Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Vladislav Kamenev scored the tiebreaking goal during a four-goal second period as Russia used six different goal scorers in Monday’s 6-4 win over host Finland at the World Junior Championship.

Russia (2-0) responded to a 3-1 deficit in the middle frame with four unanswered goals, beginning with a shorthanded tally from Andrei Svetlakov. Svetalkov raced up the ice with Yegor Korshkov and wristed a shot over goalie Veini Vehvilainen’s glove to cut Finland’s lead to 3-2. Left wing Pavel Kraskovsky tied the score 3-3 when his centering feed during a power play banked in off Finnish defenseman Miro Keskitalo. Kamenev gave Russia the lead for good when he converted a centering feed from Kirill Kaprizov with a snap shot over Vehvilainen’s left shoulder.  Alexander Polunin gave Russia a two-goal lead 27 seconds later when he jammed home a loose puck past Vehvilainen.

Kaprizov opened the scoring for Russia with a one-timer from the right circle during a power play in the first. Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect Radel Fazleev completed the scoring when his wraparound attempt was pushed in by Keskitalo’s skate. Korshkov finished with three assists, and defenseman Ivan Provorov and forward Maxim Lazarev each added two assists. Alexander Georgiev stopped 28 shots to pick up the win.

Aleksi Saarela, a New York Rangers third round pick in 2015, scored twice for Finland (1-1). Draft prospect Jesse Puljujarvi had three assists and leads the tournament in scoring through two games with six points. Patrik Laine, who like Puljujarvi is one of the tournament’s top draft-eligible players, added a goal and two assists.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Brayden Point had a three-point game as Canada exploded for four goals in the second period in Monday’s 6-1 rout of Denmark in the preliminary round of the World Junior Championship from Helsinki, Finland. 

Canada (1-1) rebounded from Saturday’s tough 4-2 loss to the United States with a complete thrashing of Denmark, which was outshot by the Canadians, 58-11. Mitchell Marner, Dylan Strome and Mathew Barzal — all first round picks in last June’s NHL Entry Draft — each recorded a goal and an assist.

Anthony Beauvillier responded to a goal by Denmark’s Alexander True with his first of the tournament to tie the score 1-1, and Point, who has been battling though an injury, assisted on John Quenneville’s go-ahead goal just 1:14 into the second period which gave Canada a 2-1 lead. Quenneville’s tally was the second of six unanswered goals by Canada — each by a different scorer. Lawson Crouse also scored his first goal of the competition, and goalie Mason McDonald stopped 10 shots for the win.

Mathias Seldrup was impressive, stopping 52 shots in defeat for Denmark, which beat Switzerland on Sunday and faces Sweden on Wednesday.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Alexander Polunin scored two goals to help Russia remain undefeated at the world junior championship with Tuesday’s 4-1 win over winless Belarus.

Russia (3-0) was dominant for long stretches, outshooting Belarus in each period and 32-18 for the game. The Belorussians have lost all four games against Russia since making their tournament debut.

Maxim Lazarev, an underrated prospect who plays in the Quebec league, opened the scoring at 10:00 of the first period with a power play goal. He took a behind-the-net feed from Vladislav Kamenev — a Nashville Predators draftee — and one-timed a shot past goalie Vladislav Verbitski. The Russians scored a similar goal less than five minutes later when center Pavel Kravskovski, stationed to Verbitski’s rear, threw a puck to the slot for an unchecked Polunin to hammer into the net and increase Russia’s lead to 2-0.

Kamenev closed out the scoring in the first when he tipped home a wrist shot from defenseman Ivan Provorov with under two minutes left in the frame. After a scoreless second period, Belarus (0-3) solved Russian goalie Ilya Samsonov at the 6:14 mark of the third when his own defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov inadvertently poked in a wraparound attempt from Alexei Patsenkin. Polunin responded just 97 seconds later, as he and Kravskovski executed a rush up ice which Polunin finished with a wrist shot over a helpless Verbitski for a 4-1 lead.

Kamenev, who scored the game winner in Tuesday’s 6-4 win over Finland, and Lazarev each finished with a goal and an assist. Yegor Korchkov assisted on a pair of goals, and has five assists in his last two games. Samsonov, a first round pick of the Washington Capitals in 2015, stopped 17 shots to win his tournament debut.

Russia completes its preliminary round schedule against Slovakia on December 31. Belarus meets the Czech Republic on Wednesday before beginning the relegation round.

Russia

LHD IVAN PROVOROV (Philadelphia 1st/2015): Tremendous start-to-finish performance by Russia’s on-ice general, who at this rate will be promoted to Secretary (Minister?) of Defense. Provorov was dominant in all three zones; stealing, sealing, angling, hitting and protecting in the same manner we see him execute for Brandon of the WHL. He made a beautiful rush up the length of the ice after stealing the puck clean off an opponent’s one-on-one entry, and spearheaded the Russians’ third goal when his deliberate dump in was collected by a teammate, then fed to Provorov, who faked his way into a clear shooting lane for a shot tipped home by Kamenev. One play which stood out was subtle, yet underlines his defensive prowess — Provorov lost a foot race back behind his own goal and lost sight of the puck. Rather than panic or look up towards the rafters in bewilderment, he went right for his man and pinned him off the puck. He had a goal waved off when his pinch and wraparound happened as Svetlakov was pushed into the crease, and he nearly scored a shorthanded goal at the end of the second period when he jumped into the play and had a backhander stopped.

LW EVGENY SVECHNIKOV (Detroit 1st/2015): The line of Svechnikov-Kamenev-Lazarev put on an expected clinic against Belarus, which had no answer for the aforementioned trio’s chemistry and puck movement. He may not have registered a point, but Svechnikov had his best game of the tournament, firing a game-high six shots and appearing far more engaged than in previous matches. It seemed as if his hard work was the critical factor in their extended shifts, one of which he prolonged by playing the puck away from a defenseman by banking it off the back of the Belorussian net. His best chance came in the second period, when he fired a snap shot through a screen, then outworked his opponent for positioning as he collected his own rebound for a backhander which Verbitski stopped.

G ILYA SAMSONOV (Washington 1st/2015): Playing the younger netminder against Belarus was the correct move by coach Valeri Bragin, as Samsonov had yet to play and will likely be called upon at least one more time. It wasn’t a particularly strong game for Samsonov, who seemed to be fighting every attempt from the beginning. Belarus did not pepper him with quality chances, but Samsonov was sure doing a lot of flopping on what looked like average scoring chances or perimeter shots. He also made a habit of turning his back to the slot during puck battles behind his net — on one occasion it looked like he did a military-style about face. On three occasions, the Belorussians tried wraparounds, and on each one, he was slow to react with his post-to-post movement, even getting bailed out by the post in the opening period. Call it rust or nerves…whatever. He got the win, but he’s got some work to do.

LHD YEGOR RYKOV (2016 Draft Eligible/1997): Rykov was due for a strong game after struggling during November’s CHL Super Series. Today against Belarus, Rykov was as decisive as we’ve seen him, taking the puck down low a few times and providing puck support during a handful of cycles. What’s important is that his help was needed, when in previous viewings he seemed to jump into plays where assistance wasn’t required. He was always looking up ice, and caught the Belorussians in a few line changes with well-placed stretch passes. His zone entries were planned and deliberate, which was partly due to the time and space his teammates helped create.

Belarus

G VLADISLAV VERBITSKI (2016 Draft eligible/1997): Two one-timers and a deflection is what it took for Belarus to find itself down early, and it could have been far worse had Verbitski not stood tall in goal. The Russian goals were absolute snipes, but Verbitski was otherwise able to track the puck through Russia’s Harlem Globetrotter-style weaving. The puck wound up in front of his on several occasions, and not once did he go down early or tip his hand. It sounds cliche to credit the goalie of an inferior team during a David-and-Goliath matchup, but Verbitski was easily the best Belarus had to offer against Russia.

