Dozens of future NCAA stars will be in action as the World Junior A Challenge (WJAC) opens Sunday in Truro, Nova Scotia, showcasing players committed to 29 different Division I schools.

The WJAC features six teams – two from Canada and one each from the U.S., Czech Republic, Russia and Switzerland.

The Canadian teams are all-star groups from the 10 leagues in the CJHL and together feature 28 players already committed to Division I schools. The U.S. team features the top American-born players from the USHL, with all 22 players on the roster committed to schools.

All six Division I conferences and independent Arizona State have recruits participating in the WJAC. St. Cloud State and Yale lead all schools with four recruits each participating in the tournament. Seven schools have commits playing on two WJAC teams: Clarkson, Denver, UMass Lowell, Princeton, Western Michigan, Wisconsin and Yale.

With such a high level of competition, the WJAC can be a launching point for future stars. Massachusetts freshman and Colorado Avalanche first-round draft pick Cale Makar (Calgary, Alta./Brooks-AJHL/COL) made a big impression in the 2016 WJAC. Joining Makar on the all-tournament team were current Northeastern goaltender Cayden Primeau (Voorhees, N.J./Lincoln-USHL/MTL) and Minnesota Duluth forward Nick Swaney (Lakeville, Minn./Waterloo-USHL/MIN).

The schedule features two preliminary-round games for each team, followed by quarterfinals on Wednesday and semifinals on Thursday. The gold medal game is set for Saturday, Dec. 16.