Updated with game highlights at 5:30 PM: Red Wings prospects Simon Edvinsson, Theodor Niederbach and William Wallinder took part in Sweden’s World Junior Championship second round robin game, a tilt against Austria in Edmonton.
Sweden ultimately generated 6 goals against the beleagured Austrians, and both Simon Edvinsson (the 1-0 game-winning goal, at 12:57 of the 1st period) and Theodor Niederbach (the 6-0 goal with 25.5 remaining in the 3rd period) scored goals en route to that 6-0 win.
If Edvinsson continues to play as smoothly as he did over the course of only 18:30 played (his ice time was managed significantly as the game went on), finishing with a goal and a +1 with 2 shots..
Wallinder continues as a shut-down D who finished Friday’s game with a +1 and 1 shot in only 14:01 played…
And Niederbach continues an upward trajectory, bouncing back from his game misconduct with a goal on 5 shots and a +2 in 16:47, the Swedes will be in pretty good shape.
In terms of the game’s narrative...
Prior to the game, perhaps as remarkable as anything, Theodor Niederbach took part in the game despite having taken 29 minutes’ worth of penalties (due to 2 minors and a major and game misconduct for boarding) in the previous affair against Switzerland.
Here are the lines for 🇸🇪 and 🇦🇹. Leo Loof (STL) back from suspension. pic.twitter.com/6YbtOVQZXf— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) August 12, 2022
Yup, there’s Niederbach in picture #1, and Simon Edvinsson, who had a maintenance day on Thursday, in picture #3:
20 till nedsläpp 🇸🇪 #juniorkronorna #worldjuniors pic.twitter.com/hAUpUAnDfT— Tre Kronor (@Trekronorse) August 12, 2022
In the 1st period, the puck dropped at 2:08 PM, and William Wallinder was on the ice with Emil Andre on the blueline, with second line center Theodor Niederbach taking the opening faceoff.
He made a bit of a turnover that the Austrians utilized to generate the game’s first shot on said shift…
And the Swedes tried to generate a forecheck over the game’s first 2 minutes, but the Austrians were particularly tough in terms of not giving Sweden any time or space in the offensive zone.
Edvinsson was gobbling up ice time, gapping up well and working with his defensive partner, Helge Grans;
Wallinder looked good as Sweden sustained a forecheck and cycled in the offensive zone some 5 minutes into the first;
Niederbach won some faceoffs and made good plays, not backing down from physical contact.
The Austrians did a good job of keeping the rebounds and traffic in front of goaltender Sebastian Wraneschitz to a minimum, however, and some 7 minutes into the 1st, the shots were 7-1 Sweden, but Wraneschitz wasn’t overly challenged.
Wallinder isn’t exactly a super dynamic defenseman, but everything he does, he does with some flair and aplomb. He skates particularly well and makes great passes and takes good shots, but he’s more of a shut-down guy. Think Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
At 8:32 of the 1st period, Daniel Torgersson took a penalty for interference, and Austria headed to the power play down 11-1 in shots.
William Wallinder was on the first PK unit, and Theodor Niederbach worked some PK time, too, blocking an Austrian shot that ended up rifling off the crossbar behind Clang.
Sweden killed the penalty and resumed their attempts to attack the Austrian net, slowly but surely generating more and more zone time, as well as secondary scoring chances.
With 7:25 remaining in the 1st, Niederbach got a good chance off in front of Wraneschitz, and Edvinsson ragged the puck and BLASTED THE FIRST GOAL THROUGH WRANESCHITZ at 12:57. Sweden led 1-0. Edvinsson from Oskar Olausson.
Simon Edvinsson wires home his first of the tournament to give 🇸🇪 Sweden a 1-0 lead.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/WOrs1QqyIx— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 12, 2022
Simon Edvinsson (DET) clap. clap. boom. pic.twitter.com/LVTMxmLGh6— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) August 12, 2022
Niederbach was also noticeable for a higher level of confidence than he displayed over the course of the first Swedish game, and he just looked…Solid as a 2nd line center.
As the period wound down to its final 4 minutes, the Swedes and Edvinsson started establishing a 3-man umbrella in the offensive zone, like a power play, and that was impressive to watch. Sweden was grinding down the Austrian defense.
There were some moments as the first period wound down that Edvinsson looked human–he did get tied up along the boards trying to rag the puck up the ice–but humanity and weakness are not equivalent things.
As far as Wallinder is concerned, you can see that while he can generate offense with ease, his first instinct is to back out of the zone a bit and make sure that he’s the first man back defensively. Not what I saw during the summer development camp, when he looked more dynamic offensively, but he’s embracing his role here.
Sweden wrapped up the 1st period up 20-3 in shots and up 1-0 on the scoresheet.
Austria’s Maximilian Preiml also took a tripping penalty at 20:00, giving Sweden a start-of-the-2nd power play.
During the intermission, Cheryl Pounder praised Simon Edvinsson’s skating abilities, edge work and ability to rag the puck and create spots where he’s available to get the puck and generate offense. Tessa Bonhomme felt that Edvinsson was particularly patient when pinching offensively, which helps him in terms of poise and patience.
In the 2nd period, the Swedes began on the power play, and we were told that Edvinsson had 3 shots in the 1st, but he didn’t start the 2nd period.
The Fabian Lysell line did, with Grans and others, and Isak Rosen chipped home the 2-0 goal on an “umbrella power play” one-timer at 59 seconds of the 2nd period, from Lysell and Grans.
