WJC’s summary: The wild goalkeeper Wallstedt, Sweden shut out Slovakia
Day 2 game
Sweden 3, Slovakia 0 – Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota Wild) made 48 saves for their first World Juniors Group B shutout at the WP Centrium in Red Deer.
“It’s always a confidence boost, but I could not do this feat without the team in front of me,” said Wallstedt. “We had a lot of blocked shots and we put their shots in areas where I could often control the saves, so this achievement could not be done without the fantastic team in front of me.”
Theodor Niederbach (Detroit Red Wings), Albert Sjöberg (Dallas Stars) and Daniel Ljungman (Stars) each scored a goal for Sweden (2-0-0-0).
Simon Latkoczy (2022 NHL Draft eligible) made 24 saves for Slovakia (0-0-0-2), which lost 3-2 to the United States on Sunday.
“[Slovakia] was huge; I think they were better than us, almost the whole match. I think we had some good times, but overall they were better “, said Sweden’s coach Tomas Monten.” It was a fantastic achievement (by Wallstedt). If we are to have a chance at this, he must be an important component for us, and he really showed that today. “
Niederbach scored a powerplay goal at 6:25 of the first period for a 1-0 lead, and Sjoberg made it 2-0 at break 6:50 into the second period.
Wallstedt’s best save came 1:04 into the third period on a powerplay from Slovakia when he slid to the right to stop a return attempt by Martin Chromiak (Los Angeles Kings) on a one-timer from the bottom of the left face-off circle.
Sweden denied Slovakia a five-minute power play at 7:31 of the third period which included a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:10. During the power play, Slovakia drew Latkoczy for a 6-on-4 and a 6-on-3; Wallstedt, who played in his second World Juniors, however, stopped six shots in favor of Slovakia.
“I think we fired the shots to the side. We tried to hold on to the center and make their shots visible from outside the box so I could control the shots and control the returns better,” Wallstedt said. “Otherwise it went very fast and it felt great to get it over and then we could win so it was nice.”
Ljungman scored an empty goal 18:45 for the 3-0 final.
Sweden plays next against the USA on Wednesday (21:30 ET). Slovakia play Russia on Wednesday (16:30 ET).
Germany 2, Czech Republic 1 (OT) – Alexander Blank (2022 NHL Draft Eligible) scored his second goal 1:20 in overtime on a shot from the bottom of the left-hand Group A face-off circle at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
“I only had a little speed when I picked up the puck and then I saw that the defender was not as fast as I was, so I just tried to go through him and shoot it to the net,” said Blank. “I did not even know where to shoot it, and then it went in.”
Florian Bugl (qualified draft 2022) made 39 saves in his first start of the tournament for Germany (0-1-0-1).
“It’s a very important tournament, and to represent the country with a good performance, I think it’s the best feeling ever,” said Bugl.
Blank gave Germany a 1-0 lead at 4:29 into the second period.
Jan Mysak (Montreal Canadiens) rejected in a shot from German defender Arkadiusz Dziambor’s right skate (2022 elective draft) at the bottom of the left face-off circle for a power-play goal that equalized the match 1-1 for the Czech Republic at 15 o’clock : 49.
Jan Bednar(Detroit Red Wings) made 30 saves in their first start for the Czech Republic (0-0-1-1), which clothed five defenders and 15 forwards. Czech defender David Jiricek (qualified for 2022) was not in the squad due to a lower body injury and defender Michal Hradek did not play due to a suspension he received after a 6-3 loss to Canada on Sunday.
Germany play Canada on Wednesday (19:00 ET). The Czech Republic will play Finland on Wednesday (14:00 ET).
Russia 4, Switzerland 2 – Danila Yurov, an A-ranked skater on the NHL Central Scouting’s 2022 Draft Watch List, had a goal and an assist for Russia in Group B of the Red Deer.
“He is a good skater, he handles the puck well and he has a strong shot,” said Russia’s coach Sergei Zubov. “We will try to use him in the game, 5-on-5, definitely.”
Yurov, Dmitri Zlodeyev (Vancouver Canucks) and Pavel Tyutnev (qualified draft 2022) each scored in the first period when Russia opened a 3-1 lead. Matvei Michkov, a top prospect for the 2023 NHL draft, scored his third goal of the tournament, and Yegor Guskov (2022 draft qualifier) made 16 saves for Russia (1-0-0-1).
“Scoring goals at world junior level is always a great feeling, but the most important thing is that we actually won,” said Zlodeyev. “We played aggressively and did our job well and here is the result.”
Attilio Biasca (2022 draft eligible) and Fabian Ritzmann (2022 draft eligible) each scored, and Kevin Pasche (2022 draft eligible) scored 28 saves for Switzerland (0-0-0-1).
“We created some chances but gave up a lot of opportunities for the Swiss team and we hope we will get better day by day,” said Zubov.
Russia plays Slovakia on Wednesday (16:30 ET). Switzerland plays the United States on Tuesday (16:30 ET).
Finland 7, Austria 1 – Ville Koivunen (Carolina Hurricanes) had two goals and an assist in Group A in Edmonton.
Brad Lambert (2022 eligible for draft) had one goal and two assists for Finland. Samuel Helenius (Los Angeles Kings) had a goal and an assist, and Kasper Simontaival (Kings), Topi Niemela (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Kalle Vaisanen (New York Rangers) each scored a goal.
Juha Jatkola (qualified draft 2022) made eight saves in his first start for Finland (2-0-0-0).
The Koivunen line (two goals, two assists), Helenius (three goals, one assist) and Lambert (one goal, four assists) have a total of 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in two games.
“They have a good relationship and they are good hockey players,” said Finnish coach Antti Pennanen. “Brad Lambert is skilled and fast, Helenius wins the battles and Koivunen has a good hockey mind, so it’s a really good combination.”
Helenius and Lambert are teammates with JYP in Liiga, the highest professional league in Finland. Koivunen plays for Karpat in Liiga.
“Two very good players,” Koivunen said. “Brad is very good with the puck and very good skating and Helenius is very big (6 feet-6, 201 pounds) and good at defending so I think we complement each other very well.”
Martin Urbanek (2022 qualified draft) scored a power-play goal to draw Austria 3-1 at 5:39 of the second period. Sebastian Wraneschitz (2022 draft eligible) made 41 saves for Austria (0-0-0-1), which netted nine defenders and 11 forwards.
Finland will next play the Czech Republic on Wednesday (14:00 ET). Austria play Canada on Tuesday (19:00 ET).
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