Team Sweden and Czechia battled for Bronze at the World Junior Championship on Saturday.
Team Sweden won bronze by a 3-1 score, with Niederbach and Wallinder getting assists on the 2-1 and 3-1 goals.
In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in the game…
Simon Edvinsson: Edvinsson played on the Swedes’ top defensive pair, alongside Helge Grans. Edvinsson looked his most comfortable in terms of the entire tournament in today’s game, finishing with 1 shot, a +1 and a penalty taken in 25:54 played, and, wearing a pair of Warrior gloves, he finally displayed a combination of tremendous skill and some surprising grit as the smooth-skating defenseman was a wild stallion out there, occasionally sliding out of position to chase hits (he made a couple of boomers) and tie up opponents, but overall, he finally looked strong on the blueline.
Theodor Niederbach: Niederbach centered the Swedes’ second line, between Oskar Olausson and Isak Rosen. He finished with that 2-1 goal assist and a +1 in 18:01 played, and Niederbach, throughout the tournament, was smart and solid, working hard to forecheck with his surprisingly strong skating and grind out pucks in all three zones as a skilled center with an edge. He didn’t win as many faceoffs later in the tournament as he did early on, but he was a real snarl machine out there, and he was productive.
William Wallinder: Wallinder worked on the Swedes’ third defensive pair, alongside Emil Andrae. He finished with an assist and a +2 in 16:10 played, and Wallinder is just no-frills strong and solid as a 2nd pair defenseman. He doesn’t wander, he doesn’t lurk, he doesn’t possess top-notch offensive skills, either, but he’s just supremely smooth and easy to play alongside. Smart, smart, smart.
Jan Bednar: Bednar didn’t dress for the Czechs. He finished the tournament with a 4.00 goals-against average and a .865 save percentage, but I wouldn’t fault him completely for the Czechs’ struggles early on in the tournament, and I felt that he was okay during the tournament. Yes, his maddening inconsistency flared its ugly head, but he’s heading back to Acadie-Bathurst of the QMJHL to work on reigning in his game as a 20-year-old. This is his “contract year,” so it will be important for him to find consistent form.
In terms of the game’s narrative..
1st period:
Niederbach’s line started, as did Wallinder’s defensive pairing. Niederbach battled the faceoff back and the puck was chipped in by the Czechs, who sent a shot wide of Wallstedt;
The Czechs sustained possession but not control, and they sent a couple of shots just wide of Wallstedt before Sweden was able to clear and change with 40 seconds gone in the 1st period.
Edvinsson’s first shift involved a good deke away from a Czech forechecker in the neutral zone and a little more solid play in the offensive zone…
And Fabian Lysell clanged a puck off the glove and head of Tomas Suchanek, and then the crossbar, at 1:33.
The Swedes just looked a little lighter in their skates on Saturday, with a little less pressure on them to succeed, especially as their coach, Tomas Monten, is reaching the end of his tenure as the “National Team Captain.”
Edvinsson and Grans did let a couple of Czech forecheckers get behind them cheating toward offense, but nothing came of the issue some 2:45 into the 1st;
Niederbach continued to look solid, skating hard on the backcheck with Leo Loof to ensure an icing call, and while Wallinder wasn’t winning every draw…
He and the Swedes forced Stanislav Svozil to take a delay of game penalty at 3:10 of the 1st period, and the Swedes headed to the power play.
Emil Andrae hit the goalpost off Niederbach’s opening faceoff win, and Niederbach and company ground the puck out down low to push it back to the point, but Sweden struggled to sustain possession.
Sweden’s power play was predicated upon sending long bombs in on the net via the “umbrella” power play, and not crashing the front of the net, though Niederbach lurked down low/behind the net, and it just wasn’t working.
The power play expired with no Swedish shot on goal, and a single shot ensued.
Mysak and Loof jabbed for a shot attempt from distance on Wallstedt that he stopped at 5:30;
Sweden was really establishing its forecheck at even strength, and they were firing pucks wide of the net, but they were firing pucks.
Edvinsson pinched to make a hard hit at the red line, and his foray worked;
He also looked a lot more comfortable while wearing a pair of blacked-out-logo Bauer gloves on his hands.
