MALMO, Sweden - Ending a four-year run without a gold medal wont be easy for Canada at the world junior hockey championship. The quest begins with what is supposed to be an easy one, although Germany has traditionally been a stubborn opponent to Canadian teams at international tournaments. "Youve got to expect theyll be structured and hard working," coach Brent Sutter said Wednesday after a one-hour skate at the cosy Isstadion, where they face the Germans on Thursday. "Theyll be ready to play. "That game is the biggest game to date we have. It doesnt matter our opponent, its how we have to play. Lets make sure were responsible." You can watch all the action live on TSN beginning at 7am et/4am pt. Pre-tournament exhibition games against Finland, Sweden and Switzerland showed that while the Canadian squad — led by Halifax Mooseheads star Jonathan Drouin — will be among the better teams in the 10-team event, it doesnt have the speed and offensive flash of some of the 15 Canadian teams that won gold in the past. The host team Sweden, with at least 10 players returning from a squad that won silver last year in Ufa, Russia, looks like the team to beat, especially after the 3-0 beating they put on Canada in an exhibition game last week. The Swedes are in the opposite first-round group and will play at the newer, much larger Malmo Arena. Canada has only three players back from the 2013 tournament. They include Drouin, Jake Paterson (who didnt dress for any games in Ufa as the third goalie), and defenceman Griffin Reinhart, who is suspended for the first three games this year from a slashing incident in last years semifinals. The loss in Ufa ended Canadas 14-year run of top-three finishes at the tournament officially called the IIHF world under-20 championship. This years squad is younger than most, and should be a showcase for three players not even eligible to be drafted by the NHL yet. First among them is Connor McDavid, the dazzling 16-year-old playmaker and scoring star of the Erie Otters who will not be eligible for the draft until 2015. There is also forward Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice, the younger brother of Griffin Reinhart, along with big defenceman Aaron Ekblad of the Barrie Colts. They may go one-two in the 2014 draft. Sutter has McDavid and Reinhart on the wings with centre Bo Horvat, an imposing Vancouver Canucks prospect from the London Knights. They were the only line to stay together through the teams three pre-tournament games. Reinhart turned 18 in November and is not a true "underage" junior, and Sutter uses him as he would a seasoned veteran. In exhibition play, he played the power play and on the penalty kill. In one instance when Canada was short-handed two men, he was the lone forward on the ice. "Hes an all-purpose player," said Sutter. "He just knows how to play the game. "Hes an intelligent player and his paying attention to details in all sorts of situations is very high. As a coach, youre very comfortable playing him in whatever situation that occurs." Reinhart is used to the ice time with Kootenay and was a captain on Canadian under-18 teams, so he likes the responsibility Sutter has given him. "It gives you confidence for opening night," he said. "We took some games to find our mentality and what well bring to the first one. "We feel confident in our game right now. The focus has turned onto the first game against Germany and were looking forward to it." The exhibition games were a test for Drouin, the third overall pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning last June. Sutter blasted him for a weak showing against Sweden, even though it was Drouins first game since suffering a concussion in a league game with Halifax on Dec. 8. He was moved from left wing to centre for the final exhibition against the Swiss and played better. "Brent said some stuff," said Drouin, who will likely centre big winger Anthony Mantha and the defensively solid Taylor Leier of the Portland Winterhawks. "I know I played bad and didnt help the team. "I had to step up my game against the Swiss and I think I did. I feel better. The first game was a little rough. Its been three weeks (since he played) and its different from major junior. Its way more fast, but I think the second game was better." Another question to be settled was in goal, and Sutter believes hes found his man in Paterson of the Saginaw Spirit, who will start against Germany. The Mooseheads Zach Fucale will start the tournament as the backup, but Sutter expects both will see action in the tournament. Other lines are likely to have Nic Petan of Portland between Curtis Lazar of the Edmonton Oil Kings and Kerby Rychel of the Gueph Storm; and captain Scott Laughton of the Oshawa Generals with Frederik Gauthier of the Rimouski Oceanic and Josh Anderson of the Knights. Charles Hudon of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens