World junior roundup: Wings top pick Lucas Raymond leads Sweden to 2-0 record

Detroit News

The Detroit News

Red Wings first-round draft pick Lucas Raymond led Sweden (2-0) to a 4-0 victory over Austria on Monday at the world junior hockey championship in Edmonton.

Raymond, who was helped to the dressing room in the first period after crashing into the boards, had a goal and an assist and a team-high 10 shots.

As for Detroit’s other draft picks on Team Sweden, Theodor Niederbach had a goal in 19:22 of ice time, Albert Johansson added an assist and was plus-1 and Elmer Soderblom had three shots in 17:02 of ice time.

Canada, Finland improve to 2-0

Philip Tomasino had a goal and an assist and Canada beat Slovakia 3-1 on Sunday night to improve to 2-0 in group play in the world junior hockey championship.

Jordan Spence and Jack Quinn also scored, and Devon Levi made 17 saves on his 19th birthday.

Martin Romiak scored for Slovakia in the Group A game.

Romiak scored on a power play with 1:24 left to pull the Slovaks within a goal, and Quinn sealed the victory with an empty-netter.

Canadian defenseman Braden Schneider served a one-game suspension for a check to the head Saturday night against Germany’s Jan-Luca Schumacher in Canada’s 16-2 opening victory.

In the late game, Lukas Parik made 30 saves in the Czech Republic’s 2-0 victory over Russia.

Red Wings draft pick Jan Bednar didn’t play for the second straight game.

Filip Koffer opened the scoring in the second period, and Jacub Rychlovsky connected in the third.

Both teams are 1-1 in Group B.

In the first game of the day, Finland beat Switzerland 4-1 to improve to 2-0 in Group A.

Anton Lundell, Juuso Parssinen, Aku Raty and Kasper Simontaival scored for Finland. Attilio Biasca scored for Switzerland.

Red Wings draft pick Eemil Viro was scoreless and plus-1 with three shots in 16:41 of ice time.

The United States will return to action today against the Czech Republic and complete group play Thursday night against Sweden. The Americans opened with a 5-3 loss to Russia on Friday night, and beat Austria 11-0 on Saturday night.

The top four teams in each pool will advance to the quarterfinals.

Soderblom scores between-the-legs goal

Red Wings draft picks Theodor Niederbach and Elmer Soderblom scored goals in Sweden’s 7-1 victory over the Czech Republic at the world junior hockey championships in Edmonton on Saturday.

Niederbach (2nd round/2020) and Soderblom (6th round/2019) played on the same line and were joined on the scoreboard by Red Wings’ first-round pick Lucas Raymond who had an assist for the Swedes.

Soderblom, who scored his goal on a between-the-legs shot on the power play, added an assist with five shots and defenseman Albert Johansson (2nd round/2020) was scoreless and plus-1. 

Sweden extended its preliminary-round win streak to a record 53 games and will face Austria on Monday before playing Russia and the U.S.

Czech goaltender Jan Bednar (4th round/2020) didn’t play in the opener.

Also Saturday, Dylan Cozens had three goals and three assists in Canada’s 16-2 win over Germany. Saginaw’s Cole Perfetti added three assists and the defensive pairing of Bowen Byram and Jamie Drysdale combined for six points and were each plus-8.

In the late game, University of Michigan forward Brendan Brisson had two goals in the United States’ 11-0 win over Austria.

Wings pick Eemill Viro plus-1 in opener

Red Wings draft pick Eemil Viro was plus-1 in Finland’s 5-3 victory over short-handed Germany on Friday night at the world junior hockey championship in Edmonton.

Viro, a 6-0, 165-pound defenseman who was one of three 2020 second-round draft picks, had two shots and 27 shifts in 19:31 of ice time.

Aku Raty, Henri Nikkanen, and Topi Niemela each had a goal and an assist for the Finns, who are seeking their sixth world junior gold medal of all time. They last triumphed in Vancouver (2019) on Kaapo Kakko’s late 3-2 winner versus the Americans.

Germany, which was missing nine players because of the coronavius, had only 14 skaters – nine forwards and five defensemen. Three players can return to the tournament Sunday and another five Tuesday, barring more positive tests.

Anton Lundell and Mikael Pyyhtia also scored for Finland in the Group A game. Tim Stutzle and Florian Elias each had a goal and assist for Germany.

