What you need to know about the Hurricanes involved in Milan as the tournament begins

We've already done our individual previews for Group A, Group B, and Group C, all of which feature at least one Carolina Hurricane. All of those previews came before the teams took the ice for their first practices as a country. Obviously, things have changed a little since then. Here is a brief recap of what we've missed over the last few days in anticipation of today's opener in Italy.

With an "A" on his sweater, Aho is set to reunite with an old friend

The first Hurricane to hit the ice will be Sebastian Aho, as Finland opens the tournament this morning against Slovakia. Over the weekend, Aho was named to Finland's leadership group, earning an "A," along with Dallas' Mikko Rantanen, while Anaheim's Mikael Granlund was named the captain. The decision didn't come as a surprise, especially after wearing one at the 4 Nations.

In news that will surely bring some joy to the Caniacs' hearts, early line combinations revealed that Aho might be centering a line with former Hurricane Teuvo Teravainen. The pair is the most prolific scoring duo in franchise history. Colorado's Artturi Lehkonen has been on Aho's other wing. Aho will also get reps on Finland's top power play, though his penalty killing might not be needed.

Andersen sports a new cage, while Ehlers must power the Danes' offense

Unlike some other teams in the tournament, not much has been released about Denmark's practice time. Given their lack of NHL players, one might assume that Nikolaj Ehlers will be on Denmark's top line, potentially next to Ottawa's Lars Eller and Tampa Bay's Oliver Bjorkstrand, putting three of Denmark's four highest-scoring NHL players of all time together.

With both of the Danish goalies in NHL history on the roster, it would also appear likely that Frederik Andersen will do the brunt of the work in the net. His work during qualifying was massive in getting Denmark to the Olympics. We saw him sporting his national gear during practices before the break, and we finally got a look at the mask he'll be wearing for the tournament.

Jarvis is likely to be the odd-man out for the Canadians

Like Denmark, not much has leaked out of Canada's practices in the build-up to the tournament, though their first time on the ice gave us a glimpse into how their lineup could look. Seth Jarvis, whose late addition is still a talking point in some circles, was one of the two skaters, along with Florida's Sam Bennett, to be excluded from the normal line rushes at the initial practice.

International roster rules differ from those of the NHL. Teams are allowed to dress 20 skaters for games internationally, while 18 is the limit in the NHL. While this allows for some extra bodies on the bench, there is a chance that Jarvis might not dress for Canada's opener. Because the practices have been closed, we don't really know what will happen, but at least the team looks like they're having fun.

Slavin is back with his 4 Nations partner, which is a bit of a surprise

The Americans have been a little more open about their plans for their first game, with Jaccob Slavin being paired with Minnesota's Brock Faber at the first practice. The duo played well at the 4 Nations tournament together, though some found it odd that Faber wasn't paired with his Minnesota partner, Quinn Hughes, who was skating next to Boston's Charlie McAvoy.

Regardless, Slavin's focus will be shutting down the opponents, similar to his role at last season's 4 Nations and with the Hurricanes, when healthy. It would be nice to see him get on the scoresheet, too. While he's initially being reunited with Faber, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a few different partners before the playoffs begin. I think other defensemen are better fits to play next to him.