Canadas World Junior team is once again preparing itself for Christmas overseas. wholesale nba jerseys china . Seeking to break a four-year gold medal drought, the hopes of Canadas under-20s will be looking towards Malmo, Sweden in hopes that this years crop can at least get back into the medals if not back to the top. But success overseas has not always been a guarantee for the Canadian World Juniors. Since the establishment of the Program of Excellence in 1981, the Canadian side has dominated tournaments held in North America, compiling a 76-12-3 record (.852 winning percentage) over 14 tournaments. Canada has only once failed to medal on their home continent (and that tournament was played in Alaska), racking up seven gold, five silver and one bronze. The track record has not been quite the same in Europe. While Canada has actually won more gold (eight) overseas, the European-hosted tournaments have provided some of Canadas greatest heartbreaks. The record itself isnt all that bad: 83-24-15 (.742 winning percentage) and Canada has actually won more golds in Europe than they have in North America, racking up eight - along with two silver and three bronze – over 18 tournaments since the start of the Program of Excellence. Hidden in that record, however, are some of the more painful memories in Canadas World Junior lore. The Piestany punch-up, the Heartbreak in Helsinki as well as Canadas two worst finishes since the 1982 tournament all came overseas. So, whats to blame for the difference? Certainly the added boost from fan support has helped their North American performance. After all, even the five tournaments held on American soil (save Anchorage) were close enough to the border to draw enterprising Canadian fans to the games. The flip side of that coin is the travel – and particularly the unfamiliarity during the holiday season – which must certainly weigh on the teenagers selected to wear the Maple Leaf abroad. While several players have had experience abroad through the Under-18 World Championship tournaments and the Ivan Hlinka Memorial, those are summertime events that disrupt neither the players regular season junior schedules, nor their personal holiday traditions. Looking back particularly through Canadas history at World Junior tournaments hosted in Sweden, there is reason for optimism for Canadian fans looking forward to the 2014 Championship in Malmo. Canadas juniors are 16-2-2 in the last three Swedish-hosted tournaments having won a pair of golds and a bronze medal. Canadas last visit will be particularly memorable, with Jonathan Toews and Carey Price forging an unforgettable semifinal shootout performance against the United States en route to a gold medal at the 2007 tournament. In total Sweden has hosted the World Juniors five times and four since the Program of Excellences foundation with Canada finishing no worse than fourth since the Nykoping tournament in 1984. Karlstad hosted in 1979 with Canada finishing fifth on a team that featured future NHL All-Stars Brad McCrimmon and Brian Propp. So, how will Malmo treat the 2014 team? History dictates a medal is likely in the cards, since Canada has never failed to medal in successive tournaments since 1982. However, trends over the last 20 years have dictated that the golds come in clusters with a drought in between. Seven tournaments passed between the “Drive for Five” and the recent five-gold run ignited by the super-team featuring Sidney Crosby in 2005. Will Canada be able to cap the drought at four tournaments without gold? Rediscovering their luck in Sweden might well be the first step towards doing so. wholesale nba jerseys .J. Fair didnt have many chances to be the main option for Syracuse last season. cheap nba jerseys china . Ashton scored a hat trick -- giving him 13 goals in 16 AHL games this season -- to power the Toronto Marlies to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Lake Erie Monsters in AHL action on Sunday. http://www.cheapnbajerseyschinastore.com/ . Jurrjens signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati in May, and was 2-3 with a 4.46 ERA at Triple-A Louisville. He has a 53-37 record with a 3.63 ERA in seven major league seasons, including five with Atlanta.Every night of the Stanley Cup playoffs, TSN hockey analyst and former NHL goaltender Jamie McLennan breaks down each goalies performance. Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings (4) - Quick was the only reason that Game 2 wasnt a blowout early, faced a lot of high quality chances. Both goals were partial breakaways that went short side. Made huge saves on Bickell, Sharp and Hossa, but no better saves than the push lateral ones on Seabrook and Hossa - which were game changers and allowed L.A. to climb back iinto the game. nba jerseys from china. Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks (2) - Rough third period, but his game early on looked very locked in with solid rebound control. He handled the puck well with smart quick-ups with the puck as well. The Williams goal hits a skate and slides underneath him, and he responds with a big left pad save on Brown. But then two screen shots beat him in the third period, both blocker side, and then the second Carter goal goes off Oduya and it just continues to unravel from there. It ends a bad night for him which had started with so much promise. ' ' '