Author: George Malik

Part of the reason I chose to spend early Sunday morning writing a summary of the 9 Red Wings World Junior Championship participants‘ tournaments is because due criticism is coming toward some of them, and, as Red Wings fans are wont to panic when the prospect experts criticize the Red Wings, well…

Sometimes you have to “get out ahead of the story.”

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman, their prospect guru, wrote a fine article in which he praises the World Junior Championship’s “standouts” and discusses the “disappointments,” and, as you might expect, his final prospect is a disappointing Swedish defenseman:

Simon Edvinsson, LHD, Detroit: Edvinsson was one of the standouts of the December tournament, but it’s fair to say he didn’t have the week he expected. Part of that was due to being injured in the pre-tournament game and getting food poisoning mid-week, but even with that in mind he didn’t do a ton to help Sweden win games. He’s a great player coming off a great season, and there aren’t very many players in hockey with his combination of size, skating and skill, but he coughed up a lot of pucks this week when the games got quicker and it was hard to say he looked NHL-ready.

Continued; no, Edvinsson did not look NHL-ready. Edvinsson struggled mightily at times, and, regardless of whether that was due to the exhibition game injury and/or food poisoning and/or the planet Mercury being in retrograde…

He wasn’t good enough for the Swedes to win, and there’s no doubt about that. As I said in my own article, there is no doubt that this tournament casts doubt as to whether Edvinsson will step right into the NHL out of training camp…

But we have to see how a more comfortable Edvinsson plays in the prospect tournament, training camp and the exhibition season before presuming that he will be banished to Grand Rapids forever and ever.

Rogle BK’s website’s Peter Ekholm wrote an article in which he spoke with the SHL team’s 5 World Junior Championship participants, all of whom won a Bronze Medal with Team Sweden on Saturday night.

Two of those participants were Red Wings prospects–Theodor Niederbach and William Wallinder–so here’s a rough translation of the article:

Sjodin the scorer–WJC bronze for the Junior Crowns

Five Rogle players helped Sweden to World Junior Championship Bronze in Canada. Linus Sjodin scored one of the goals in the Junior Crowns’ 3-1 victory against the Czech Republic overnight Sunday.

“I got in a good position and then it was just a matter of hitting it there,” says Sjodin.

When the bronze game between Sweden and the Czech Republic was stood and weighed at the end of the third period, Sjodin stepped forward. The Rogle forward took off on the right wing, drove into William Wallinder’s precise chip-in and put the puck hard over the goaltender’s right shoulder. That goal meant 3-1 to Sweden, a lead that the Junior Crowns did not relinquish.

“Wallinder got the puck in his own zone and stepped up. I felt like I could go past their defenseman, and Walle puts a perfect chip up to me. I got in a good position and then it was just a matter of slamming it there. It was really nice,” says Sjodin.

I’m gonna be honest: I don’t know the effing rules as to who qualifies for to potentially play in the World Junior Championship in Halfiax and Moncton this December.

The 2023 World Junior Championship will include several Red Wings prospects, and, thankfully, the Sporting News’s Bryan Murphy explains the format to us:

Who can return to play in the 2023 World Juniors?

The tournament, which is classified as U20, allows only certain players to participate. The easiest way to figure out who is eligible for any of the World Juniors is to take the year of the tournament and subtract 20. For example, at the 2023 tournament, any player who was born in 2003 or later can play at the games.

So, which Red Wings prospects qualify?

• Red Savage, Team USA
• Simon Edvinsson, Team Sweden

That’s probably welcome news to both the former, who fell short of the medal round, and the latter, who fell short of expectations.

The 2022 World Junior Championship in Edmonton is over. Canada won Gold in a wild 3-2 overtime victory over Finland; Sweden won Bronze via 3-1 over Czechia.

Way back on August 8th, which feels like a lot longer than 12 days ago, I wrote an article discussing what to expect from the Red Wings’ 9 World Junior Championship participants.

Things changed over the last 12 days, and some players had better tournaments than others.

Now this is all about competitive hockey in August between players under 20 years of age, but the World Juniors definitely serve as a bit of a developmental milestone.

For the Red Wings’ 5 prospects who will take part in the fall prospect tournament and main training camp (Sebastian Cossa, Donovan Sebrango, Eemil Viro, Simon Edvinsson and Jan Bednar), he WJC will have served as some “runway” with which for the players to sharpen themselves for the competitive hockey in September, where jobs will be on the line and spots in exhibition games may or may not determine where players like Sebastian Cossa end up this fall.

Let’s look at the 9 participants, examine how they performed, and where they stand going forward:

Team Canada battled Finland for the Gold Medal at the World Junior Championship, concluding the belated 2022 tournament in Edmonton.

Prior to the game, Donovan Sebrango told TSN’s Mark Masters that he was “ready to win gold,” and the Canadians brought that level of confidence into the game against the pesky, trapping Finns.

Team Canada won 3-2 in overtime on a goal from Kent Johnson at 3:03, from Logan Stankoven.

