Jurmo, Finland shut out Lekkerimäki, Sweden to advance to the World Juniors final – Canucksarmy
Vancouver Canucks prospect Joni Jurmo will play for gold at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Men’s Championship after helping Team Finland defeat Team Sweden on Friday night.
The 20-year-old left-handed defender helped limit the Swedes to just 23 shots on goal in the semifinal game. Finnish goalkeeper Juha Jatkola successfully turned away everything he saw in the 1–0 win.
Playing for Team Sweden on Friday, fellow Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki saw just 10 minutes of ice time and took one shot on goal in the loss. Here’s the video of that chance, courtesy Canucks Armyown Chris Faber:
Jonathan Lekkerimäki (#24) with an early goal chance.
🎥: TSN pic.twitter.com/Ns46YJ9CA3
— 🗖Chris Faber 🔥🎙 (@ChrisFaber39) August 20, 2022
Lekkerimäki, the Canucks’ 2022 first-round pick, has struggled in a reduced role with the Swedes at this year’s tournament, collecting three points (all assists) in six games. The 5’11” right winger will get another chance to score his first World Juniors goal on Saturday when Team Sweden hosts Team Czechia in the bronze medal game.
The Canucks originally selected Jurmo in the third round (No. 82 overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft. The Espoo, Finland product was the only defenseman to log under 18 minutes for Team Finland on Friday, and he eclipsed that mark with a pulp — he only saw 13:41 in all modes.
Jurmo definitely wasn’t perfect on Friday – he made a couple revenue — but he also looked confident and confident with the puck.
Good movement and burst again from 6’4” defender Joni Jurmo.
🎥: TSN pic.twitter.com/FAcATeJ1EE
— 🗖Chris Faber 🔥🎙 (@ChrisFaber39) August 20, 2022
Team Finland will face Team Canada in the 2022 World Juniors gold medal game on Saturday at 5:00 PM PT. The Swedes and Czechs meet for bronze at 1:00 PM PT.