It's tempting to believe a Canadian team bolstered by the NHL lockout will dominate the 2013 world junior hockey championships.

The 1995 and 2005 editions did so when lockouts those years made all of the country's best 19-year-old players available to Canada. Neither team lost a game in the tournament.

But Canada faces significant barriers on the road to a gold medal this time, not the least of which is the distance the team must go to get it.

A little preview of the tournament. (from the Canadian perspective)