HELSINKI—American coach Ron Wilson had some choice words for TSN and its amping up the pressure on Canada on Sunday, a day after his team beat the Canadians 4-2 in the opener of the world junior hockey championship.

"TSN has created this unconscionable amount of pressure on these young guys," said Wilson, the ex-coach of the Maple Leafs. "The Canadian guys have to be squeezing their sticks today because of all the pressure that TSN puts on them.

"They're expected to win. Here, they've lost their first game and the world's ready to end. I'm always saying make sure the flags are always flying at half-staff in Canada. That's what we (Americans) did. The flags in Canada are flying at half-staff."

TSN, which has employed Wilson as an analyst at times, is the Canadian rights-holder of the world juniors. The tournament is typically a ratings winner over the holiday season with Canada always in contention for a medal.

Scott Salmond, vice-president of hockey operations for Hockey Canada, defended TSN's approach.

"Pressure to me is more what you put on yourself than what other people put on you," said Salmond. "That comes with being Canadian and having an expectation of the way you want to play and what you want to achieve.

"I've been around a long time. I don't feel like any media agency puts more pressure on our team than we put on ourselves. That's just the expectation we have. We want to win. And we expect to win. That to me is a good thing."

It suits Wilson — and the American cause — if Canada buckles under the weight of expectations. On Saturday following the U.S. win, Wilson said as much in his post-game comments.

"Now the pressure is on Canada. They haven't won a game. Now they have some tough teams ahead to beat. None of the teams are easy. You can't let your guard down for anybody."

While the comments may only be a matter of gamesmanship with Wilson, as veteran a coach as this tournament has ever seen, Team Canada doesn't share Wilson's interpretation of intense media interest as pressure.

"We're here to win," said Canadian centre Dylan Strome. "Canada doesn't come to this tournament to get bronze or finish fourth or to just compete. We're here to win. There's no secret about that. That's what Canada is supposed to do every year."

Correction – December 27, 2015: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Scott Salmond was the director of hockey operations.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Read more about: