Shaved Ice – Dec. 26

Good morning everyone. Hope you’re enjoying your holiday season.

Quick hits

Tonight the Wings head to Nashville to take on the Predators in the conclusion of their western road trip. Hard to say who should be favored in this one – both teams have been playing close to .500 hockey over their last ten games, and they have split the season series thus far.

One of the best events in all of sports starts tonight, as well – the World Juniors. Team USA will try to bring home the gold, while skating on Canadian ice. This year’s tournament will be played in Calgary and Edmonton. Team Canada is favored, and Team Russia is expected to be in the mix for the top spot as well. Here’s a look at the Michigan-born players who will be participating in this year’s event.

Highlight reel

A friend of mine made this to celebrate the holiday season. It’s definitely a video worth watching.

Detroit Red Wings – Happy Holidays from Nolan Bona on Vimeo.

Outside the Mitten

Well, with no NHL games this weekend, we gave the Michi-gamer award to Santa Clause.

Ron Wilson got a nice Christmas present – a contract extension from the Maple Leafs. Much better than socks, if you ask me.

There are plenty of bets in NHL locker rooms in regards to the World Juniors. Who do you think is going to win?

Check it out

SI.com’s Stu Hackel previews the World Juniors here.

Next up

We’ll let you know how both the Wings and Team USA do, and start getting you ready for the Great Lakes Invitational, as well.