Seeing the stars before they shine.(NHL)(IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships)

From the day after Christmas through the first weekend of the year, most American sports fans watched college bowl games. But during that same time, a pretty exciting hockey tournament was almost completely ignored in the United States. The IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships, a 10-country tournament, features play by the world's best players under 20. It is one of the highlights of a player's career, no matter what he goes on to do.

"It's a big, huge deal. That's the pinnacle of hockey right there," says Devils center Scott Gomez, who played in the 1998 and 1999 tournaments for the United States and has won two Stanley Cups with the Devils.

This year's tournament was in Finland, and the United States sent its best team in years. The event wasn't televised in the United States and its results weren't easily found in American sports sections, but next year, hockey-starved fans can take a holiday trip to North Dakota and Minnesota to see the tournament in person. ESPN does not plan to broadcast any of those games, but with the United States playing host--and if the Americans play well--the medal round might be televised.

But don't wait for the broadcasters to wake up. Pack up the kids. High-level hockey can be had December 25, 2004, through January 4, 2005, whether the NHL is shut down in a labor dispute or not. It'll be fun and exciting and full of players fans will learn to love. The people involved know its potential and hope the timing works in their favor.

"We're keeping our fingers crossed for a lockout;' says Carl Levi, corporate relations manager for Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. That building and "Little" Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls, Minn., will be the sites of the tournament.

Fans can see the NHL's future stars at the World Junior championships. Some have been drafted--such as American center Zach Parise, a Devils draft pick in June who plays for the University of North Dakota and led this year's tournament in scoring heading into the medal round.

Others, such as Russian right winger Alexander Ovechkin, will be drafted next June. Ovechkin is the consensus No. 1, and as scouts and general mangers watch him, they're also eyeing others to see who can step up in a pressure-filled tournament when surrounded by skilled players the same age.