RW DANILA KARABAN (2016 Draft eligible/1996): A speedy and diminutive forward who had an excellent chance to put Belarus in front during a power play in the first period. Carbon found himself alone on the side of a wide open net, but couldn’t line up his shot past Samson. He didn’t have the disc on his stick often, but he looks like a pretty good stickhandler while heading up ice with speed.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Mathew Barzal scored the deciding goal in a shootout to help Canada notch a 3-2 victory over stubborn Switzerland on Tuesday at the world junior hockey championship from Helsinki, Finland.

Team Canada captain Brayden Point scored the first shootout goal with a backhander up and over Swiss goalie Joren van Pottelberghe, who made 32 saves during regulation and overtime. Mackenzie Blackwood made his debut in goal for Canada (2-1), stopping 23 shots and both of Switzerland’s shootout attempts. The New Jersey Devils draft pick missed Canada’s first two games of the tournament due to a suspension he received from a stick-swinging incident during Ontario Hockey League play.

Switzerland jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by right wing Damian Riat and Dario Meyer. Center Dylan Strome, the third overall pick in last year’s draft, got Canada within a goal when his shot from the near corner eluded van Pottelberghe’s shoulder and went in with just 23 seconds left in the period.

The two nations traded jabs during a scoreless second period, but defenseman Joe Hicketts’ wrist shot from the high slot beat van Pottelberghe up high to tie the score 2-2 and send the game to overtime.

Left wing Lawson Crouse had two assists for Canada, which earned two of a possible three points from the shootout win and are in second place in Group A. Team Canada faces Sweden on Thursday.

Switzerland lost its third straight game and needs to beat the United States in regulation time on Thursday to avoid relegation and the risk of not qualifying for the 2017 tournament.

Canada

C DYLAN STROME (Arizona 1st/2015): Strong game from a kid who has embraced his unexpected leadership role with aplomb. We absolutely killed him for his lackluster OHL postseason last spring, and word was he was nursing an injury. Well, he’s obviously recovered, as he’s following up his solid Super Series for Team OHL with a highly-productive WJC. Strome was logging the big minutes, centering the top power play unit and what turned out to be Canada’s top line. His late goal in the first period was clutch, even if the shot he took from a bad angle gets stopped 99 times out of 100. Still, he sniped the top shelf from the near corner, and with the kind of velocity his shot generates (with little backswing, no less), you can see why he was so decisive in using it from such an unconventional shooting area. However, his cut move towards the hash marks is a bit telegraphed, and we’re starting to see his shots not make it through to the net. He’s got superb vision and passing abilities, so we’ll take a guess that head coach Dave Lowry wants to see him use them more often.

LHD JOE HICKETTS (Detroit/UDFA): It chapped us a little to hear some scribes north of the border call this veteran puck mover a “goat” after he inadvertently tipped in the eventual game winner in a 4-2 loss to the United States. Hicketts played his best game of the tournament against the Swiss, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for what looked liked a fatigued Canadian squad. He was all over the ice; playing the body, whipping the puck through traffic and jump-starting the rush from his own line. We identified a lot of puck fumbling and indecisiveness by most of Canada’s defensemen, with some seeing their ice time shortened as the game intensified. One play which caught our attention was his handling of Denis Malgin’s pesky forecheck. Hicketts went back to his own end to retrieve a puck, then had to twist and turn to avoid turning the puck. Ultimately, Hicketts had to do it a few times before Malgin was forced to trip him up. Of course, Hicketts’ game-tying goal — a blistering wrist shot from the high slot over van Pottelberghe’s glove — was a result of his keen sense and positioning, and he almost did the same in overtime, where he easily played close to four of the five minute session.

G MACKENZIE BLACKWOOD (New Jersey 2nd/2015): Don’t listen to some of the experts. Blackwood didn’t look rusty, and neither goal against was a byproduct of a long layoff, or nerves, or whatever hogwash was being peddled during the early portion of the game. Blackwood is one cool cat, and both goals against him were deflected from right in front of the goal. His lateral movement was outstanding, but his net awareness was somewhat questionable. It didn’t hurt him, however, as the Swiss, even when uncovered, were getting pushed deeper and deeper into bad angle chances. The clinching stop he made in the shootout — a glove save after a nice backhand deke by Pius Suter — revealed his quickness. But he got lucky when Timo Meier ignored a significant gap on his blocker side and missed while going five hole.

LW LAWSON CROUSE (Florida 1st/2015): The pre-game lineup card listed the imposing Crouse on the fourth line, which we thought was absurd when you consider how the Swiss were guaranteed to try to physically intimidate the Canadians. Nevertheless, it took a 2-0 deficit for Lowry to wake up and start giving Crouse key minutes. He began to throw his weight around, and the ice slowly began to open up for him. It was he who initiated the play which finalized with Strome’s crucial goal at the end of the first, and it was Crouse again who showed patience, vision and smarts by hitting Hicketts in stride for his goal from the high slot. Yes…the name Crouse and the word vision were used in the same sentance. He had a heck of a game, so don’t expect him to start on the fourth line against Sweden.

Switzerland

G JOREN VAN POTTELBERGHE (Detroit 4th/2015): Captain Obvious gave us a call this morning and stated the only chance the Swiss had against Canada was scoring the first goal and getting van Pottelberghe to play the game of his young life. Well, the theory almost became a reality, as Switzerland scored the first two goals of the game and van Pottelberghe played out of his mind. The bad news? He completely misplayed Dylan Strome’s wrister, which may have been shot from the Zamboni entrance before it snuck under his shoulder and into the back of the net. That kind of net unawareness is disconcerting, as we asked ourselves, “How can you NOT feel your shoulder touching iron”? Well he didn’t, and the goal he allowed with under 30 seconds left in the first turned out to be a game changer. Nevertheless, the game doesn’t get to overtime without van Pottelberghe’s heroics. He was quick on his feet and gave the attacking Canadians little to shoot at once inside the hash marks.

RW TIMO MEIER (San Jose 1st/2015): You just wish Meier had that extra gear, because he really is a pleasure to watch when he’s doing everything else. Too bad we feel that way when we watch him play for the Halifax Mooseheads, because he’s been a complete non-factor for the Swiss in Helsinki. Meier didn’t have a strong game, and getting posterized from a Joe Hicketts hit (that’s THE 5’8 Joe Hicketts) wasn’t even the low point, as he ignored a half a yawning cage on his shootout attempt, which was shot directly into Blackwood’s pads. He wasn’t even credited with a shot on goal, although we counted several attempts. The Swiss are a loss away from relegation, and Meier’s lack of productivity has a lot to do with it.

RW NOAH ROD  (San Jose 2nd/2014): Smart, engaged, skilled, versatile…we’re running out of adjectives to describe this two-way threat who was used a ton as the minutes ticked closer towards overtime. Rod has been Switzerland’s go-to guy, as he’s been asked to do anything and everything related to getting dirty. His rocket off a Denis Malgin cross-ice feed was tipped home to open the scoring, giving him one point in each of his three games. He did, however, lose his cool after a whistle when he clocked Mitch Marner right in the grill and had to feel shame for two minutes.

Czech Republic

RW RADEK VESELY (2016 Draft Eligible/1996): The influx of CHL stars on the Czech National Team caused somewhat of a demotion for this speedy winger who has been a fixture on the U20 team’s top line for svseral tournaments leading up to the WJC’s. His Extraliga production for Chomutov hasn’t been much, as he’s bounced around on the depth chart, but he’s been impressive on the Czech’s third line with Simon Stransky and Ottaw Senators’ draftee Filip Chlapik, and his constant involvement in plays was rewarded in the form of the his game-winner late in the third period. Vesely is very fast and has a good shot, but it’s his puck hounding which makes him just as dangerous as anybody else.