Oskar Olausson actually generated a nice deke-and-dangle scoring chance, forcing Tomas Suchanek to make a save at 7:57 of the 1st.
Edvinsson and Grans were more willing to lurk and stay in position instead of lunging at pucks, and that helped them avoid over-committing and getting out of their defensive “lanes.”
Wallinder, of course, needed no course correction; the conservative two-way defender was smooth and focused.
9:43 into the 1st period, the shots were 5-3 Sweden.
Edvinsson was more comfortable making good pinches and directing traffic as much as he made plays, looking more like the quarterback on ice that he is.
The Czechs clearly weren’t as talented as the Swedes, but they were plucky and willing to battle for the puck and skate through the middle of the ice with almost reckless abandon.
Again, Edvinsson looked better, and Niederbach made a gorgeous back-checking play to help Edvinsson and Grans stifle a 3 on 3…
Still, some 13:15 into the 1st, the Czechs tied the Swedes 5-5 in shots in quick succession, firing a pair of slappers in on Wallstedt, and they took the shot lead soon after.
13:44 into the 1st, the shots were tied 6-6.
Edvinsson’s anticipation was finally on display…
And Fabian Lysell made a gorgeous play to out-race the Czech defenders to the puck, blazing into the offensive zone to chase down a dump-in, he wrapped the puck around the net and chipped the puck into the goal past Suchanek at 14:22.
LOOK AT THAT SPEED.
Fabian Lysell wraps it around to open up the scoring for Sweden. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/Dj5MU21yW3— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 20, 2022
WRAP AROUND GOAL! Fabian Lysell kicks things off for @Trekronorse!#SWECZE #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/dUsF9B8g10— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 20, 2022
Fabian Lysell turned on the JETS 🔥
A beautiful rush and wraparound finish has Sweden up 1-0 over Czechia! #WorldJuniors
🔗: https://t.co/5SF9zTKBq5pic.twitter.com/uyWjgLbDRO— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 20, 2022
The Swedes led 1-0 as Lysell finally gave the Swedes an individual play that they needed in order to succeed.
On the next shift, Wallinder earned a short shift, and then Niederbach took to the ice, back-checked well, and raced into the offensive zone to take time and space away from the Czech defense, before coming right back down low in his own zone to help his defensemen.
Niederbach’s defensive aplomb was good to see, but it was taking away from his offense, too. He was a little too faithful to the Swedes’ defensive scheme.
Edvinsson pinched at 16:30 of the 1st, and chugged back to keep Wallstedt’s sight lines clear…But the Czechs were getting their shots. They had 10 shots on Wallstedt 17:29 into the 1st.
Again, Niederbach was no longer winning every faceoff, but he was closing on his opposing players quite well;
Edvinsson was floating a bit too much for my liking, skating out of position to try to also get the puck carrier, but his skating afforded him the ability to stop Jiricek dekeing and dangling into the Swedish zone with about 1:45 left in the 1st;
Wallinder did a great job of playing solidly invisible hockey, sticking to his positional play and seamlessly fitting into the Swedes’ coverage…
Which surrendered one final chance to Jan Mysak before the first period expired. Grans misplayed the rush, and Edvinsson was caught high as well. Not ideal.
2nd period:
The Swedes started Stakkestad’s line vs. Mysak and company, and Wallinder started on defense with Andrae.
Sweden lost the initial faceoff, pushed the puck through the neutral zone, and Wallinder had to lift a puck into center ice before the Czechs chipped the puck into their own bench.
Edvinsson and Grans took the second shift, and Edvinsson both steered traffic and pushed a Czech away from the sight lines of Wallstedt;
The Swedes had to parry a 3-on-2 against after charging up in on Suchanek 3-on-2 which was blocked by Cech, and 2:35 into the 2nd, NIederbach’s line hadn’t taken a shift;
Wallinder’s peaks and valleys aren’t particularly high or low, and he does a solid job of standing still when necessary and skating when necessary. Unlike the wild horse that is Edvinsson, Wallinder just sort of already has a professional level of positioning.
