The ADT Canada-Russia Challenge kicks off tonight with the QMJHL stars taking on the Russians in Chicoutimi, Quebec (7:00 p.m. Eastern on Rogers Sportsnet).

Clément Jodoin of the Rimouski Oceanic will man the QMJHL bench. He will be an assistant coach with Craig Hartsburg of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds’ for Canada’s entry at the World Junior Championships this Christmas.

Jodoin expects the QMJHL squad to come out with a solid effort tonight to try to set the tone of the series.

"This event represents a great opportunity for Quebec Major Junior Hockey League players to showcase their skills," Jodoin said. "International competitions of this magnitude are something I look forward to and I’m sure the players do too."

The Russians appear to be icing their best team in the five-year history of the event. Forward Alexander Vasyunov helped Russian win the silver medal at the World Juniors last year and is one of their top forwards this year. Their roster also includes Florida Panthers’ prospect Sergey Gajduchenko in net and forward Alexi Dostoinov, who joined the Kitchener Rangers earlier this month after playing in the USHL last season.

The ADT Canada-Russia Challenge has been played annually in the three CHL regional leagues since 2003. Current NHL stars like Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks, Wojtek Wolski of the Colorado Avalanche and Alexander Radulov of the Nashville Predators have all competed in the event.

The ADT Canada-Russia Challenge continues on Wednesday in Gatineau, Quebec before moving to Ontario for games in Kitchener on Thursday and Sudbury next Monday. The series concludes with games in Cranbrook, B.C. on November 28 and Medicine Hat, Alberta on November 29. All games will be shown nationally on Rogers Sportsnet and the Quebec-based games will be shown live in Quebec on RDS.