It is one of the greatest annual hockey spectacles every year - the IIHF World Junior Championship.
The 2020 World Juniors is slated to be a thrilling tournament this year as for the first time since 2016, the tournament heads back to Europe to take place in the Czech Republic.
Group A, that features the defending champion Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia and Kazakhstan, will play their preliminary round games in the city of Třinec, while Group B, featuring the United States, Canada, Russia, Germany, and the host Czechs, will hold their preliminary round games in the city of Ostrava just about 45 minutes away. Both groups will then convene back in Ostrava for the semifinal round, as well as the bronze medal game and the gold medal game at the end of the tournament.
The Buffalo Sabres have been well represented at this tournament over the years, and this year is no exception with four prospects playing in the 2020 tournament.
Here is who will be playing for gold in the Czech Republic:
The 19-year-old will serve as captain for the U.S. squad, which is the second time in his young career that he will captain the Americans in international competition (2018 U18 World Championship).
Buffalo's second round pick (32nd overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft played in a limited role with the United States last year in Vancouver, going pointless in seven games and picking up a plus-3 rating. However, Samuelsson is expected to be the bell-cow defenseman on the blue line this year that's playing in all situations, and chewing up minutes as a two-way defenseman for the Americans.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound defenseman has put up four points (1+3) in 12 games played for Western Michigan this season after a 12-point (5+7) season in 35 games during his freshman campaign.
While Samuelsson may fit more of the old school mold for defensemen, especially with his size, he still is a smooth-skating player with his long legs, has good two-way vision, possesses a decent shot to his arsenal, and has good leadership qualities.
The 18-year-old center will likely get plenty of chances to put up some big numbers for Canada in this tournament, and will be relied upon to be a solid two-way center when needed.
Cozens really came into the spotlight last season at the 2019 IIHF U18 World Championship, where he scored four goals and registered nine points in seven games and was one of Canada's best players in the tournament.
So far this season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the Western Hockey League, Buffalo's first round pick (7th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft has 20 goals and 46 points in 30 games, which is good for fourth in league scoring.
It will be certainly interesting to see how the 6-foot-3, 185-pound forward is going to factor for Canada in this year's tournament. He could be just one of a number of players that could factor into being one of the top players of the entire tournament.
The 19-year-old played a limited role with the Czechs last year, going pointless in five games and picking up a minus-1 rating. The Czechs did not have a great tournament in Vancouver last year, finishing in seventh place.
We've gotten the chance to see Pekar's style of play, being a feisty player on the ice with the ability to get under the skin of players he goes up against on the ice. However, he does have a sneaky offensive side to his game, possessing a decent shot while also the speed to keep up with the pace of play.
In his second season with the Barrie Colts this year in the Ontario Hockey League, Pekar has 16 goals and 29 points in 26 games played. His season last year was cut short due to a broken collarbone, but he has rebounded nicely since returning to Barrie this year.
Pekar likely will not light up the scoreboard for the Czechs in this tournament, but if he can do his job by rattling the other team and doing enough offensively to generate chances, they may be able to make some sort of noise.
The 19-year-old Swede has already established himself as one of the best goalies in the United States Hockey League this season while playing with the Dubuque Fighting Saints. In 15 games played this year, Portillo has a 12-2-1 record with a 2.05 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
Portillo is one of three goaltenders the Swedes will carry throughout this tournament, so it is unknown how much he will play in this tournament. He is also in competition for the starting job with Tampa Bay Lightning 2019 third round pick Hugo Alnefelt, as well as Detroit Red Wings 2018 third round pick Jesper Eliasson.
The Sabres selected Portillo in the third round (67th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, and he is committed to go to Michigan University starting in the 2020-21 season.