Wallinder and Edvinsson did do a solid job of keeping Rysavy from screening Wallstedt as the Czechs menaced and took a 14-10 shot lead some 4:20 into the 2nd.
Niederbach continued to play his gritty, strong-skating game as Edvinsson looked to sustain a comfort level while being double-shifted a bit…
As the 2nd period progressed past the 5-minute mark, the Czechs began to dominate possession and control, and while the pucks were being blocked or plain old stopped by Wallstedt, Czechia was building momentum.
The Lysell line was doing its best to generate offense, and the Swedish defense was sharp in terms of all three defensive pairings…
But Lysell’s second wraparound attempt was stopped, and when the Czechs iced the puck with 7:04 gone, they earned a TV timeout from the IIHF, so they were able to defuse the situation.
Edvinsson and Grans tend to switch positions often, which doesn’t help Edvinsson’s tendency to drift.
He nearly cost the Swedes a goal as Hauser slithered toward the front of the net with Edvinsson sneaking into the corner–alongside two teammates who got caught puck-chasing…
And Edvinsson was the center of the scrum as a couple of Czechs grabbed at him after a Wallstedt stop.
9:00 into the 2nd, the Swedes were trailing in shots 15-11, and the Czechs’ momentum was starting to fizzle, but the Swedes were mistake-prone, and their little losses in puck battles were hurting them;
Wallinder got away with a cross-check just short of the 10-minute mark;
Edvinsson at least won a puck battle down low, but he flubbed an outlet pass, and the Swedes had to scramble to clear the puck as a result. Edvinsson was too worried about cross-checking a Czech forward to focus on winning the scrum for the puck, and that’s Young Man Syndrome for you.
I can’t say that I was thrilled with Niederbach only earning 1 of every 4 shifts, but Tomas Monten is not a coach that does anything less than roll 4 lines;
Wallstedt had to make a big stop on a Czech alone in front, and as Niederbach’s line struggled to clear the zone, Czechia really pushed pressure and momentum some 12:28 into the 2nd.
Gord Miller said that the shots were 6-1 Czechia in the 2nd.
Again, I also can’t say that I was thrilled with Edvinsson stepping up in the neutral zone to try and make big hits. More Young Man Syndrome, but he would occasionally leave Grans all alone, and an older, more mature player knows when to settle down and stay back.
Edvinsson took a penalty at 13:22 for tripping. His stick did get in between the legs of the Czech forward, and while he let it go, shit happens…
And shit happens in a bad way when you’re down momentum-wise.
The Czechs won the draw over Niederbach, the point shot from David Jiricek went off the cuff of Wallstedt’s glove, and Michal Gut’s knee scored the 1-1 goal at 13:30.
Michal Gut ties it for Czechia 8 seconds into the powerplay! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/OIE3Dzz29D— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 20, 2022
David Jiricek’s point shot bounces off Jesper Wallstedt, then off Michal Gut’s kneecap and into the net, and Czechia has tied the game 1-1! #WorldJuniors
🔗: https://t.co/xShreSKdMupic.twitter.com/R90JE1y2d0— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 20, 2022
David Jiricek! POWERPLAY GOAL! @narodnitym and @Trekronorse now tied 1-1#WorldJuniors 🥉 #SWECZE pic.twitter.com/J94z9QvVt5— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 20, 2022
The shots were 8-1 Czechia, and the Czechs really began to dominate possession and control after their power play marker.
Edvinsson of all people was the one who skated the puck out of trouble and into the Czech zone himself, using his strong skating to generate his own scoring chance, but the Czech defense blocked his shot out of play.
The Czechs managed to lose a draw to Niederbach which teammate Isak Rosen ripping the puck into the net through Suchanek at 15:19.
SWEDEN RESPONDS!
Isak Rosen gets the shot off quick to give Sweden back the lead. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/8V31SPsDV4— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 20, 2022
And just like that, Isak Rosen off the faceoff puts @Trekronorse back on top!#WorldJuniors 🥉 #SWECZE pic.twitter.com/djoGaQazcp— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 20, 2022
Great primary assist for Niederbach, 2-1 Sweden.
