Screw Christmas (dysfunctional families make you feel this). My favourite time of the year: WJC time!

Canada is in the running for a five-peat (knock on wood) and the line-up this year is looking mighty swell.

Players worth watching: Colten Teubert (D), Zach Boychuk (F), Cody Hodgson (F), John Tavares (F)

If you need just one reason… Watch the WJC to see how Pat Quinn does with coaching players who aren’t dinosaurs.

Where to watch: There’s a VOD feed being broadcast at TSN. If you can’t catch the game at home, TSN usually broadcasts a live internet feed of these games.

December 26
GER vs USA – 12:30pm PST – TSN
CAN vs CZR – 4:00pm PST – TSN

December 28
CAN vs KAZ – 12:00pm PST – TSN
USA vs CZR – 4:30pm PST – TSN

December 29
CAN vs GER – 12:30pm PST – TSN

December 30
RUS vs SLV – 11:30am PST – TSN

December 31
SWE vs RUS – 11:30am PST – TSN
CAN vs USA – 4:00pm PST – TSN

January 2
QF #1 TBA – 12:30pm PST – TSN
QF #2 TBA – 4:00pm PST – TSN

January 3
SEMI #1 TBA – 12:30pm PST – TSN
SEMI #2 TBA – 4:00pm PST – TSN
January 5
Bronze TBA – 12:30pm PST – TSN
Gold TBA – 4:00pm PST – TSN

“The [1972 Summit] series was pointing to something beyond itself, something primal, something of hockey’s own elemental origins. The juvenility and sexism, the Odysseus-like cunning and calculated cruelty — hockey’s eternal dark side was always present though somehow counterbalanced by a sense of transcendence. The 3,000 plus fans who flew to Moscow to shout “Da, Da Canada; Nyet, Nyet, Soviet” testified to that. So did Bobby Orr’s desire to sit behind the bench as a supporter, his bad knees making it impossible for Sinden to play him. Another quiet piece of heroism could be seen when players of the calibre of Stan Mikita and Rod Seiling waited patiently for ice time that hardly ever came.”

Earle, Neil. “Hockey as Canadian Popular Culture: Team Canada 1972, Television and the Canadian Identity,” in Journal of Canadian Studies. 30(2): 107-123.

Watching the football shootout between Spain and Italy, I suddenly had a craving to watch this video, which is a damn classic and was a fun-as-hell Christmas treat.