may slot in the Drouin line. The defence will likely be rearranged when Griffin Reinhart returns Dec. 31 against the Americans. Sutter has been trying various combinations for a group that includes Ekblad, Matt Dumba of the Minnesota Wild, Chris Bigras of the Owen Sound Attack, McDavids Erie teammate Adam Pelech, Josh Morrissey of the Prince Albert Raiders and Derrick Pouliot of Portland. Without a high-powered attack, there has been much talk of playing "Boston Bruins hockey," which despite popular perception does not mean hammering everyone who moves, but rather working the puck up the ice in tight, five-man units and playing a controlled two-way game. "It is the makeup of our team," said Sutter, who won gold with a similar group in 2006. "We have to support each other. "We cant be a spread-out team thats playing one zone and two zones ahead. We have to be coming out of zones together and using each other. When one guy has the puck, the other four have to be options and be available for plays. And we have to be smart when were hitting the red line. We cant have turnovers." The game against Germany is a chance to see flashy forward Leon Draisaitl, who is Morrisseys teammate in Prince Albert. Draisaitl is a projected top-10 pick in 2014. They played against one another at the under-18 championship, and Morrissey said they have been joking about meeting again at the world juniors. "Hes a really skilled player," the Calgary native said. "Weve become almost best friends on our team. "Hes got phenomenal vision. I think he plays like (Anze) Kopitar. He likes (Pavel) Datsyuk a lot. All I can say is hes an unreal player." 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The Montreal Canadiens goaltender has won three of his four games since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out from the end of the Olympic break until March 15.Lewis Hamilton says he feels really chilled heading away from the Bahrain GP despite fresh start-line problems handing Nico Rosberg the early impetus in the 2016 title battle. For the second successive race, Hamilton lost the advantage of pole position within seconds of the lights going out as a fast-starting Rosberg moved clear off the line.Hamiltons W07 was then hit by a fast-starting Valtteri Bottas, an incident which damaged his cars bodywork and floor and dropped him to ninth place. Despite struggling for downforce - a deficit Mercedes have suggested cost him one second per lap - the Briton found himself back in the podium positions after the first pit stops but was unable to hunt down Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen for second place. Lewis Hamilton is glad that he could complete the Bahrain GP in 3rd place The Bahrain GP race reportRosberg claimed a comfortable fifth straight victory and leads Hamilton in the standings by 17 points after two races in the new season - not that the reigning champion is unduly worried.I actually feel really chilled, to be honest, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. Jeez, it is what it is, its not a big issue. Lewis Hamilton collides with Valtteri Bottas at the first corner of the Bahrain GP. Theres a long, long way to go. 17 points down? Ive had a lot of worse.Qualifying was great - the last two qualifyings have been good - I think I had the set-up right for the race, but unfortunately I was unable to exploit that. It is what it is.Bahrain GP driver ratingsA smiiling Hamilton added: Congratulations to Nico - an easy day for him for sure - I live to fight another day.ddddddddddddamilton finished 20 seconds behind Raikkonen and admitted: I had damage on my car, I couldnt keep him with Kimi, he had his perfect package.I did everything I could, but the rear end was sliding around a lot so I couldnt eek out anymore from the tyres so that was really what we had to do. Look after the car, look after the engine, so we could live to fight another day. Lewis Hamilton arrives for the Bahrain Grand Prix in local attire. And although Hamiltons second successive poor start could be cause for concern for Mercedes, the Briton accepted blame for the sluggish getaway.It actually wasnt as bad as it looked, he said. I lost a lot of ground to Nico, but it was generally from the reaction times wasnt good enough.World Championship standingsI dont think there were any real performance issues.Stewards ruled that the subsequent clash with Bottas at the first corner was the Williams drivers fault, handing the Finn a drive-through penalty, but Hamilton was not apportioning blame.Whoever was on the inside was in my blind spot so I didnt see them, he said in the press conference. It was a racing incident, those kind of things happen. Paul Di Resta breaks down the chaotic start of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Also See: Watch: Hamilton and Bottas collide Nico wins as Lewis is hit by trouble ' ' '