Team Canada vs. Sweden 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship
Team Canada will host Sweden in the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship New Year’s game on Saturday, December 31 in Halifax.
Canada is looking for its first back-to-back gold medals since winning five straight from 2005-09 and the 20th gold medal in World Juniors history.
The Canadiens are led by 2022 fourth overall pick Shane Wright of the Seattle Kraken and potential 2023 first overall pick Connor Bedard.
Wright, 18, missed out on his chance to take part in the 2022 World Juniors after the tournament was postponed until August due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 6-foot center registered just one assist in two games before the tournament was postponed and now has an opportunity to properly showcase himself on one of hockey’s biggest stages.
The Burlington, Ont., native appeared in eight games with the Kraken, scoring one goal and two points, and also scored four goals in five games with the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds.
This World Junior tournament will be an opportunity for Bedard to cement himself as the consensus No. 1 pick for the 2023 NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, June 28-29. The 17-year-old phenom recorded four goals and eight points in seven games en route to Canada’s gold medal.
Bedard has taken the Regina Pats and the WHL by storm this season, scoring 12 goals and 28 points in 15 games. He has 90 goals and 192 points in 105 career WHL games.
Sweden enters this tournament looking for its first gold medal win since 2012. Last year, the Swedes finished in third place after losing to Finland 1-0 in the semifinals and then beating the Czech Republic 3-1 to secure the bronze medal.
Swedish hockey factory Djurgardens IF will be on full display, with five members of their team included on the Swedish roster. This is highlighted by a trio of 2022 first-round NHL picks in forwards Jonathan Lekkerimaki (15th overall, Vancouver Canucks), Noah Ostlund (16th overall, Buffalo Sabers) and Liam Ohgren (19th overall, Minnesota Wild) .
Center Leo Carlsson wants to showcase his talents for the 2023 NHL draft. who is sixth on TSN scouting director Craig Button’s top-eligible draft list. Carlsson, 17, has played for Örebro HK in the Swedish Hockey League where he has three goals and 14 points in 25 games this season in Sweden’s top professional league.