It was an exciting second day at World Juniors 2023. Sweden beat Germany in a much tighter-than-expected fight and Switzerland won in a shootout. Here’s what you need to know:
- Finland beat Slovakia 5-2. Montreal prospect Oliver Kapanen was named Finland’s best player after scoring a goal and adding an assist.
- Sweden squealed by Germany 1-0. Vegas Prospect Carl Lindbom recorded a 28-save shutout for Sweden.
- Switzerland beat Latvia 3-2 in a shootout. dallas Prospector Lian Bichsel continued his strong tournament, being named player of the game, scoring a point and logging 28 minutes of ice time. Learn more about the Bichsel Tournament here.
- Czechia beat Austria 9-0 to record their second win of the tournament.
AthleticismInstant analysis of:
Joakim Kimell quickly regained his form
the Nashville The 2022 first-round pick didn’t have as big a year as expected in Finland, performed very well in the pre-tournament and started the tournament for Finland as the 13th forward. It was only a slight surprise given that Kemell was one of Finland’s best players at the Summer World Juniors and generally had a lot of success on the international stage.
That changed quickly, as Kemell was one of Finland’s best, if not the best, player in his first two games, rising quickly to his front row. He scored a nice goal on Tuesday from distance, but it’s the pace and physicality he brings while creating an even-strength attack for himself and others that is reassuring to see. — Pronman
Slovakia needs more top players
Slovakia is not too deep a group. They will rely heavily on draft-eligible players like Dalibor Dvorsky, Samuel Honzek and Maxim Strbak. However, if they want to be successful at World Juniors, they need their draft players to be tall, namely Rangers second-round pick Adam Sykora, Minnesota pick Servac Petrovsky, Montreal first-round pick by Filip Mesar and second overall pick by New Jersey Simon Nemec.
Collectively, this group looked good today against Finland, but no one was particularly impactful. When it comes to Mesar and especially Nemec, being good/good won’t be enough for Slovakia. They need Nemec not just to be a solid, smart puck thrower, but to take control of games like he did in the playoffs in Slovakia last season and sometimes at his Hlinka Gretzky. — Pronman
Carl Lindbom remains perfect for Sweden
Lindbom threw back-to-back shutouts to start the World Juniors. The first was a hassle-free 13-save clean sheet against the Austrians. But his side needed all 28 saves at the end of their back-to-back against Germany. Hurricanes prospect Nikita Quapp was brilliant at the other end, stopping 43 of 44 to give the Germans a chance and keep the game within one. But Lindbom made some big saves himself, especially in the third when the Canadian crowd got behind the Germans and the momentum swung. J
There were no favorites for this year’s best goalkeeper of the tournament – at least not compared to recent years – but if there had been, it should have been Lindbom, who has a winning percentage. Stellar saves of .936 in the Swedish second-tier Hockey Allsvenskan with Djurgardens if this season. It’s going to get harder for him from now on with the Czechs and Canadians coming up.
The Vegas Golden Knights picked Lindbom at No. 1. 222 in 2021, just three picks shy of the draft, and he’s on the small side for a 6-foot guard, but he’s legit and moves very well in the net. — Wheeler
Blue Jackets prospect Stanislav Svozil impresses
In a tournament that features defenders who were drafted No. 2 (Nemec), No. 4 (Luke Hughes of New Jersey) and No. 6 (David Jiricek of Columbus), Svozil isn’t the biggest name at his job. He’s not even the biggest name in his position in the Czech team (which belongs to Jiricek) or among the prospects of the team that drafted him (it’s also Jiricek). But he is the captain of the Czech Republic and he was still one of the best players in the 2003 age group.
After playing 21:50 and making two fine plays on goals in Czechia’s upset against Canada in the opener, he added three assists to his tally on Tuesday. He seems to have full control of the game there.
The Czechs are going to be difficult in this tournament with the way they play. — Wheeler
Required reading
(Photo: Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP)
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