The 2012 IIHF U-20 World Junior Championships kick off today in Edmonton, and we've got everything you need to know about the Buffalo Sabres prospects participating, as well as Team USA, because America and all that.

Buffalo Sabres Prospects:

Mark Pysyk - Pysyk just missed the cut last season, but is locked in to Team Canada's roster this year as one of their seven defensemen. According to Kris Baker of SabresProspects.com, it's unclear as to the role Pysyk will play for Team Canada, but as a smart, stable defensemen he should be able to find ample playing time.

Joel Armia - Buffalo's controversial first-round pick this year has found his way onto Team Finland for the second time. He's been heating up lately after a slow start, and has the ability to both snipe from the wing and tip pucks in front of the net. His effort can be inconsistent, as with all young players, but it should be interesting to see if Armia can carry his hot streak into the tournament.

Bonus Prospect: Adam Clendening - While not a Sabres prospect, Clendening will be of interest to Western New Yorkers because he hails from Niagara Falls. A Blackhawks draft pick, Clendening will play defense for Team USA.

Tournament Schedule/Where To Watch:

The entire tournament schedule can be found at the IIHF website here, but for you lazy Americans out there (typical) here's the Team USA schedule:

12/26 - USA vs Denmark - 8:00pm

12/28 - USA vs Finland - 3:30pm

12/30 - USA vs Czech Republic - 3:30pm

12/31 - USA vs Canada - 8:00pm
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1/2 - Quarterfinal Round - TBD

1/3 - Semifainl Round - TBD

1/5 - Bronze Medal Game - 3:30pm
1/5 - Gold Medal Game - 8:00pm

You can watch all of these games on NHL Network, or if you don't get that channel then you can stream the Team USA games on NHL.com. Here's the link to the complete US television schedule, which features five additional non-Team USA games.

More tourney info and links after the break.

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The prospects post was delayed until Thursday this week because of the Sabres game on Wednesday night. Most of the talk was still surrounding the hit on Miller Saturday and I decided to let it stew for one more day.

It wasn't a banner week for most of the Sabres younger prospects. Most if not all of them are either neutral or dropping in stock this week.

All stats are after the jump and they are through Tuesday November 15, 2011.

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It is time for our Wednesday look at the Buffalo Sabres prospects that have not made the jump to the American Hockey League. It has been an up and down season for the American Hockey League guys in Rochester. It is more difficult to get a gauge on the progress of the younger prospects because they are scattered in all different leagues throughout the world.

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It is Wednesday which means it is time for the weekly look at the Sabres prospects. Luckily, it is a Sabres gameday because most of the prospects struggled through this week. Some were outstanding but most had weeks they would like to forget.

Follow the jump to see the good and the bad for the past week.

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It is time for our weekly look at the Buffalo Sabres prospects and how they fared last week. It is sometimes difficult to get a good handle on how these guys are actually playing because much of the this is based on statistics and nothing else. Still we can usually get a good grasp on who is playing well and who is not.

This was not a banner week for a large portion of the Sabres prospects, while others continued their upward trend. It has been amazing to follow what Jerome Gauthier-Leduc has been able to accomplish this season. I find myself becoming very intrigued by this young man and I have tried to find feeds of his games to be able to watch just how dominant he has been in the "Q".

Follow the jump to see how all the Sabres prospects did this week.

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A couple of weeks ago Zach introduced a new feature called Stock Up/Stock Down for the Buffalo Sabres. We have now decided to extend that to the Sabres prospects that are playing at the Junior/NCAA level. Each week will look at what the prospects did the prior week and whether or not their stock is rising or falling in the Sabres system.

Please leave a comment or e-mail me directly if there are any other prospect features you would like to see at Die by the Blade.

Follow the jump to see how the prospects did this week.

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It's time for the weekly look at the Buffalo Sabres prospects. This week a number of Sabres prospects moved up the ranks with outstanding performances. Below we will take a look at three players that had exceptional weeks for their perspective teams. While I will focus mostly on the players in the junior and NCAA ranks, it is hard not to recognize some Rochester players that performed admirably this week.

First Star - Zack Kassian (Rochester Americans -AHL) 3GP 3G-2A-5P

Zack Kassian seems to be adjusting well to the American Hockey League. After a slow start in an opening night loss, Kassian has stepped up his game to help the Americans to a 2-2-0 record. He scored a goal in the Americans 3-1 win over the Lake Erie Monsters on Friday night and he followed that up with two goals in a 7-2 victory against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Sunday.

Second Star - Dan Catenacci (Owen Sound Attack - OHL) 4GP 4G-2A-6P

Dan Catenacci is off to a fast start in the Ontario Hockey, showing no effects from a tumultuous off-season that seen him force his way out of Sault Ste. Marie. Catennacci scored four times this week, including a pair in a 5-3 loss to the Kitchener Rangers on Saturday night.

Third Star - Kevin Sundher (Victoria Royals - WHL) 2GP 1G-5A-6P

Sundher had a pair of assists in the Royals 7-5 win against the Kelowna Rockets on Friday night. He followed up that performance with a four point performance on Saturday to help the Royals complete the sweep of the Rockets with a 4-3 victory.

Honorable Mention - Jerome Gauthier-Leduc (Rimouski Oceanic - QMJHL) 2GP 2G-2A-4P

Complete prospect stats, from SabresProspects.com, following the jump.

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This year we want to focus more on the Sabres prospects than we have in the past. Because I have taken a step back with my involvement with the site and I have a bit of a connection to junior hockey, I have taken on the role of the prospects features for the site. I would love to hear your thoughts on what you want to know about Sabres prospects. What I am doing here will in no way replace the fantastic coverage from SabresProspects.com but this will be a teaser of sorts for folks that are mildly interested in what the prospects are doing.

After the jump is a chart with the statistics for all the prospects in the Sabres system. Luke Adam is still considered a Sabres prospect but if he continues to produce with the Sabres, he will be removed from the list and added to the long list of Sabres who have graduated to the NHL level.

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