Isak Rosén finishes off the one-timer to give 🇸🇪 Sweden a 2-0 lead less than a minute into the 2nd period.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/Uyhd4vgGAv— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 12, 2022
Edvinsson did make a bit of a doofy pinch trying to generate a hit over trying to get back and stop the Austrians’ breakout, and he wandered from the left side of the ice to the right side to stay in the play, but he made some good decisions in terms of puck movement, and, eventually, he shoved Scherzer off the puck and cleared the zone on an outlet pass.
Niederbach didn’t have the breakaway speed to rush around an Austrian defenseman, but he did an OK job of generating offense, and just got bumped off the puck. Not that difficult when you’re still 170-something pounds. He needs to work on that upper-body and core strength.
The Swedes got a little fast and loose some 8:20 into the 2nd period, but that’s to be expected, I suppose.
Wallinder didn’t have a great shift and got beaten back to the puck by an Austrian forward, but little came out of the exchange other than a shot on Calle Clang, which was easily stopped.
Edvinsson definitely has some holes and inconsistencies in his game, but most of what he does is incredibly smooth and polished.
Niederbach nearly scored 12:15 into the 2nd, off a nice pass from his defenseman, losing the puck at the periphery of the crease on a rebound opportunity…
Wallinder was a bit more quiet in terms of watching him play, but he was solid, solid, solid. Simple, somewhat spare, but useful.
The Swedes got back to work at 14:35 of the 2nd, with Emil Andrae, a defenseman, charging up into the fray and scoring over the blocker of Wraneschitz. Isak Rosen had the assist.
Emil Andrae extends 🇸🇪 Sweden’s lead to 3-0 after the Austrian turnover.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/DQeOCi9zg4— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 12, 2022
At 15:17, Lorenz Lindner took a penalty, and Emil Andrae scored a second goal of the 2nd period at 15:30, chipping a puck through a double screen in front of the Austrian goaltender, helped by Theodor Niederbach.
Andrae gets his 2nd of the game on the power-play 🚨
🇸🇪 Sweden 4 – 0 🇦🇹 Austria#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/hhemIYGQvu— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 12, 2022
Sweden took a 4-0 lead.
Then Edvinsson drew a penalty on Vanee, who had some free-hand grabs, and at 16:31, Sweden went to the power play again.
Fabian Lysell sent a shot in off the goalpost on the power play, and Sweden really buzzed through the Austrian zone, but Austria worked its way through the PK.
The 2nd period ended with the Swedes up 4-0 and the shots 30-9 Sweden.
In the 3rd period, the Swedes started Niederbach’s line again, and they did a good job of holding Switzerland Austria to the boards and perimeter when they attempted to generate some sort of offensive zone pressure.
With the Swiss looking recharged, it took a while for the Swedes to really find their footing, especially playing a bit “fast and loose.”
If Niederbach does anything wrong, he defers to pass far too regularly. He needs to shoot more.
At 3:34, the Swedes found Switzerland crashing the net, with Helge Grans getting run over after the play on a cross-check that propelled Emil Andre into him, but a 4-on-4 was assessesed, with Grans and Thaller sitting.
Not much happened during the 4-on-4, other than Edvinsson trying to “dipsy doodle” his way through an Austrian defenseman, and Wallinder working his way out of trouble after the Austrians generated a scoring chance.
At 5 on 5, Edvinsson and Stjernborg nearly connected for a one-timer goal, but the puck was shanked…
Austria took a penalty at 7:28, with Hengelmuller sitting for a slash…
And, at 8:33, Lorenz Lindner suffered a penalty shot penalty for tripping, and Fabian Lysell was stopped going in on Wraneschitz.
At 9:07 of the 3rd, Fabian Lysell was able to take a lateral pass and chip a puck top shelf from the goal line, off the mask of Wraneschitz. It was 5-0 Sweden.
What a shot from Fabian Lysell 🚨#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/XnUWAoVA1l— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 12, 2022
When Edvinsson is on, he’s able to take control of the pace of play, and the ice pivots on his stick. It doesn’t happen all the time, but that’s special stuff.
Off a sequence in which Edvinsson wasn’t able to clear, he got bailed out by his defensive partner, Ludvig Jansson, and the final 5 minutes of the 3rd began to tick down.
With 3:01 left in the 3rd, Sweden was in control of the game and looked to close out the game with relative ease.
With 1:15 left, it appeared that the Austrians had too many men on the ice during a scrum between the benches, but there was no penalty on the play, and the final minute of the 3rd period commenced.
Finally, Theodor Niederbach dented the scoresheet with the 6-0 goal off a fine pass from #21 Oskar Olausson, and Niederbach slithered the puck past Wraneschitz.
25.5 seconds remained in regulation time.
Sweden will play against the United States on Sunday at 10 PM EDT.
Full pott efter två JVM-omgångar!
Juniorkronorna slår Österrike med 6-0, efter mål av Emil Andrae (2), Simon Edvinsson, Isak Rosén, Fabian Lysell och Theodor Niederbach. Calle Clang håller nollan.
Nu laddar vi batterierna inför matchen mot USA, som spelas natten mot måndag. pic.twitter.com/UF1aNP3bdu— Tre Kronor (@Trekronorse) August 12, 2022
Oskar Olausson was a major player in helping @Trekronorse land their 6 goals against @hockeyaustria and landing the first shut out victory of the 2022 #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/83GmIn6Iv7— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 12, 2022
Update: Here are the game’s highlights:
