Takin' a T/O With BT: John Tavares vs. Victor Hedman Headline World Junior Final

Tonight, Canadians and Swedes alike will join to watch one of the most highly-anticipated World Junior Hockey Championship finals in recent memory: Canada vs. Sweden (7:30 p.m. ET).

From Ottawa, Ontario, for the second consecutive final, the home of Mats Sundin and Peter Forsberg will match up against the perennial producer of first round (and first overall) draft picks to see who comes out on top.

But, as always, so much more is riding on this game.

As much as National Pride means to these kids (especially if Canada were to win it's fifth-straight gold on home ice), NHL scouts will be looking to see how they perform in a big game internationally.

While there's still about 20 games (and playoffs) remaining for most of the Canadian Juniors in the CHL, this is a big-stepping stone with regards to getting your name out there.

As Bob McKenzie wrote for TSN.ca, Canadian goalie Justin Tokarski will be going up against the best goalie in the tournament, Jacob Markstrom.

While neither have to worry about being drafted this season (Both are NHL property: Tokarski to Tampa Bay, and Markstrom to Florida), they both have something to prove to their parent clubs and, with a strange NHL proximity to each other, each will be looking for the upper hand over the other in this rivalry.

As you continue down the Swedish roster, there's 24 other men who want to take home that Championship gold—and 11 of them who want to make an impact in preparation for this June's draft.

Looking at Canada, you know the story: Home town team, home town tournament, and (hopefully) home town heroes. A team full of NHL-owned players looking for one last gasp before they close out their Junior careers and then start out on their jobs—making the NHL.

It's kind of funny hearing "making the NHL" called a job but for these kids, it is.

For Canada, draft statuses have already been determined for the players—only three players don't have NHL-owned rights—and, in a country that takes hockey so seriously, the players will have the opportunity to settle in and concentrate on the job at hand.

Despite the bigger picture of winning a World Championship, there are two players that everyone will key on, no matter who wins this game.

John Tavares and Victor Hedman.

It's no secret that these two are the class of the 2009 NHL Entry draft. As their final seasons as non-NHL players begin, the argument had already begun as to who would go first.

Initially it was the smooth-skating Swedish defender Hedman who was assumed the first overall pick this summer, as his comparisons to popular Swedes such as Nik Lidstrom of the Red Wings had scouts drooling.

As the season wore on though, John Tavares began to chip away at Hedman's lead, and some scouts began placing the talented forward ahead of Hedman in the rankings.

Now, the two get to display their skills head-to-head in the most meaningful game that any top-two picks have in the past 13 seasons.

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