The Islanders renew acquaintances with their cross-river rivals tonight, but some future Islanders -- perhaps more than we realize -- also get in gear as the 2012 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship launches today.

As Islanders fans probably know, 2011 1st-round pick Ryan Strome suits up for Team Canada (vs. Finland today), reportedly on a line with fellow top-five pick Jonathan Huberdeau. (Much more on Strome at this CBC link if you missed it on the weekend.) Islanders 2nd-round pick Johan Sundstrom is also in the fold for Sweden, who starts today against Latvia.

For North Americans, TSN will stream all of Canada's games in Canada. NHL.com will stream all of the U.S. games in the U.S. Check the IIHF site for a list of broadcasters around the world and schedules. As for other resources:

• Our SB Nation brother blog Puck Worlds has previews of each team, plus a prediction. (Bruce is Canadian, but he's pegging the U.S. for gold. Reverse jinx?)
• NHL.com has write-ups on each group and will have continuing coverage as well as streaming.
• Yahoo's Buzzing the Net junior-centric blog will be going all WJC.
• And of course, TSN.ca will be waving the flag of coverage in a way that makes NBC's Olympic coverage blush...almost.

It's always tricky following coverage and figuring out who's broadcasting/streaming what during this busy tournament during the busy holiday season, but we'll keep tabs on things, especially when they affect Islanders properties. The other wild card, of course, is that some of these undrafted kids may also become Islanders one day, much like Nino Niederreiter who put on that big display the winter before being selected #5 overall by the Isles.

Have fun with it, and if you're watching -- from any part of the globe -- by all means share your impressions and links to interesting angles.

We now resume our regularly scheduled programming...