THE GOLDEN GOAL! 🇨🇦🚨🥇#WorldJuniors | @19kjohnson pic.twitter.com/VfhZrvVBpS— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) August 21, 2022

In terms of Red Wings players playing the game…

Donovan Sebrango: Sebrango played on Canada’s top defensive pairing, alongside Olen Zellweger. Sebrango finished at +1 in 17:55 played, earning a lot less ice time than usual due to Canada’s half-dozen power plays. The Canadians were human at times against the Finns, Sebrango included, but he played marvelously well all tournament long as a shut-down defenseman who afforded Zellweger room to roam. Great tournament for Sebrango.

Sebastian Cossa: Cossa was the back-up to Dylan Garand, the more senior goaltender on the team. He finished with 1 win and, a 2.00 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. At 19 going on 20 this November, Cossa is still an elite goaltending prospect–he just didn’t out-duel the incumbent starter in Garand, who had earned his coach’s confidence, and that happens during short tournaments. He’ll take part in the prospect tournament and main training camp, and may get an exhibition season start or two before heading back to the Edmonton Oil Kings, one of the best teams in the WHL.

Eemil Viro: Viro played on the second defensive pairing, alongside Aleksi Heimosalmi. Viro finished even with an assist, a penalty taken and 23:19 played. This was his best game of a good tournament, in which the 6,’ 165-pound defenseman pushed the Canadians around like a professional hockey player, he earned a lovely assist on Aleksi Heimosalmi’s 2-1 goal, and he was just superbly solid and sometimes explosive offensively. This was great for his growth as he’ll be more ready for North American hockey this fall.

In terms of the game’s narrative…

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..

This is a fantastic interview which TSN’s Mark Masters conducted with Team Canada defenseman and Red Wings prospect Donovan Sebrango:

‘It’s one of the biggest moments of my life’

Donovan Sebrango on his excitement for the gold medal game. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/H1nW05yPrS— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 20, 2022

Here’s the schedule for the final day of World Junior Championship competition in Edmonton, Alberta:

Czechia vs. Sweden @ 4 PM on TSN and the NHL Network

Jan Bednar is the Czechs’ back-up goaltender; Simon Edvinsson, Theodor Niederbach and William Wallinder play for Sweden;

Canada vs. Finland @ 8 PM on TSN and the NHL Network

Donovan Sebrango plays for Canada, and Sebastian Cossa is Canada’s back-up goaltender; Eemil Viro plays for Finland.

The Semifinal round at the World Junior Championship concluded with a historic rivalry as Sweden and Finland battled for a spot in the Gold Medal Game.

Finland won 1-0, fairly easily shutting the Swedes down after scoring their 1-0 goal. The Swedes played as well as they could, but their inability to score and the Finnish Trap yielded a well-earned win by the Finns.

Finland will play Canada for Gold on Saturday at 8 PM (on TSN and the NHL Network).

Sweden will play for Bronze vs. Czechia at 4 PM (TSN/NHL Network).

In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in the game:

Simon Edvinsson: Edvinsson played on the Swedes’ top defensive pair with Helge Grans. He finished even with no shots in 22:43, and that pretty much summed up his game, because Edvinsson looked really uncomfortable on the ice at times. I don’t know whether it was lingering effects from food poisoning, lingering effects from whatever injury he suffered in the exhibition round, or what, but the elegant-skating, super-talented Edvinsson did not look quite like himself throughout the tournament, and he’s going to have to have a “gut check” tomorrow vs. Czechia.

Theodor Niederbach: Niederbach centered the Swedes’ second line, between Oskar Olausson and Daniel Torgersson. Niederbach finished even with 1 shot in 17:33, but he was plucky, he went to the net for rebounds, he eventually won more faceoffs than he lost early on, and he displayed an edge that I didn’t know he had. He was a pleasant surprise on a rough night for the Swedes.

William Wallinder: Wallinder played on the Swedes’ third defensive pair, alongside Emil Andrae. Wallinder finished even with no shots in 17:23 played, and there were moments when he made mistakes, but he’s still learning, and the massive 6’4″ defenseman was efficient and smart for the most part, strong-skating and solid.

Eemil Viro: Viro played on the Finns’ third defensive pairing, with Aleksi Heimosalmi. Viro finished even with no shots in 20:15, and he looked very solid, spare, and simply efficient–and he got away with a couple of nasty checks and hacks and whacks that I’ve rarely seen from him. At 6′ and 165 pounds, he’s going to have to overcome his size, but he does a good job with that short stick and his smart skating to play bigger than he is.

In terms of the game’s narrative…

The “home team” took to the ice on Friday as Team Canada battled the plucky Czechs in one of two World Junior Championship Semifinal games, with both teams attempting to earn a spot in the Gold Medal Game.

Canada won 5-2, advancing to the Gold Medal Game; the valiant Czechs would play for Bronze.

In terms of Red Wings prospects playing in the game:

Donovan Sebrango: Sebrango played on the Canadians’ first defensive pair with Olen Zellweger. He finished at +1 with 1 shot in 20:53 played, and he was the stay-at-home stalwart who allowed his defensive partner to rack up points. Sebrango’s safe, steady, communicative manner works well on a team full of superstars.

Jan Bednar: Bednar didn’t dress for the Czechs, having lost his starter’s job to Tomas Suchanek. I can’t say that Bednar’s performance at the WJC was encouraging, but short tournaments aren’t kind to players who are still learning to play consistently. Bednar will go back to the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan and have a good season there.

In terms of the game’s narrative…