Canada in an unfamiliar position ahead of world junior opener against Finland

Macklin Celebrini hasn't been an underdog many times in his life. The same goes for Canada whenever the country hits the ice for an international tournament. Heading into the 2024 world junior hockey championship, however, the powerhouse nation isn't viewed as the favourite -- at least from the outside.

Macklin Celebrini hasn't been an underdog many times in his life.

The same goes for Canada whenever the country hits the ice for an international tournament.

Heading into the 2024 world junior hockey championship, however, the powerhouse nation isn't viewed as the favourite -- at least from the outside.

And it suits the group just fine.

"We're not really focusing on that," said Celebrini, a 17-year-old centre from Vancouver expected to go No. 1 at June's NHL draft. "That's just all opinions. We're looking forward to get going and prove who we are."

That's a team missing a lot of eligible NHL talent, but one that showed what it could be in its last pre-tournament game.

Canada trailed the United States, which has a number of returning players for the under-20 event and is viewed as the country to beat, 5-3 after two periods on Saturday before roaring back over the final 20 minutes to force overtime in a 6-5 loss.