Niederbach–when he got a shift–was doing a very good job of skating up and down the ice to help his defensive partners…
Edvinsson got back to block the Czech captain Mysak from going to the net, but Mysak put the puck off the post anyway, through Edvinsson’s screen;
Going the other way, Edvinsson helped the rush and slithered a puck across to Grans, who chipped a hard shot on goal…After Wallinder made a good pass to spring a teammate in a 1-on-0 break that Suchanek stopped.
Things were happening quickly!
As the Swedes finally mucked things up in front of Suchanek, the Swedes were also trading rushes with the speedy Czechs, and that was not ideal.
With 1:08 remaining in the 2nd, Niederbach battled away in the offensive zone, he helped Grans and Edvinsson play defense, and Edvinsson did a lot of diagonal passing to help the Swedes cycle in the Czech zone as David Jiricek lost an edge on his blade…
The final shift yielded a Swedish chance off the icing call to Czechia, and again, Edvinsson directed traffic as Niederbach tied up the draw, but the Swedes ran out of time.
And Rosen and Hamara chirped after the final whistle.
The shots were 21-15 Czechia, but the score was 2-1 Sweden.
3rd period:
Niederbach started the 3rd period and he and his linemates mucked the draw back, won possession and control of the puck, and Torgersson got a shot in on Mysak. The Swedes cycled and got another shot off before Czechia chipped and changed;
The Swedes continued to press, and when the Czechs got through the neutral zone, the Swedes were standing up at their blueline.
Niederbach got a second shift 1:13 into the 3rd, and he lost a defensive zone draw, but Edvinsson and Grans cleared the puck out of trouble, and the defensive pairing got off the ice on a quick change, soon to be followed by Niederbach’s line.
Wallinder and Andrae took to the ice 2:10 into the 3rd, and they had to repel a Czech attack;
Svozil got taken down by Andrae, sans penalty, some 3:00 into the 3rd, indicating that the game would be decided by the players on the ice;
Edvinsson’s next shift involved trying to stop one Czech but not being able to stop Kos from firing a point-blank chance on Wallstedt because Grans was gone wandering.
The Czechs managed to muck down low after a bad turnover by Andrae, and at 4:52 of the 3rd, Andrae chipped the stick out of Ivan Ivan’s hands, yielding a slashing penalty.
The Czechs won the draw and attempted to cycle as the Swedes battled their way through the PK, and the superior positioning of the Swedes won out for the first flourish;
When the Czechs broke back in, Wallinder cleared the puck out of trouble;
Kulich got a fantastic opportunity after two Swedes fell down at the blueline, but Wallstedt stood tall;
Slowly but surely, the Swedes killed the penalty, and Wallinder made a pinch that did not work very well, but the Swedes did a great job of chipping the puck away from Wallstedt, holding the Czechs to 1 shot.
Edvinsson took to the ice with 12:30 left and both laid out a Czech player and blocked a net-front pass, and, on top of it all, he pushed the puck out of trouble on the right side;
Niederbach came back to help Wallinder and Grans with 11:37 left…
But Andrae chipped the puck out of play, and at 8:23, the Czechs would go to the power play again.
The Czechs did a good job of establishing possession and control and cycling down low over the first 35-40 seconds of the PP, but they over-complicated things, affording the Swedes an easy clear;
Edvinsson stood up at the blueline and then cleared the puck for a moment…Before the puck rolled up on Wallstedt, who had to kick the puck out of the crease;
10:00 into the 3rd, with 23 left in the PP, the shots were 23-19…And Mensik got a great opportunity that Wallstedt stopped.
The Czechs were only able to generate one shot off the power play.
Edvinsson cleared the puck on a bad icing call on a play by Andrae, and Edvinsson swept a puck away from another Czech as they raced back into the offensive zone;
With 8:22 remaining, Wallinder fanned on a clearing pass, and the Czechs generated zone time but no shots on goal as one was blocked, and Stakkestad pushed the puck up into the offensive zone…
Wallinder got beaten to the puck in the offensive zone, but he came back to help Andrae, and the Czechs were FURIOUS that the Swedes got away with a penalty…Kulich got tripped and the Swedes definitely got away with one…
As were the Swedes, when Niederbach beat a Czech to the puck on an icing against Edvinsson and Sweden, and Niederbach got hacked and whacked by the Czech defenseman.