Earlier in Group A, Slovakia beat Switzerland 1-0 on Roman Faith’s goal with 5:43 left. Simon Latkoczy made 28 saves, stopping Inaki Baragano with his glove on a late power play. Later Friday, the U.S. lost 5-3 to Russia. Captain Cam York of the University of Michigan had a goal and an assist for the Americans.

On Saturday, the United States will face Austria, and Sweden will play the Czech Republic in Group B. Canada will open its title defense against Germany in Group A.

More: Red Wings prospects ready for world junior championship

More: Seven Red Wings prospects to compete at world junior championships

World junior schedule

Friday, Dec. 25

Slovakia 1, Switzerland 0

Finland 5, Germany 3

Russia 5, United States 3

Saturday, Dec. 26

Sweden 7, Czech Republic 1

Canada 16, Germany 2

United States 11, Austria 0

Sunday, Dec. 27

Finland 4, Switzerland 1

Canada 3,. Slovakia 1 

Czech Republic 2, Russia 0 

Monday, Dec. 28

Sweden 4, Austria 0

Germany vs. Slovakia, 9:30 p.m. 

Tuesday, Dec. 29

Czech Republic vs. United States, 2 p.m. 

Switzerland vs. Canada, 6 p.m. 

Russia vs. Austria, 9:30 p.m. 

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Slovakia vs. Finland, 2 p.m. 

Germany vs. Switzerland, 6 p.m. 

Sweden vs. Russia, 9:30 p.m. 

Thursday, Dec. 31

Austria vs. Czech Republic, 2 p.m. 

Finland vs. Canada, 6 p.m. 

United States vs. Sweden, 9:30 p.m. 

Saturday, Jan. 2

Quarterfinal 1, 12 p.m. 

Quarterfinal 2, 3:30 p.m. 

Quarterfinal 3, 7 p.m. 

Quarterfinal 4, 10:30 p.m. 

Monday, Jan. 4

Semifinal 1, 6 p.m. 

Semifinal 2, 9:30 p.m. 

Tuesday, Jan. 5

Third-place game, 5:30 p.m. 

Championship game, 9:30 p.m. 

Dach sidelined with wrist injury

Chicago Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach has been ruled out for the world junior championship after he hurt his right wrist during Canada’s exhibition victory over Russia on Wednesday night.

The Blackhawks said Dach was returning to Chicago for further evaluation.

Dach, who turns 20 on Jan. 21, was injured on what seemed like a harmless bodycheck in the neutral zone in the third period. After the hit, the Canada captain pulled off his glove, skated off the ice and went directly to the locker-room area in Edmonton.

Dach was selected by Chicago with the No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft. He had eight goals and 15 assists in 64 games during his rookie season with the Blackhawks.

Dach’s injury is another tough blow for rebuilding Chicago after it announced Wednesday that Alex Nylander, another young forward, could miss the entire 2021 season because of a left knee injury. Nylander had surgery Monday to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee.

No spectators at world juniors

A world junior men’s hockey championship like no other opens Friday with zero spectators and teams walled off from the general public because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The under-20 tournament at Edmonton’s Rogers Place is modeled on the NHL’s twin bubbles earlier this year that allowed the league to complete its season. Shorter in duration and with fewer people on hand, the 12-day, 10-nation tournament is still a major logistical undertaking for Hockey Canada and the host committee.

That it wasn’t canceled along with so many other International Ice Hockey Federation tournaments in 2020 indicates a determination to stage – and televise – live hockey despite a spike in local COVID-19 cases.

Hockey Canada vice president of events Dean McIntosh said the province has been “incredibly supportive.” Defending champion Canada opens play Saturday against Germany.

“We have an opportunity to give Canadians a gift here at Christmas time as well,” McIntosh said. “The holiday season, the tradition of the world juniors has been great.”

Articles You May Like

Red Wings Have a Star in the Making With Lucas Raymond
SSOTD: Hurricanes vs. Red Wings, 3/28/2024
NHL Rumors: Oilers, Maple Leafs, Canucks, Red Wings
SSOTD: Predators vs. Red Wings, 3/23/2024
SSOTD: Capitals vs. Red Wings, 3/26/2024

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *