Canada is looking to defend its gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship.
The Canadians hit the ice Wednesday evening, when they face off against Denmark in Vancouver.
TSN's Mark Masters is in British Columbia covering the event.
He tells AM800 Sports, after talking to goaltender Michael DiPietro -- it appears the nerves are gone.
"We know he's a big game guy, he's proven that on route to that big win with Windsor," says Masters. "He knows what it takes to play well under the pressure of a championship game in your home town. I'm impressed with him. I think he has the right personality for it."
DiPietro, the 19-year-old from Amherstburg, has been named Canada's starting goaltender against Denmark.
#Canucks prospect Mikey DiPietro will start for Team in the #WorldJuniors opener against #LeafsForever prospect Ian Scott will be between the pipes on Thursday v
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) December 25, 2018
Canada's roster also includes Tecumseh's Jack Studnicka and Masters tells AM800 Sports, he's a big fan of Studnicka
"I really like Jack actually," says Masters. "He's one of the guys I haven't seen a lot of coming in here who's impressed me. He's the man in the middle on the top powerplay unit, scored to powerplay goals in the first two games. He was playing at even strength on an all OHL line with a couple Soo Greyhounds."
Masters adds Canada needs to win its group for an easier path to the finals.
"If you're Canada you win the group, you're probably playing Slovakia in the quarterfinals, a Slovakian team that you just routed in a pre-tournament game," says Masters. "But if you lose to Russia, let's say it's Russia, the Czechs are always tricky, they always seem to play Canada tough and they got Filip Zadina on loan from the Detroit organization in Grand Rapids and they got Martin Necas loaned from Carolina so they do have some big names up front."
Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Merry Christmas Canada! It’s an honour to #represent our great country at the World Juniors in Vancouver this holiday season. My teammates and I have decided to take a social media break during the tournament to focus on bringing us together as a team. Thank you for the support! pic.twitter.com/UDnKSSjz1O
— Michael DiPietro (@miketendy) December 25, 2018