LW SIMON STRANSKY (2016 Draft Eligible/1997): Stransky got the ball rolling for the Czechs when he collected the puck and raced up ice in a 2-on-1 before firing a shot off the cross bar and in for his first career WJC goal. There were several things to like about the way he approached the odd-man rush; first, he had his head up the whole time, and we don’t mean in one direction either. He clearly surveyed all his options from the time he picked up the puck in his own end right up to the time he ripped one home. Second, his path to the goal made it difficult for the defender to telegraph his intentions — Stransky moved diagonally towards the goal, which forced the defender to take the puck carrier’s shot intentions very seriously. By the time he was close enough to cover Stransky, however, it was too late. He finished with a goal and four shots.

RHD FILIP HRONEK (2016 Draft Eligible/1997): Make that three games in a row where Hronek played a strong game, as he was paired on the right side with double-overager Ondrej Miklis. Neither rearguard should ever be confused as a shutdown defender, but they sure put the clamps on the Belorussians and allowed them little room to operate. Keep in mind that this was a very close game for almost three periods. Hronek picked up an assist on the second Czech goal after he drew a checker right to his position at the blue line before feathering a backhander to an open David Pastrnak, who fired one on goal for a tip-in. Hronek finished a plus-three, and leads all Czech defensemen with two assists in three games.

Belarus

LHD VLADISLAV GONCHAROV (2016 Draft Eligible/1996): Goncharov is not very big, but he’s engaged in every play. We noticed his anticipation skills were very good, as he kept on finding openings and even created a few on his own. He was constatntly moving his feet with his head up in the offensive zone, which probably has a lot to do with how hard a shot he has. He’s a very good playmaking defenseman with above-avergae skating ability who makes up for his lack of size with smarts and leg strength.

LW DANILA KARABAN (2016 Draft Eligible/1996): The game began ominously for one of the more consistent Belorussian forwards, as he was cut with a skate in the first period. He rebounded quickly, however, and was the linchpin in Belarus owning a surprising 3-2 lead after 40 minutes. Karaban drew an assist on the first Belorussian goal when he picked up a loose puck in his own end and pushed it out of the zone to initiate a 3-on-2 finished by defenseman Stephen Falkovski. He drew the first of two primary assists when he made a nice deflection on goal off a Falkovski shot, which youngster Yegor Sharangovich stuffed in on the rebound. His final assist of the game was a set up of Goncharov’s one-time goal on the power play.

LHD STEPAN FALKOVSKI (2016 Draft Eligible/1996): Falkovski’s been a busy guy logging top-pairing minutes for a Belorussian team which was constantly pinned in its own end for most of the competition. He had a goal and an assist, but both were the byproduct of aggressiveness and keen awareness of the situation on the ice. In fact, if you watch his assist on Sharangovich’s goal, Falkovski almost slap-passes right into the slot for Karaban to make a perfect deflection on goal. He’s got a late-1996 birthday, and he’s been the Ottawa 67’s top defender through the first half of the season. He can skate well for his size, and his no-nonsense approach to handling the puck away from the safety of his own zone is something to see him do more once he returns to OHL action.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Auston Matthews had two goals and two assists as the United States used eight different goal scorers to cruise to a 10-1 rout of Switzerland in Wednesday’s preliminary round action from the world junior hockey championship in Helsinki.

The United States (2-1) moved ahead of Canada into second place in Group A. Sweden, which defeated the Americans on Monday, clinched the group’s top spot earlier in the day with a 5-0 win over Denmark.

The United States’ rested offense, which was stymied by Sweden in a 1-0 loss, wasted no time against the tired Swiss, who were coming off Tuesday’s emotional 3-2 shootout loss to Canada. Christian Dvorak and Matthews scored 63 seconds apart before the midway point of the first period to give the United States a 2-0 lead. Defenseman Brandon Carlo made it 3-0 at with 9:47 left in the first when his wrist shot floated over the glove of goalie Joren van Pottelberghe, who had played well in the loss to the Canadians. Goals by defenseman Zach Werenski, Matt Tkachuk and Nick Schmaltz closed out a six-goal opening frame and forced van Pottelberghe out of the game.

Tkachuk and Matthews, who are both expected to be top picks in the 2016 draft, each scored their second goal of the game in the second period, and Massachusetts natives Colin White and Ryan Donato each scored a goal to give the United States a commanding 10-1 lead after two.

Werenski, Dvorak and White all finished with a goal and two assists apiece. Tkachuk also chipped in an assist as Team USA had seven players record at least two points, and 11 of 18 skaters with at least one point.

Alex Nedeljkovic made seven saves to pick up the win before he was replaced by Brandon Halverson, who stopped all 20 shots he faced. Team USA went 1 for 7 on the power play. They can clinch second place in their group with a win versus Denmark on Thursday, or if Canada loses to Sweden.

Timo Meier scored the lone goal for the Swiss — the first in four tournament games for the ninth overall pick in last June’s draft. Switzerland is eliminated from the playoff round and must defeat Belarus in the relegation round to receive a return invitation to the 2017 tournament.

United States

C AUSTON MATTHEWS (2016 Draft eligible/1997): It took a little more than two games for Matthews and Matt Tkachuk to rekindle the chemistry they had last year with the NTDP. For whatever reason, they just weren’t on the same page in games against Canada and Sweden, which may in fact be the answer right there — the Swiss don’t defend or prepare like the Canadians and Swedes. Matthews clearly identified this from the onset, as he attacked every gap presented to him. He took an elbow to the head from Timo Meier, and for a second there was concern that he may not return. When he did, however, he set up Tkachuk for a goal off the rush, and everything kind of took off from there. He did have a rare brain fart as he collected a loose puck to the left of his own goal and skated right in front of the net, where the Swiss took control and Meier slam-dunked a centering feed from Nico Hischier. If there was a signature play, it was in the first period when he toyed with Swiss defenseman Marco Forrer for about 10 seconds, going behind-the-back with control of the puck before curling back towards the circle for Tkachuk to tip the puck in.

LW MATT TKACHUK (2016 Draft Eligible/1997): It wasn’t a pretty start to the tournament for Tkachuk, and we already explained that the quality of competition and their familiarity with him probably had something to do with it. Against the Swiss, Tkachuk had an extra gear, as he was attacking the puck and winning his battles. The one constant was Tkachuk’s willingness to get to the net and stay there, which was a problem against the bigger, more mature Swedish defenders. Tkachuk is a world-class playmaker, which almost gets lost when discussing how great a finisher as he is to flank a set-up guy of Matthews’ caliber. Expect much of the same against the Danes on Thursday, but we want to see a big game against a formidable opponent. Today was a good start towards getting there.

C COLIN WHITE (Ottawa 1st/2015): White was the beneficiary of ice time on Team USA’s top line, and he made Ron Wilson look like a genius with a three-point night, including a shorthanded goal. White’s always had a reputation as a clutch player, but he’s doesnt get enough credit for being a team-first workaholic who leads by example. His powerful zone entry followed by a drop pass to Tkachuk led to Auston Matthews’ first goal from in front of the net. On Matthews’ second marker, I’m pretty sure his soft touch pass to Nick Schmaltz from White’s covered slot position to the top of the left circle was completely done on purpose. He later initiated a 2-on-1 while shorthanded, then finished the play off by smacking a wobbly cross-ice feed into the back of the net.

RW BROCK BOESER (Vancouver 1st/2015): Let’s be honest — the Brock Boeser experiment on the top line didn’t go as well as Wilson probably thought it would, as the Vancouver first rounder is having a tough time with shot selection and converting. One assist and six shots on goal through three games isn’t cutting it, and that’s because his play before the tournament was nothing short of exemplary. But in Helsinki (for example), he’s firing pucks into the skates of opponents and staying to the outside of the faceoff circles. Against the Swiss, he played on a line with Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Hitchcock — a trio which made several nice plays, including one where Boeser made a heady flip over the neutral zone to Hitchcock, who won a puck battler to set up Schmaltz for a tap in. Boeser was also robbed of a goal as well, so maybe getting his name on the scoresheet will help him get out of what’s turned out to be a mini scoring funk.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) —Jesse Puljujarvi had a goal and three assists as host Finland exploded for seven goals over the final period and a half and cruised to an 8-3 romp over Slovakia on Wednesday at the world junior hockey championship from Helsinki.

