Excerpt from 'Rocket Hockey Report' looking at the potential for some of the AHL's top coaching talent to be tapped for NHL roles. The preliminary round of the 2024 IIHF World Championship began on Friday with 16 teams from North America, Europe and Asia participating. The tournament is hosted by Czechia in the cities of Ostrava and Prague. The Montreal Canadiens are represented by three players from their NHL team and two from their pipeline. Juraj Slafkovsky returned to the competition to represent Slovakia for the third time in the last four years. In his first two participations, he collected 14 points in nine games. Last year, the forward was not available due to a knee injury that occurred during the season with Montreal. Prior to his country's first preliminary game, the 20-year-old spoke about back pain and shared his displeasure with the facilities provided by the host city. "The reason is that my back hurts from the hotel bed. I'd rather live somewhere further away in something better," Slafkovsky said after practice as reported by Sport24 website. The back pain did not seem to hinder his offensive production in Friday's game against Germany. The first overall pick of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, obtained two assists and plus-2 in Slovakia's 6-4 loss. Slafkovsky was named the best player of his country, co-leading the team with six shots on goal and led all forwards with 20:01 of ice time. Cole Caufield is participating in the tournament for the first time of his young career. The forward was kept off the scoresheet in U.S.A's 5-2 loss against Sweden on Friday. In 16:25 of action, he was on the ice for two goals against including an empty net goal allowed with seconds remaining in regulation. On Saturday, Caufield recorded two assists in his country's blowout 6-1 victory against Germany. He co-led the team with four shots on goal and finished at plus-2 in 15:12 ice time. It is also Kaiden Guhle's first participation in the IIHF World Championship. The defenseman obtained an assist on Connor Bedard's second goal in Canada's 4-2 win against Great Britain on Saturday. He was thrown over the boards by coach Andre Tourigny for 17:02 of ice time. In his debut in the tournament, Oliver Kapanen was held off the scoresheet in a low scoring contest between Czechia and Finland. The forward drafted 64th overall in 2021 took one shot on goal, won 52.9 percent of faceoffs in 15:47 of ice time in his country's 1-0 loss on Friday. Vinzenz Rohrer made his tournament debut on Saturday in Austria's 5-1 loss to Denmark. The forward selected by the Canadiens 75th overall in 2022, obtained an assist in his country's only goal. He took no shots on goal and finished minus-2 in 13:13 of ice time. Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal [https://thn.com/montreal] for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world. The Hockey News: Pick A Free Issue! [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNTk3MTk4Mzc0MTE4Nzc2/hockeynewsad.jpg] The Hockey News: Pick A Free Issue!
