it fit? 

"It was a little bit big, but can't complain," Foudy said with a smile. 

Foudy was back in No. 8 to start the second and potted the game-winning goal. 

A track star in high school who still holds an OFSAA hurdles record, Foudy has always been known for his blazing speed and that's translated really well to the international game. 

"It stands out even more on the big ice," observed Dellandrea. "He's so fast and I remember multiple times where it might've been a close icing and he wins the race so his speed is pretty incredible."

"You can see it out there on the kill," noted Foote, "pressuring up ice and that's huge. He's really fast and puts pressure their breakout, disrupts their breakout."

"He's got to be the fastest player I've ever played with," Addison gushed, "and the way he can win icing races and get to the walls on the PK to get pucks down and he's such an effective player on the big ice."

Foudy, a Blue Jackets prospect, has put forward a consistent effort so far and actually took home Canada's Player of the Game honour in the lopsided defeat against Russia. 

"He backs off the D," said Hunter, who coaches Foudy in London, "and when you see that speed coming you got to be careful so they back off and it gives the rest of the guys room to carry the puck."

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Cole Caufield announced his arrival, goal-scoring wise at least, in a big way on Monday night netting the overtime winner for Team USA against the Czechs. 

"To get Cole Caufield scoring that last goal, that's a good sign for us," said Pinto. "He had that post in the first, he had that nice little shot so I know  once he gets one, he's going to roll here. It's going to come in bunches."

Caufield got off to an admittedly slow start at the World Juniors picking up just one assist in the opening three games, but being reunited with his long-time centre, Alex Turcotte, created a spark. 

"We communicate a lot on the bench, which helps and we know what each other is going to do," said Caufield. "It's easy to play with him."

The pair of Wisconsin Badgers linked up again to create some overtime magic with a nice give and go. 

"Good to get that monkey off my back," the Canadiens prospect said. "It was only three games, but it felt good. It's pretty cool. This is a tournament you grew up watching and you kind of dream of something like that."

"Hopefully it means a lot," said coach Scott Sandelin. "I told him to exhale after. He's probably been pressing a little bit. It was a great play. Those two have that chemistry. I'm happy for him. Hopefully he can take a deep breath and not worry about that."

Team USA is off today and with eight points in the bank is guaranteed a top-two finish in Group B. They will finish first if Canada loses against the Czechs. 

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Hofer is the projected starter for Team Canada tonight. Lafreniere will miss a second straight game, but did take part in an off-ice workout. TSN's Frank Seravalli has more here.