Puljujarvi now leads the tournament in scoring with 10 points in three games. He assisted on Sebastian Aho’s power play goal late in the first period, which began Finland’s comeback from a 2-0 deficit, then fed center Aleksi Saarela in the slot for a power play goal which tied the score at two. Roope Hintz, a Dallas Stars prospect, gave the Finns the lead for good with just 1:38 left in the second period. Puljujarvi scored a goal of his own that opened the scoring of the third period, giving Finland (2-1) a 4-2 lead. He completed his four-point night with an assist on Aho’s second power play goal of the game at 2:41 of the final frame.

Aho finished with two goals and an assist, while Patrik Laine chipped in with a goal and two assists. Kasperi Kapanen and Kasper Bjorkqvist also scored, and defenseman Ville Saarijarvi registered three assists as Finland can clinch second place in Group B with a win over the Czech Republic on Thursday.

The Slovaks jumped out to an early lead in the first period on goals by Matus Sukel and Chicago Blackhawks draftee Radovan Bondra. Patrik Meier also scored for Slovakia (1-2), which finished fourth in the group regardless of the outcome of its match with Russia on Thursday.

Adam Huska, who was a seventh round pick of the New Yrk Rangers in 2015, stopped 39 shots for Slovakia before he was pulled in the third period. Kaapo Kahkonen made 25 saves for the Finns.

Finnish star Teemu Selanne, who will likely be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame following his stellar career in the National Hockey League, had his national team number retired by the Finnish Hockey Federation in a pre-game ceremony.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Oskar Lindblom had a goal and an assist and Sweden used five different goal scorers in a 5-0 win over Denmark on Wednesday at the world junior hockey championship from Helsinki.

Sweden (3-0) clinched first place in Group A as it owns the tiebreaker with the Unites States following their 1-0 win on Monday.

It took just 13 seconds from the opening faceoff for Sweden to grab a lead it would never relinquish. Adrian Kempe, a first round puck of the Los Angeles Kings in 2014, exploded into the Danish zone and fired a shot past goalie Thomas Lillie after Lindblom stole an errant pass in the neutral zone.

Sweden upped its lead to 2-0 when defenseman Gustav Forslingscored a power play goal with 9:38 left in the first period. The Chicago Blackhawks prospect one-timed a pass from Jakob Forsbacka-Karlssonfrom just inside the blue line, beating Lillie clean to the stick side.

The two nations nearly played through a scoreless second period, but Lindblom, a 2014 draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, redirected a pass from defenseman Adam Ollas Mattsson past Lillie with 2:43 left in the frame.

Defenseman William Lagesson and left wing Alex Nylander added goals in the third, with Nylander scoring his team-best sixth point when he converted a centering feed from Rasmus Asplund.

Felix Sandstrom only faced nine shots to record the shutout in his first appearance of the tournament. Lillie stopped 43 shots in defeat for Denmark (1-2), which will finish fourth in the group and likely play Russia when the playoff round begins. The Danes finish their preliminary schedule against the United States on Thursday.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Artur Lauta and Yegor Rykov each scored a goal, and Alex Georgiev stopped 20 shots to lead Russia to a 2-1 win over Slovakia on Thursday in the world junior hockey championship from Helsinki.

Lauta gave the Russians a 1-0 lead with 4:31 remaining in the first period, beating Slovakian goalie Adam Huska with a rebound under the crossbar after a shot from the point was stopped in front. Lauta was named Russia’s Player of the Game afterwards.

Rykov, a defenseman, made it 2-0 when he sneaked in from the point and fired a shot over a sliding Huska at 9:12 of the second period.

Slovakia (1-3) had several chances on the power play throughout the game, and defenseman Christian Jaros, an Ottawa Senators draft pick, cut the deficit to 2-1 when his shot from the left point beat Georgiev with 4:10 left in the second. That was as close as Slovakia would get however, and its attempt to pull Huska for an extra attacker was hampered by a tripping penalty on Adrian Sloboda with 1:24 left in regulation.

Russia clinched first place in Group B and will play Denmark from Group A when the quarterfinals begin on Saturday. Slovakia finished fourth in Group B and will face Sweden in the quarterfinals, also on Saturday.

Russia

RW KIRILL KAPRIZOV (Minnesota 5th/2015): Kaprizov has flown under the radar this tournament because Russia (like most teams) can roll three scoring lines. He’s shown chemistry with undrafted puck wizard Andrei Svetlakov, and against the Slovaks, it was Kaprizov who stood out thanks to speed and a soft set of hands. Although he didn’t register a point in what was a tightly-played affair, Kaprizov had several quality chances. He just missed tucking one under the crossbar from in close in the first period, and later beat his defender to the net to receive a pass from Artur Lauta and force Adam Huska into making a great save. He’s one of Russia’s younger forwards in Helsinki, but he’s been one of its better forwards

LHD YEGOR RYKOV (2016 Draft Eligible/1997): Rykov was rewarded for his fine two-way play with added minutes and a spot on Russia’s top power play unit. He’s been its most aggressive defender from an offensive standpoint after Ivan Provorov, and his ability to read plays and not overcommit has worked out well for him in a tournament where most of the better chances come off of turnovers. He also made a strong move by sneaking in left circle and finding Alexander Polunin at the far post before Huska robbed him with a nice save.

RW ARTUR LAUTA (2016 Draft Eligible/1996): We’ve viewed Lauta over 20 times this year, and not once did we ever see him give up on a play or take a shift for granted. Against Slovakia was no different, except he showcased more skill than grit. The goal he scored from the top of the crease had an extrememly high degree of difficulty since the only place to puck the puck was up and over a 6’4 goalie who was inches away from him. Well, that’s exactly what Lauta did for his second goal of the tournament. In the second period, he combined with Provorov for a nice rush up the ice, then threaded the needle with a perfect cross-ice pass to a streaking Kaprizov, who turned the play into a mini breakaway. He’s a double-overager and by a lot (February, 1996 birthday), but he’s having as solid a tournament as any role player can have.

G ALEXANDER GEORGIEV (2016 Draft Eligible/1996): He beat the Czechs in a literal shootout, the Finns in a figurative shootout and now he stymied the Slovaks to improve to 3-0. He’s a technically sound goalie who stays on his feet and doesn’t like to wander, making it difficult to beat him from the angles where the Russians have been keeping their opponents. He improved to 3-0, but has only faced about 80 shots over a combined four games. He comes across as the perfect goalie for the kind of system the Russians employ, but keep in mind that he struggled the one time he faced a team (Finland) who made him earn his paycheck.

Slovakia

G ADAM HUSKA (New York Rangers 7th/2015): Huska rebounded from a tough loss to the Finns which looked as if they were going to have him steal one in front of their own fans. He was far less busy against Russia, but the quality of the chances he faced were still significant. His overall record fell to 1-3, but he’s faced 133 shots in his four starts and has a solid .900 save percentage. He looks like a really intense competitor when he’s on the ice, so don’t let the boyish looks fool you. Huska keeps himself involved no matter where the puck is, and he’s incredibly quick to his feet to reset after an initial shot attempt. He’s going to face Sweden in the quarterfinals, and don’t be surprised when the score is close.

RHD CHRISTIAN JAROS  (Ottawa 5th/2015) Jaros took on a real leadership role in a tough game as the Slovaks had difficulty generating offense in the face of stiff Russian resistance. Jaros was involved in all three zones and scored a goal on a heavy shot from the point. Both he and partner Erik Cernak were eating up all the minutes, and it will be interesting to see him matched up against Swedes he’s familiar with from the SHL.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Auston Matthews and Sonny Milano each had a goal and an assist as the United States defeated Denmark 4-1 on Thursday at the world junior hockey championship in Helsinki.

