The World Hockey Championship runs May 4-20 in Copenhagen and Herning, Denmark. Stay up to date with all game action via our daily scoreboard (all times Eastern).

Championship Round Schedule

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As each NHL season winds down, talented players commit to represent their countries at the IIHF World Championship. This year, a plethora of young, skilled forwards are set to make their mark on one of the biggest stages that hockey can provide.

Here are five young guns to keep an eye on once tournament action begins Friday in Denmark.

Kirill Kaprizov, F - Russia

Kaprizov, Russia's captain at the 2017 World Junior Championship, is already a proven performer on the international stage at only 21 years old. He also finished second in scoring for the Russian squad at PyeongChang 2018 with nine points in six contests, earning a gold medal in the process.

The Minnesota Wild selected the offensively gifted Kaprizov in the fifth round of the 2015 draft, but he's yet to play in the NHL, suiting up instead in the KHL over the last three seasons and registering 117 points in 179 games.

His contract with CSKA Moscow doesn't expire until 2020, so this might be the best chance to witness his tremendous talent and consistent production.

Tage Thompson, F - USA

The St. Louis Blues' first-round selection might have had a hard time adapting to the quickness of the NHL as a rookie, but Thompson has been an effective scorer in the AHL.

What Thompson may lack in foot speed, he makes up for with his soft hands and a wicked-fast release. The latter was on full display in his first NHL goal against Cam Talbot and the Edmonton Oilers:

Thompson is far from the flashiest player on our list, but he's still an exciting young prospect with great potential.

Pierre-Luc Dubois, F - Canada

Dubois has already started to make a name for himself in North American arenas, setting a Columbus Blue Jackets franchise record for goals by a rookie with 20 this season.

The physically gifted center has the versatility and skill set to also play the wing, and he can bring the body when needed.

Those strengths, combined with his superb offensive instincts and nose for the net, should help Dubois light up the worlds - especially if he gets the benefit of playing on a wing with an elite Canadian pivot such as Connor McDavid, Mathew Barzal, or Bo Horvat.

Elias Pettersson, F - Sweden

Potentially the most exciting player in the tournament who's yet to grace an NHL ice surface, Pettersson has been sensational in the Swedish Hockey League this season for the Vaxjo Lakers.

After being drafted fifth overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 2017, he led the SHL in scoring with 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists) in 44 games, broke the regular-season record for points by a player under 20 years old, and also set the league record for playoff points by a U20 player.

If he keeps scoring goals like the one above, the 2018 World Championship will be Pettersson's coming-out party.

Martin Necas, F - Czech Republic

Necas' dynamic playmaking skills and explosive offensive capability should be enough to entice hockey fans to tune in for the Czech Republic's games over the next week or so. If it's not enough to convince you, though, perhaps his performance from the most recent WJHC is.

Necas tied American forward Casey Mittelstadt for the tournament lead in scoring, registering three goals and seven assists in six games.

After the Carolina Hurricanes drafted him 12th overall last June, Necas cracked their opening-night roster out of training camp. He only played in one game, but went on to tally a respectable 17 points in 24 contests while on loan to HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Extraliga.

Slick hands and sneaky speed make Necas worth keeping an eye on at the 2018 World Championship.

(Pictures courtesy: Getty Images)

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The bad blood continues to flow.

Late in Game 4 between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, T.J. Oshie quite literally flew into Kris Letang with a body check that resulted in some fisticuffs.

All of this took place as Jake Guentzel was sealing a Pittsburgh win with an empty-net tally.

No penalty was called on the hit, but each player received a five-minute major for fighting.

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Jake Guentzel's postseason legend continues to grow.

With a goal in Game 4 against the Washington Capitals, the Pittsburgh Penguins winger reached the 20-point mark in only his 10th game of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

As a result, he became the seventh player in NHL history to be that productive so early in the postseason:

Guentzel recorded 22 goals and 26 assists in 82 regular-season appearances, upping his point per game average from 0.58 to 2.

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Former NHL winger Jeff Parker had advanced chronic traumatic encephalopathy when he passed away last September, according to researchers at Boston University's CTE Center.

“It was fairly advanced, and we called it Stage 3 because it was significant,” Dr. Ann McKee, director of the CTE Center, told John Branch of the New York Times.

CTE is a degenerative brain disease associated with repetitive head trauma, and Parker's was classified as Stage 3 out of four.

McKee added the disease affects "the very important areas for memory and learning" of the brain.

Parker, who was 53 years old when he died, appeared in 141 NHL games between 1986-91, and joins six other former players who were diagnosed with CTE: Reggie Fleming, Rick Martin, Bob Probert, Derek Boogaard, Larry Zeidel, and Steve Montador.

He was also among more than 100 former players who filed a lawsuit against the league, arguing the NHL withheld information about the long-term health risks caused by concussions.

As recently as 2016, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman denied a link between concussions suffered in the course of play and CTE.

Parker recorded 16 goals, 19 assists, and 163 penalty minutes in the NHL, with much of his time in the box coming via fighting majors.

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Carl Hagelin is ready to go.

The Pittsburgh Penguins forward will return to the lineup for Game 4 against the Washington Capitals after missing the last three with an upper-body injury.

Hagelin suffered the injury in Round 1 when he was on the receiving end of a huge hit by Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux.

In six playoff appearances, Hagelin has notched two goals and an assist. He finished the regular season with 31 points in 81 games.

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It's hard to begrudge Nashville Predators fans for wanting to get in a few jabs at Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. He's been in beast mode all playoffs, establishing his physical presence while being one of the best players on the ice for Winnipeg.

So, naturally, Nashville fan Ben McGreevy started chirping Big Buff almost immediately after taking his seat at Bridgestone Arena for Game 2. However, he soon found out that the two Jets fans sitting behind him had a pretty special connection with the hulking Winnipeg blue-liner.

"I hear them laughing every single time I throw something at Byfuglien and finally, late in the second period, I stood up, and that's when I say, 'Byfuglien, you're the biggest piece of dirt on the ice!'

"And they just started dying at that," said McGreevy, according to CBC Sports.

After turning around to apologize to the couple, McGreevy learned they were closer to Byfuglien than he expected.

"I turn around, and I acknowledge the fact that (Byfuglien's) a good player and that's why I do it, and they stop and say 'No, no, no, we think it's awesome, it's hilarious - he's our son,'" Greevy explained.

That's right: The two committed Jets fans that made the trip down to Nashville were actually Byfuglien's mother and stepfather.

"I was honestly speechless. My words couldn't come out. I just started stuttering - I've just insulted someone's son for two hours right in front of their face," McGreevy said.

The couple took the trash talk in stride and shared a few laughs with McGreevy, even answering a fan's question from Twitter about how they raised such a strong and physically imposing hockey player.

McGreevy's next chance to heckle his favorite Jet comes Saturday when the series shifts back to Nashville for Game 5.

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