Red Wings prospect Simon Edvinsson had a particularly good outing as Sweden out-dueled Switzerland 3-2 on Wednesday. Edvinsson had an assist, he was even, had 3 shots, and played 26:09.
After the game, he spoke with HockeyNews.se’s Henrik Sjoberg regarding his and his team’s respective performances. What follows is roughly translated from Swedish:
Edvinsson on the Swedes’ premiere: “We were very weak at the beginning”
Edmonton. The Junior Krona won against Switzerland–but not impressively.
“I think that it was quite clear that we were very weak at the beginning. It was good to win, but we need to improve,” says defensive star Simon Edvinsson to HockeyNews.se.
It took until the final minutes of the 2nd period before Daniel Torgersson broke the deadlock and gave Sweden a lead against Switzerland–thanks to a play from the promising defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who has a big role on the Swedish WJC team.
Sweden had a 3-0 lead, but surrendered 2 goals, and it was a dramatic game all the way until the final seconds of the premiere.
“I think it’s quite clear that we were weak at the beginning. We came out and didn’t have any pressure or the pace we wanted. It got a little better in the 2nd period and in the 3rd, we got off to a good start, but I think we’re went down again,” says Edvinsson to HockeyNews.se.
“It was nice to win, that’s what counts, but we need to pick it up a bit. Both from my side and from the team’s side,” he says.
Sweden had to play defense in the final minute, and things got sweaty when Theodor Niederbach took a match penalty after a check in the back of a Swiss player in Niederbach’s own zone.
“I didn’t see it, I had a few players in front of me and I haven’t seen a replay either, but that’s the kind of thing that happens, and we fought it off,” Edvinsson says.
There were no more than around 150 people in the arena when the puck dropped for yesterday’s opener against Switzerland–an extraordinary experience for the players, who usually perform in front of thousands of spectators.
“We hope for bigger audiences in the upcoming games, but it was nice to get started, anyway,” says Edvinsson.
For what it’s worth, between the controversy surrounding Hockey Canada, the news that tickets start at $50 a seat and go up from there at Rogers Place in Edmonton, and the fact that the games are being held on weekdays in August…It’s understandable that the crowds are small.
Fans vote with their butts, either by placing them in seats or skipping games, and right now, fans in Edmonton are letting the World Junior Championship’s organizers know that the controversy is real and the prices are too high.