The United States (3-1) clinched second place in Group A behind Sweden, and will face the loser of today’s game between the Czech Republic and Finland in the quarterfinal round beginning Saturday. Brandon Halverson, a second round pick of the New York Rangers in 2014, stopped 16 of 17 shots to pick up the win. Team USA outshot the Danes 44-17. Denmark (1-3) finished fourth and and will meet Russia,

Matthews, who had two goals and two assists on Wednesday to lead the United States to a 10-1 thrashing of Switzerland, tied the score 1-1 with 2:56 left in the first period after he hammered a centering pass from Colin White into the net. Milano gave them them a 2-1 lead for good when he tapped in a loose puck to the left of Danish goalie Mathias Seldrup at 4:02 of the second period.

Matthews picked up an assist when his shot from the point was tipped in by Matt Tkachuk at 5:40 of the third. Milano, a Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick, helped close out the scoring at 7:43 of the final frame when his pass to Anders Bjork was redirected past Seldrup.

Both Matthews and Tkachuk are both eligible for the 2016 NHL draft, with Matthews currently the consensus top pick. Matthews, an Arizona native who plays professionally in Switzerland, finished the preliminary round with a team-best four goals and four assists in four games.

United States

LW SONNY MILANO (Columbus 1st/2014): Milano smartened his game up after some questionable decisions with the puck since the tournament began. He also took the puck to the net, which he wasn’t doing during Team USA’s first three games. The amount of skill this kid has is apparent at first glance, and we don’t just mean his stickhandling. Milano has very good vision — the question is why he fails to use it consistently. He can be the best player on the ice when he applies himself, and we saw that against Denmark. His set up to Bjork was an indicator of his hockey sense, as he bypassed the option to shoot a low-percentage shot with a shot/pass to the low slot for a deflection.

LHD ZACH WERENSKI (Columbus 1st/2015): You can make the argument that Werenski went from being Team USA’s least reliable skater in 2015 to its best this year in Helsinki. He didn’t figure in the scoring against the Danes, but he unloaded six shots on goal (17 in four games) and needed Seldrup to make an outstanding save to rob him of what would have been his third goal of the competition. Games like today makes you understand why some thought Werenski was (and still is) the best defenseman in terms of upside from the 2015 draft. He movements are fluid, his passes are on the tape, and his rushes up the ice are reminiscent of a wide receiver dancing around flat-footed defenders.

C AUSTON MATTHEWS (2016 Draft Eligible/1997): It’s bad news for the rest of the competition now that Matthews has gotten into his comfort zone. I mean, it’s not like he ever left it to begin with, but he toyed with the Danes the same way he schooled the Swiss. His positioning is amazing for somebody who wants the puck on his at all times. It’s no coincidence that there wasn’t a shift in either the Swiss game or today where he didn’t touch the puck and keep it for an extended period of time. Great players can think two and three (sometimes four and five)  plays ahead of the action, and Matthews is clearly this tournament’s most clairvoyant. He’s recorded a multi-point game in three of the first four contests.

RHD LOUIE BELPEDIO (Minnesota 3rd/2014): Belpedio is a very good offensive player who has displayed creativity and patience. The other side of the puck has been trying, as he’s been guilty of forcing passes and missing assignments. His turnover — as brutal as you can get — led to Denmark’s only goal, but a critical opening goal nonetheless. He settled down thereafter, and picked up his first assist of the tournament on Milano’s go-ahead tally. Brandon Fortunato is a similar player to Belpedio but has looked far more comfortable in his own end than the latter.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Jesse Puljujarvi scored two goals and Patrik Laine scored a tie-breaking power play goal with 5:57 left in the third period as host Finland defeated the Czech Republic, 5-4, at the world junior hockey championship in Helsinki.

With Czech left wing Simon Stransky off for a high sticking penalty, Laine, Finland’s sharpshooting right wing considered to be one of the top picks for the 2016 NHL draft, fired a blistering wrist shot from the high slot over goalie Vítek Vaněček’s outstretched glove with 5:47 left. Laine is tied for third in the tournament with four goals and eight points.

The back-and-forth affair saw the Czech Republic (2-1-1) and Finland (3-1) combine for five goals in the second periods following a scoreless first. Puljujarvi, also one of the top draft-eligible prospects, opened the scoring 57 seconds into the second period when he took a feed from Sebastian Aho and beat Vaněček low to the glove side. Puljujarvi has recorded at least two points in each of his four games. His 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) leads the tournament through the preliminary round.

The Czechs responded with two goals in a 1:46 span, beginning with Jiri Smejkal firing a shot over goalie Veini Vehvilainen’s glove at 2:22. Jan Ordos made it 2-1 at 6:08 when he was left alone at the side of the net for a tap in.

The Finns answered back with two goals of their own, as Roope Hintz, a Dallas Stars prospect, converted a defensive-zone turnover by Tomas Soustal to tie the score 2-2 at the 8:06 mark of the second, and center Antti Kalapudas one-timed a power play goal just past the midway point of the frame which gave Finland a 3-2 lead.

Czech defenseman David Sklenicka completed a nice rush up the ice with a hard shot past Vehvilainen with just 33 seconds left, tying the score 3-3 heading into the third period. Michael Spacek gave the Czechs a 4-3 lead at 8:37 of the third, but Puljujarvi responded to tie the score with a power play goal less than two minutes later.

Aho and defenseman Olli Juolevi each finished with two assists for Finland, which clinched second place in Group B and will face Canada in the quarterfinal on Saturday. Juolevi leads all defenseman in scoring with six assists in four games. The Czech Republic will play the United States — Group A’s second-place team — on Saturday. Boston Bruins prospect David Pastrnak had two assists, and New Jersey Devils draftee Pavel Zacha picked up an assist in his return to the lineup after missing two games with a lower-body injury.

Vehvilainen struggled but stopped 31 shots to pick up the win. Vanecek, who gave up only four games in his previous three games, made 22 saves in defeat.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Alexander Nylander had a goal and an assist as Sweden completed a perfect preliminary round with a 5-2 win over Canada on Thursday at the world junior hockey championship.

Nylander has picked up the slack on offense for Sweden (4-0) after his older brother William was knocked out of the tournament with an upper-body injury in last week’s opener against Switzerland. The 2016 NHL draft prospect’s two-point effort moved him into a three-way tie in tournament scoring with eight points (3 goals, 5 assists).

His power play goal at 4:37 into the game gave Sweden a 1-0 lead. Nylander helped increase it to 2-0 when he drew the primary assist on defenseman Gustav Forsling’s goal with Canada down two men at the 7:08 mark.

A rebound goal by Mitchell Stephens with 4:09 left in the first got Canada (2-2) within 2-1, but Sweden’s Adrian Kempe restored its two-goal advantage with a power play goal with under seven minutes left in the second.

Sweden’s Anton Karlsson and Canada’s Mitch Marner traded goals in the third period, and Rasmus Asplund completed the scoring with an empty-net goal. Asplund and Kempe each had one assist. Kempe registered a game-high 10 shots on goal.

Linus Soderstrom stopped 21 shots for Sweden before he was replaced by Felix Sandstrom in the third period. Sweden finished in first place in Group A and will face Slovakia when the quarterfinals begin on Saturday.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves in defeat for Canada, which finished third in Group A — it’s worst preliminary round finish since it went 2-2 and lost to the Russians in the medal round in 1998.

Sweden

C ADRIAN KEMPE (Los Angeles 1st/2014): We were waiting for this stud to have a breakout game, but his pedestrian tournament before today’s game is understandable when you consider he was rocked by an illegal check in the Switzerland contest. Kempe was a beast in all three zones against a very aggressive (and seemingly desperate) Canadian squad, but he handled the pressure well and placed himself in the right position throughout. He was named the game’s top player, finishing with a goal from a nice snipe and an assist, plus a game-best 10 shots on goal. he’s got good size, but his speed is what made him a real pain to deal with, at least from a Canadian point of view. Kempe has had a very good season in the AHL, so it’s nice to see him do just as well in the  most publicized game of the preliminary round.

