Even before the opening faceoff dropped at the ongoing World Junior Championships in Saskatchewan, there were two nations with spots locked up for next years tournament in Buffalo. Authentic Brandon Jacobs Jersey. By virtue of winning their respective groups in the recent IIHF Division I Under-20 World Championships, Germany and Norway earned promotions to play in the 2011 competition. Although the Division I tournaments are a significant step down from the elite level, there has been an increasing flow of prospects from Division I countries into recent NHL Entry Drafts. As a result, the Division I tourneys now attract many more NHL scouts than it did in the past. This years edition included a sprinkling of already-drafted prospects such as Dallas Stars hopeful Scott Winkler (Norway) and Toronto Maple Leafs selection Jerome Flaake (Germany), plus several other players currently suiting up in Canadian major hockey or the United States Hockey League, such as German goaltender Philipp Grubauer of the OHLs Belleville Bulls, Team Slovenia and Portland Winterhawks center Gasper Kopitar (the younger brother of Los Angeles Kings superstar Anze Kopitar) and Team Denmark forward Alexander Jensen of the Waterloo Black Hawks. Germany is a country that often shuttles between the Division I and the elite level. The programs plight at the Under-20 level is that its far too good for the Division I level but not quite good enough to compete among the elite hockey nations apart from the occasional upset (such as an overtime win against highly favored Team USA at the 2007 tournament in Sweden). When playing at the Division I level, the Germans usually dominate to the point of making the tournament result a foregone conclusion. This year, the inclusion of Denmark -- another country with elite level WJC experience - in Germanys pool created the potential for a more competitive race for promotion. As it turned out, though, the Germans had little problem breezing through the Group A tourney in Saint Gervais, France, which also included participation from the junior national teams representing Slovenia, Ukraine and the host nation. In going 5-0-0, Team Germany scored 27 goals while yielding just three. Germany opened the tourney by trouncing Japan, 9-0. Relatively easy victories against Slovenia (6-2) and Ukraine (6-2) followed. With only the weakest team in the field -- France -- left on the slate before the gold-medal showdown with the unbeaten Danes, the Germans learned a valuable lesson about taking every game seriously in a short tournament. ACROSS THE POND IIHF Hall of Fame inducts six new members Bill Meltzer - NHL.com Correspondent The International Hockey Hall of Fame has announced its 2010 induction class, a six-person group, headlined by Latvian goalie Arturs Irbe and Russian winger Vladimir Krutov. READ MORE › RELATED LINKS: Biggest Loser a winner in DEL scoring race SKA, Metallurg lead pack in Russias KHL Leksand Stars lead Allsvenskan pack in Sweden ALL ACROSS THE POND STORIES › Despite being outshot by a 29-10 margin, the French took a 1-0 lead into the third period against Germany. A small but passionate and partisan crowd of 1,057 fans smelled a monumental upset as Team France goaltender Clement Fouquerel turned back one wave of attack after another, enabling a first period power-play tally by Nicolas Ritz to stand up as the games only goal through 40 minutes. But the French got themselves in penalty trouble at the end of the second period, and it proved to be their undoing. After the Germans failed to capitalize on consecutive 5-on-3 advantages, Daniel Weiss finally stashed a puck past Fouquerel at the 50-second mark of the third period with 38 seconds left of remaining 5-on-4 power-play time. Relieved, the Germans went on to dominate the rest of the game. At the 8:27 mark, a second power play tally by Weiss (a promising young right winger for the DELs Eisbaren Berlin) gave the Germans the lead for good. The Germans sealed the game to win, 2-1. For the French, who had previously lost 4-1 to Japan and wound up being relegated to Division II, the valiant but unsuccessful effort against the Germans was scant consolation for a winless tournament. The Germans, meanwhile, moved on to play a Danish team that had won its four previous games by a combined goal margin of 21-5. The Germans brought their best game against Denmark, forechecking and skating with a passion. Goaltender Grubauer capped a tremendous tournament (0.64 goals-against average, .973 save percentage, three shutouts) by blanking the Danes on 23 shots, while Tobias Rieder got the Germans on the board midway through the first period and later added a third-period insurance goal. Germany also tallies from defenseman Philip Riefers and a power-play goal from winger Simon Fischhaber to win 4-0 and lock up the gold medal. The Danes will have to wait another year to try to get back to the top level. Apart from the loss to the Germans, Danish goaltender Nikolaj Noerbak played a strong tournament, finishing with a 1.26 GAA and .952 save percentage. However, after Grubauer, the tournaments most impressive goaltender was Slovenias Luka Gracnar. The 5-foot-10 HK Jesenice prodigy belied his age with his play. Gracnar, who turned 16 years old on Oct.