Historically, Sweden and Czechia are two of the worst teams when playing for the bronze medal. Sweden has a record of 2-7, which included a three-year stretch where they came in fourth every time. Czechia hasn’t fared much better, going 1-5, with their last medal coming in that one win back in 2005. Although they
2022 World Junior Championship
After nine grueling days of late summer action, the World Junior Championship is about to draw to a close, but not before crowing its medalists. Three of the four teams in action today will walk away with hardware, as Canada and Finland duel for gold (with the loser getting the silver medal), and Sweden and
Team Canada will once again feature in the gold medal game at the 2022 rescheduled World Juniors after defeating Czechia in the semifinals 5-2. They have now made it to three consecutive gold medal games, with their last victory coming in 2020. This was the second time this tournament Canada has beaten Czechia, with the
The last time Sweden faced Latvia at the World Juniors was back in 2013. Armed with future NHL stars like Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson, Elias Lindholm, and Rickard Rackell, the Swedes won comfortably 5-1. Latvia endured 46 shots from the undefeated Swedes, the most the nation saw in that tournament in a single game. While
Before the start of the 2022 World Junior Championship, it was widely believed that Team Sweden would finish first or second in Group B; it seemed unlikely they would lose to Team Switzerland, Team Austria, or Team Germany. But after a series of slow starts and a disappointing performance against the United States, many wondered
Austria was always going to have an uphill battle at the 2022 World Juniors. The team has appeared in the top division four times yet has gone winless so far. The game against Switzerland was their best and last chance to follow in Latvia’s footsteps and make international history, as the Swiss were also winless
Like their first game against Switzerland, no one expected Sweden to lose to Austria. However, there were some key differences in their second appearance at the rescheduled 2022 World Juniors. Gone were the rusty, careless plays of the first game, replaced with a well-oiled machine that shut down the game from the moment the Swedes
After opening the 2022 World Juniors with a 6-1 win over Latvia on Tuesday, Finland had a tougher time against Czechia, falling behind 2-0 in the first and coming back to win 4-3 in a shootout. Starting goaltender Leevi Merilainen looked shaky early on, but settled down during the second period, along with the rest
Yesterday, Nicolas Roy secured his place with the Vegas Golden Knights for the next half-decade, signing a five-year, $15 million contract through the 2026-27 season. Today, the restart of the World Junior Championships gets underway, providing a major platform for four prospects who hope to one day find themselves playing alongside Roy. Lukas Cormier (Canada),
Finland kicked off their August schedule at the 2022 World Junior Championship (WJC) with a 6-1 victory over Latvia on Tuesday. The score wasn’t indicative of the play on the ice, though, as the Latvians for the most part contained the skill of the Finns until the latter stages of the third period. Related: 2022
The 2022 World Junior Championship kicks off today in Edmonton and Red Deer after the originally scheduled event in December and January was rescheduled. As usual, the tournament will consist of 10 teams split into two groups. After a preliminary round-robin, the top four teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, which will
Sweden enters the 2022 World Junior Championship with one thing on its mind – retribution. Last year they brought one of the most exciting rosters to the tournament, hungry to improve on their bronze-medal finish in 2020, and they had the roster to do it. Their defense featured three returnees in Victor Soderstrom, Tobias Bjornfot,
For Edmonton Oilers 2021 third-round draft pick Luca Munzenberger, the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship must have felt a little like ending a dinner date early because a fire broke in the kitchen just as the couple was starting to hit it off. Luca Munzenberger, Edmonton Oilers 2021 Draft Pick (German Ice Hockey Federation) Things
As a result of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic and the spread of the very transmissible Omicron variant, the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship has been cancelled due to consecutive days of players testing positive. Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff reported that there was a meeting to determine the state of the tournament. Ultimately, they came
Given some of the other, higher-drafted names on the Team USA roster, Ty Smilanic may have fallen through the cracks. For those who don’t know much about him, he’s been making a name for himself at Quinnipiac University over the past two seasons. Ty Smilanic, USA NTDP U17 (Credit: Rena Laverty) He’s the second-youngest player
After months of anticipation, and weeks of mounting concern about the fate of the tournament, we are finally on the eve of the 2022 World Junior Championship. And despite the rising fears about COVID-19 in the era of the Omicron Variant, this year’s tournament will hopefully look about as normal as any sporting event can
While this time of year is filled with family gatherings and holiday cheer, for hockey fans who love to focus on the future of the game, the best present will be opened on Dec. 26. The IIHF World Junior Championship always provides a great look at the potential top stars of tomorrow. The rosters will
With the NHL postponing games from today through Dec. 26 due to rising COVID cases, the New Jersey Devils will have about a week off before returning to the ice on Dec. 27 to take on the St. Louis Blues in St. Louis. But before then, Devils fans have a bit to look forward to at the