LW ALEXANDER NYLANDER (2016 Draft Eligible/1998): Are there enough superlatives to describe how awesome a tournament this kid is having? It’s gotten to the point where some coach has to decide whether or not to go old school and place a shadow on him. Nylander finished with a goal and an assist, and he’s become the linchpin to the Swedish offense. He scored his goal off a rebound, but it wasn’t your ordinary tap-in — Nylander had to deal with a sliding Mackenzie Blackwood and literally put the puck exactly where it needed to go. Too often you see plays shoot it back towards the center of the open net in order to avoid missing it completely. Not Nylander. This sniper has a ton of confidence in his shot, and he’d be the best goal scorer available in 2016 had it not been for Patrik Laine’s skill set.

RW CARL GRUNDSTROM (2016 Draft eligible/1997): Grundstrom’s tournament has been pretty nondescript when you consider he was one of the SHL’s top young performers and had done well in previous U20 competitions. The effort is certainly there — he’s known for hustling and bustling shift in and shift out. It looks like a simple case of being snakebitten, as he’s goaltenders have robbed him of at least three goals this tournament. We truly think that he shouldn’t change a thing because when you bust your tail and position yourself properly, the good things will begin to reflect on the scoresheet. He did, however, get destroyed by Mitch Marner of all people (even though the hit looked massively illegal). He took two minor penalties and didn’t get a shot on goal, so there’s good bet he’ll be more assertive on Saturday against an inferior Slovakian team.

Canada

LW BRENDAN PERLINI (Arizona 1st/2014): It’s time for Perlini to start acting and playing like a leader for a Canadian squad bereft of somebody to count on. He’s missed so many quality chances that it’s disconcerting. The tournament is four games old, and we’ve been coming over film to try to find more than a handful of shifts where Perlini was influencing play. To us, he’s a goal scorer who needs people feeding him the puck, and it’s just not happening in Helsinki. has he gotten himself in good shooting position? Absolutely. The issue has been the extra effort where a player realizes he’s going to need to take a stick to the face or a chop to the small of the back in order for him to contribute. We haven’t seen that, and the stats back it up.

RW MITCH MARNER (Toronto 1st/2015): We applaud Marner for owning up to the mess that’s gone on in the preliminary round. And while the popular opinion is that he’s a big part of it, we don’t necessarily see it that way. Marner has been every bit of the puck magician we see on a nightly basis in the OHL. The problem is that critics don’t want to admit that the OHL can’t defend Marner with rosters chock full of blue-chip prospects like Sweden and the United States can.Sure, he’s made his share of bad passes (especially those drop passes to nobody in particular). But this kid is a warrior, and he was one of the few Canadians to show up against Sweden. Not only did he obliterate the larger Carl Grundstrom, but he tried to mount a comeback when he stepped into an absolute bomb that beat Felix Sandstrom where momma hides the pignoli cookies. In our view, he’s one of the only guys head coach Dave Lowry can count on to provide offense. And the fact that he’s second on team scoring with four points in four games says way more about Canada’s paltry depth scoring than it does about one of their best players.

RW TRAVIS KONECNY (Philadelphia 1st/2015): If there’s one kid in the Team Canada dressing room you just know is not sleeping at night, it’s probably Konecny, as he’s poured every ounce of sweat into his shifts, especially when his team needs a pick-me-up. Konecny has thrown bone-crushing hits, blocked shots, busted his tail to avoid icings, taken sticks to the head, drawn penalties and tried his best to change the momentum.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Vladislav Kamenev scored in overtime after tying the game in the final minute of regulation as Russia rallied to beat Denmark 4-3 on Saturday to advance to the world junior hockey championship semifinals.

Kamenev, a Nashville Predators prospect, took a centering feed in the slot from defenseman Ivan Provorov and beat goalie Thomas Lillie at the five minute mark of overtime. Kamanev forced the extra session with just 44 seconds left in the third after he gathered the rebound from an Artur Lauta shot and fired it past Lillie.

The Danes took a 2-1 lead into the third period on the strength of second-period goals by Markus Jensen and Thomas Olsen. Jensen beat Lauta for positioning in front of the net before banging home a centering feed from Jeppe Holmberg.

The Danes increased their lead to 2-1 at 9:20 when Georgiev steered Kristian Jensen’s seemingly harmless shot from left circle right to the stick of Olsen, who eluded defenseman Nikita Zhuldikov and hammered home his first goal of the tournament.

Lauta tied it 2-2 with 7:29 left in the third when he converted a pass from center Alexander Dergachyov.

Emil Christiansen’s backhand goal past Russian goalie Alexander Georgiev Georgiev just over two minutes later gave Denmark the lead again at 3-2 before Kamanev tied it with Georgiev off for an extra attacker. Georgiev finished with 18 saves.

Yegor Korshkov’s goal early in the first period gave Russia a 1-0 lead. Korshkov, a 19-year-old center for Lokamotiv in the Russia’s Kontanental Hockey League, scored his first goal of the tournament when he collected a rebound off the end boards and tucked it past Lillie.

Provorov, who the Philadelphia Flyers chose seventh overall in the 2015 draft, finished with two assists. Russia (5-0) outshot Denmark 46-21, including 25-6 over the final period and overtime. It will play the winner of today’s quarterfinal game between the United States and the Czech Republic.

Denmark (1-4) had its highest finish of its four all-time tournament appearances.

Swiss (@SwissIceHockey) captain @MeierTimo talked with us after the relegation-round game vs. Belarus. #WorldJuniors https://t.co/9OXuawXnQQ

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) January 2, 2016

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Timo Meier and Denis Malgin each had a goal and two assists to lead Switzerland to a 5-1 win over Belarus on Saturday in the relegation round of the world junior hockey championship from Helsinki.

Switzerland (1-4) can earn a berth in next year’s tournament with a win over Belarus on Sunday.

Dmitri Buinitski gave Belarus (0-5) a 1-0 lead on the power play at 1:59 of the first period. Swiss defenseman and Washington Capitals prospect Jonas Siegenthaler was whistled for slashing just thirty seconds into the game, and Buinitski cashed in by beating goalie Joren van Potelberghe for his first goal of the tournament.

Noah Road tied the score at one at 6:36 of the first, and Meier set up second period goals by Malgin and Damian Riat which gave Switzerland a 3-1 lead heading into the third. Julien Privet made it 4-1 with 8:55 left in the game, and Meier, a first round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2015, closed out the scoring with a power play goal in the game’s final minutes.

Malgin, drafted by the Florida Panthers in the fourth round last June, finished the tournament with a team-best five assists and six points.

The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for the Swiss, who nearly upset Canada before losing 3-2 in a shootout. Van Pottelberghe made 21 saves to pick up the win.

Ivan Kulbakov stopped 37 of 42 shots in defeat. Belarus must win each of the next two games against Switzerland in order to win the relegation round and qualify for the next year’s world juniors in Canada.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Adrian Kempe and Jens Looke each had a goal and an assist as Sweden used six different goal scorers to eliminate Slovakia and advance to the seminals of the world junior hockey championship.

Sweden (5-0), winners of Group A, held a 56-17 shot advantage over the Slovaks, who last year upset the Swedes in the bronze medal game.

Joel Eriksson-Ek opened the scoring at 5:10 of the first period when he beat goalie Adam Huska with a wrist shot just under the crossbar.

Oskar Lindblom made it 2-0 on the power play with 8:25 left in the first. The Philadelphia Flyers prospect scored after Huska stopped an Axel Holmstrom’s deflection off Kempe’s initial shot but could not control the rebound.

Looke and Christopher Ehn made it 3-0 when the duo combined for a pretty goal midway through the second. The Swedes rushed up and and End made a behind-the-back pass to Looke at the sode of the net for an easy tap-in.