There were nasty hacks and whacks going on all over the ice, and it was a little shocking at times.
You don’t think of the Swedes and Czechs as physical, but they both displayed nasty edges in the final 6:30 of regulation time.
Suchanek made a MASSIVE stop on a Swedish 2-on-1 by Sjoberg, and at the other end of the ice, Edvinsson needed help as Sapovaliv and comapny skated in and fired a shot in that Andrae blocked out of play.
Edvinsson broke up ice 1 on 3 and got some help from a teammate before coming back to break up a Sapovaliv rush with 5:30 left in the 3rd, and then he got the hell off the ice;
Wallstedt got caught out of the net, but he managed to stop the puck…
And, with 4:58 left in the 3rd, things got particularly nasty, but the post-whistle scrums just weren’t called by the refs.
Niederbach made a great shot block with 4:50 left;
With 3:33 left, Wallinder carried the puck up ice and Linus Sjodin chipped the puck through Suchanek to make it 3-1 Sweden at 16:34.
Linus Sjodin puts Sweden up by 2 with three minutes to go in the bronze medal game! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/toPuTzpTsk— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 20, 2022
Linus Sjodin makes it 3-1 for @Trekronorse with just over 3 min to go in the third!#WorldJuniors #SWECZE pic.twitter.com/6II5hsjSPt— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 20, 2022
William Wallinder skates the puck up the ice and feathers a pass to his Rögle teammate Linus Sjödin who scores, 3-1 Sweden as they take home bronze #LGRW pic.twitter.com/1mHgMxzKmD— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) August 20, 2022
Sweden led 3-1.
The Czechs hit the goalpost on the post-goal shift, and with 3:01 left in regulation, we hit our final TV timeout.
The Czechs were already diagramming plays on the bench and Suchanek was ready to go out…
And he did leave with 2:50 left in regulation, and the Czechs cycled, shot, and could not keep the puck in;
With 2:30 left in the 3rd, Niederbach did a hell of a job forechecking, pushing the Czechs back, and the Czechs chipped and chased with 2:04 left, they cycled, and Wallstedt made a stop off a Sapovaliv deflection, but could not clear the rebound, and Stakkestad chipped the puck wide of the Czech goal.
Czechia called timeout with 1:47 left.
With a faceoff in the offensive zone, Niederbach got some help, the Swedes could not clear, and Spacek sent a shot wide;
The Czechs worked the perimeter, but Loof blocked the shot out of play;
The Czechs barely held the puck in with 1:18 left, Grans cleared the puck on net, but Spacek pulled the puck away from the Czech cage, and up came the Czechs with 1:00 left…
Wallstedt made a big stop, the Czechs cycled, and Kulich missed the net;
With 30 seconds left, the desperate Czechs cycled, and Wallstedt made his 27th stop on the Czechs’ 28th shot…
The Czechs lost the last draw, icing was waved off, and Niederbach and Edvinsson were both on the ice as Sweden won bronze. Sapovaliv got into it with Edvinsson at the very end, dehelmeting the Red Wings prospect.
🥉 @Trekronorse ARE BRONZE MEDAL CHAMPIONS 🥉#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/SKnlKS3HUF— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 20, 2022
Sweden celebrates winning bronze! #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/WjuqTOetdR— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 20, 2022
JVM-BRONS! Vilken laginsats, där hela laget bidrar framför den storspelande Jesper Wallstedt. Juniorkronorna vinner bronsmatchen mot Tjeckien med 3-1. Linus Sjödin målskytt i den tredje perioden. Härligt! Tack för stödet, Sverige! 🇸🇪 #juniorkronorna #worldjuniors pic.twitter.com/0Yfmvm9iFw— Tre Kronor (@Trekronorse) August 20, 2022
That🥉 moment @Trekronorse #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/rn2X9brp9T— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 20, 2022
Update: Highlights!