Kempe has had a strong tournament since he suffered an injury against Switzerland in the tournament opener the day after Christmas. He increased the lead to 4-0 in the third period when he corralled a pass in the high slot and fired a quick shot over Huska’s blocker.

Looke was credited for a goal at 5:36 of the third when his shot from inside the blue line caromed off the end boards and deflected in off of Huska’s as he faced the opposite direction. Alexander Nylander capped the scoring with 3:03 left in the game after he blistered a shot from the left circle over Huska’s right shoulder.

Linus Soderstrom stopped all 17 shots en route to posting his second shutout of the tournament. Sweden will meet rival Finland in the semifinals on Monday.

Huska, who appeared in all five of Slovakia’s games, made 49 saves. The New York Rangers draft pick faced a tournament-high 188 shots.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) — Pius Suter had a natural hat trick and Denis Malgin chipped in three assists as Switzerland beat Belarus 6-2 on Sunday to win the relegation round of the world junior hockey championship from Helsinki.

Switzerland (2-3-1) is now qualified to participate among the world’s top 10 teams in next year’s competition, which will be held in Montreal and Toronto. Belarus (0-6) will compete in a lower division, replaced by Latvia in group play for next year.

Suter, who returned to Switzerland after he played two seasons with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League, scored his first two goals just nine seconds apart early in the first period to give the Swiss a 2-0 lead. He converted a rebound on a power play at 3:41, then rushed down the wing and beat Belorussian goalie Ivan Kulbakov ay 3:50 for his second of the game. He completed his three-goal game with 7:17 left in the first, and his first two tallies tied a record set by former NHL star Dave Gagner in 1983 for the fastest two goals scored by the same player.

Malgin, a fourth round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2015, finished the tournament as the team’s leading scorer in both assists (8) and points (9). He has 16 points in 12 career tournament games.

Belarus staged a short rally late in the first period. Dmitri Buinitski got the Belorussians on the board with 4:40 left, and Dmitri Filippovich made it 3-2 84 seconds later when he beat Swiss netminder Joren van Pottelberghe with a shot over his glove during a power play.

Noah Rod, a San Jose Sharks prospect, restored Switzerland’s two-goal lead with a power play goal at 8:18 of the second period. It was Rod’s fourth goal of the tournament. Calvin Thurkauf and Dario Meyer added scores of their own to close out the scoring for the Swiss, who outshot the Belorussians 44-23.

Van Pottelberghe made 21 saves to pick up the win. Kulbakov stopped 39 of 44 shots in defeat.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) – Antii Kalapudas scored the go-ahead goal in the second period as Finland advanced to the title game in the world junior hockey championship for the second time in three years, beating rival Sweden 2-1 on Monday.

The Finns will meet either Russia or the United States in Tuesday’s gold medal game. The United States advanced to the semifinals after beating the Czech Republic 7-0, while Russia rallied to defeat Denmark in overtime, 4-3.

Sweden was in control of the game and took a 1-0 lead into the second period, but Finland gained momentum following a string of power play opportunities. Finland took the lead for good when Kalapudas got the puck just inside the right faceoff circle and beat goalie Linus Soderstrom with a wrist shot with 6:56 left in the second period. It was the first time Sweden trailed at any point of their six tournament games.

The Finns tied the score at one earlier in the frame just as a minor penalty to Sweden’s Adrian Kempe had expired. Roope Hintz, a Dallas Stars prospect, converted a centering feed from Mikko Rantanen right on Soderstrom’s doorstep with 8:52 to go in the second.

Sweden (5-1) cruised through the preliminary round to win Group A and trounced Slovakia in the quarterfinals, but managed only
Rasmus Asplund opened the scoring for Sweden with 9:43 left in the first period. Asplund, one of Sweden’s top prospects for the 2016 NHL draft who filled in after teammate William Nylander was knocked out of the tournament with an apparent head injury, tapped a backhand feed from Dmytro Timashov past Finnish goalie Kaapo Kahkonen for a 1-0 lead.

Rantanen, who the Colorado Avalanche selected in the first round in last June’s draft, and Kasperi Kapanen each had two assists. Star prospects Jesse Puljujarvi and Patrik Laine were held without a point for the first time in the competition.
Kahkonen finished with 21 saves. Soderstrom made 26 stops in defeat but made several key saves to keep the game close.

Sweden

C CHRISTOFFER EHN (Detroit 4th/2014): A speedy checker who was relegated to the fourth line the entire tournament, Ehn had several chances in limited time but didn’t score. He’s struggling to put up points for Frolunda, where he’s also used in a depth role. But he’s got good size and excellent speed, which makes him a very good option to single-handedly carry the puck into the offensive zone. It looked like he had a good tournament considering the way he was used.

RW DMYTRO TIMASHOV (Toronto 5th/2015): Timashov never missed a beat after William Nylander went down in the opener, and against Finland, he was leaned on to be the guy to make plays out of nothing. He made a gorgeous backhand pass to the side of the net for a wide-open Rasmus Asplund to slam home. But where we were most impressed was the manner in which he controlled the puck in tight spaces and avoided painting himself into a corner. The kid is the complete package once you get him into the offensive zone, as he can take punishment and still emerge with the puck with some room to work with.

C RASMUS ASPLUND (2016 Draft eligible/1997): His quest for gold may be over, but Asplund did his part and then some after being one of the younger Swedish players on the roster. He was supposed to be a bottom-six two-way center for Sweden in the tournament, but it would shock us if Asplusnd doesn’t return to Farjestad and anchor one of its top two lines. He scored another goal today – that’s four in six games – after being the beneficiary of a gorgeous set-up from Timashov.

Finland

C MIKKO RANTANEN (Colorado 1st/2015): You couldn’t have scripted it any better from a coach’s point of view: top line gets shut down, second and third lines carry the play. Rantanen was surprisingly flying under the radar thanks to the Puljujarvi-Laine show, as he was far from the dominant player he was at last year’s event. But one thing you can always count on Reantatnen for is strong board play and using his size – both which came into play on the two goals he set up. He had his head up when he curled and fired a pass to Roope Hintz for his tap-in, and made as heady a play you can when he dished to Kalapudas from behind the net, then set up the screen on the eventual game-winner. Rantanen also made another nice set-up to Hintz which Linus Soderstrom smothered and took a nudge into the Finnish bench from Jens Looke. It was his best game of the tournament thus far.

LW KASPERI KAPANEN (Toronto): Kapanen’s been excellent since the tournament began, as he’s shown speed, vision, strength and tenacity. He’s always been the kind of player where he can go stretches without being noticed, but playing a support role to Finland’s ridiculous top line of Patrik Laine-Sebastian Aho-Jesse Puljujarvi has served him well. He’ll likely never be a star, but his time in the American Hockey League with the Toronto Marlies has certainly helped him develop into a useful winger with a lot more skill than your average depth player.

RW JESSE PULJUJARVI (2016 Draft eligible/1998): Sweden was clearly determined to shut down Finland’s top line at even strength, and it actually paid dividends as they were in control of the game until the unforced penalties were called. Puljujarvi showed flashes of speed and strength, but he was kept to the outside and his timing was a hair off. His best chance came during a 2-on-1 break when Aho feathered a pass for a one-timer which Puljujarvi shanked. Still, he’s having a memorable tournament which hopefully gets him going for Karpat when he returns to Liiga action.

RW PATRIK LAINE (2016 Draft eligible/1998): Laine pulled a Joe Namath before the game by guaranteeing a win over the Swedes, but he was more of a passenger once the puck dropped. He was deliberate with the puck during cycles, and it’s impressive how he can curl away from the wall into one of the circles, cocked and ready for a one-timer. Nevertheless, he had only one shot on goal in his only weak game of the competition, which says a lot because the Finns controlled play for the last two periods and still won without contributions from its best line. Still, Laine has had an outstanding tournament, and his most recent international numbers are staggering – he has 14 goals in 12 games between last April’s U18’s and the U20’s.

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) – Yegor Korshkov had two points, including the go-ahead goal late in the second period as Russia advanced to the finals of the world junior hockey championship with a 2-1 victory over the Unites States on Monday.

Russia, which needed a late rally and overtime on Saturday to beat lowly Denmark, meets host Finland on Tuesday to try and win its first gold medal at the tournament since 2011. Russia (5-1) is guaranteed of at least a silver medal, making it six straight years it finished as one of the top three teams. The Finns beat Sweden 2-1 earlier in the day in the other semifinal.

Ilya Samsonov stopped 26 shots in beating the Americans (4-2). The Washington Capitals prospect was a surprise starter over Alexander Georgiev, who started in goal in four of Russia’s previous five wins.

The Russians (6-0) controlled play for most of the game but trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes. Christian Dvorak, a draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes, opened the scoring at 9:03 of the second period when he banged home a centering feed from Sonny Milano.

The Americans sat on their lead and had to kill several penalties, including a two-minute 5-on-3 power play where Russia forced goalie Alex Nedeljkovic to make a handful of spectacular saves. The Russians kept attacking, however, and broke through with 4:52 remaining in the second. Korshkov and Pavel Kraskovski battled for a loose puck at the edge of the crease until Kraskovski poked it past Nedeljkovic.

Korshkov broke the 1-1 tie less than three minutes later after he spun away from defenseman Zach Werenski and stuffed the puck between the near post and Nedeljkovic’s left skate. The Russians took a lead into the third period and held their ground, keeping the Americans to the outside and allowing Samsonov to see shots cleanly as they came.

Nedeljkovic, who allowed two goals or fewer in each of his five starts, made 31 saves in defeat. The Russians outshot the Americans 33-27. Auston Matthews, the star prospect who many expect to be the first overall pick in the NHL draft, was held off the scoresheet but can tie an American single-tournament record if he scores his eighth goal in Tuesday’s bronze medal game against Sweden.

Russia

C YEGOR KORSHKOV  (2016 Draft eligible/1996): Korshkov has sure had one heck of a tournament, even if the Russians were a cat whisker away from losing to Denmark in the quarterfinals. He’s been one of their best decision-making forwards from the onset, and his spin-o-rama and subsequent bull rush to the cage for the go-ahead goal speak volumes about his hockey sense. These weren’t your grandaddy’s Russians – they beat you by grinding you down and sweeping you aside. Korshkov may be a double-overage prospect who is very comfortable playing in the KHL, but he’s mature in body and mind, and that should count for something this offseason.

G ILYA SAMSONOV  (Washinton 1st/2015): Samsonov was not expected to start aginas the Americians, especially after Alewxander Georgiev had played very well up until the Denmark nail biter. Samsonov may have looked erratic and out of sorts in an easy win over Belarus. But he’s done well in the past against the United States, including a 49-save performance in a 3-1 win last April at the U18’s. His right pad save in the final minute kept the game from going to overtime. He was on point today in a game with far more significance. For starters, He avoided venturing far from his net and fixating on pucks to his rear. His rebound control was excellent as well.

LW KIRILL KAPRIZOV  (Minnesota 5th/2015): Whirling winger with a game-high nine shots on goal. It means something when an you get picked to represent your country, and Kaprizov has been sturdy all tournament long without the stats to validate how integral a piece he’s been. He’s one of coach Valeri Bragin’s more reliable puck carriers into the offensove zone, and even drew a penalty. He’s developed a bit of a repuation in the KHL for late-game heroics, so keep an eye on him in the final against Finland if the game is tied or close to it.

United States

G ALEX NEDELJKOVIC  (Carolina 2nd/2014): There are several positives for the Americans to take away from Helsinki, but Nedeljkovc’s play has to be on the top of the list. His performance against the Canadians in the opener set the tone for what turned out to be an outstanding Christmas break – Nedeljkovic allowed two goals or less in each of his five starts, posting a .949 save percentage. He even channeled Dominik Hasek with a sprawling right-pad kick with a yawning net to his rear. He made one mistake – a big one – on the Korshkov goal as he had the option to either poke check or remain tight to the left post rather than cheat towards the middle. Regardless, we’ve already discussed how technically superior he generally is, and a pre-WJC trade from Flint (OHL) to Niagara has already paid dividends.

LHD ZACH WERENSKI  (Columbus 1st/2015): Werenski picked a dandy of a time to have his worst game of the tournament, as he reverted to the kind of defensive zone play which made last year’s WJC opponents attack towards his direction. The Russians are clever, knowing full well how to exploit a weakness in the enemy’s battle plan. Werenski made some goofy plays with the puck, and the way he handled both goals against is worthy of a lengthy session in the video room. The good news? He was otherwise phenomenal as Team USA’s blueline gunslinger, and at times we felt he was even better in his own end than defensive-minded partner Brandon Carlo. Is he ready for the pro game? We think he’ll be better off waiting at least another season. He picked up another assist, giving him eight points in five games.

RHD CHARLIE MCAVOY (2016 Draft eligible/1997): McAvoy was thrust into a familiar situation, albeit on the biggest stage of his young career. We think the Boston University rearguard handled the pressure of his first WJC extremely well, and was counted on for some big minutes in crunch time. You may not have seen it often in Helsinki, but there’s an explosive element to McAvoy’s game, and the Russians have bene shutting down those types (not named Puljujarvi, Aho or Laine) all tournament long. We’re expecting McAvoy’s game to take off once he’s back in Beantown, as the Terriers like to play a run and gun game without the threat of the Russian defensive machine getting in its way. We give both McAvoy and former NTDP teammate LHD CHAD KRYS high marks for handling the crown jewel of pre-draft tournaments with aplomb

Box Score

New York (The Draft Analyst) – Matt Tkachuk, Ryan Donato and Anders Bjork scored two goals apiece and the United States claimed the bronze medal on Tuesday, beating Sweden 8-3 at the world junior hockey championship from Helsinki.

The United States, losers to Russia in Monday’s semifinal, finished 5-2 with a tournament-best 34 goals in seven games. Sweden, which beat the Americans 1-0 in the preliminary round, was undefeated heading into yesterday’s match with Finland before dropping a 2-1 decision.

It was the fourth time the U.S. won a medal in the last six tournaments after only earning five in the previous 32.

Bjork opened the scoring midway through the first period with a put-back after Christian Dvorak’s initial backhander was stopped by goalie Felix Sandstrom. Tkachuk, set up by Zach Werenski and Schmaltz, made it 2-0 on a power play with 4:28 left in the period. Werenski fired a hard wrist shot from the blue line that Tkachuk deflected past Sandstrom.

Sweden rallied with two goals in 55 seconds to knot the score 2-2. Defenseman William Lagesson, an Edmonton Oilers prospect, charged the American net and knocked in an Adrian Kempe centering feed behind goalie Alex Nedeljkovic. Carl Grundstrom, who is one of Sweden’s top prospects for next year’s NHL draft, scored the tying goal as he too went to the net and converted a cross-ice pass from Joel Eriksson Ek. It was Grundstrom’s first and only point in seven tournament games.

Tkachuk, son of former NHL all-star Keith Tkachuk, added an assist on Brock Boeser’s go-ahead goal at 2:17 of the second period. Donato completed a 3-on-2 at 4:06 of the second to make it 4-2, and Bjork scored his second of the game and third of the tournament with 3:29 left. Defenseman Brandon Carlo added the final goal of the period when he took a pass from Schmaltz on a 2-on-1 and beat Sandstrom right under the crossbar.

Donato gave the U.S. a 7-2 lead 3:38 into the third when he corralled a loose puck in the slot from a dump in and backhanded a shot under Sandstrom. Tkachuk increased it to 8-2 off a 2-on-1 with Schmaltz, who fed him a perfect pass over a defender’s stick before Tkachuk rifled it through Sandstrom. Tkachuk finished in a three-way tie in overall tournament scoring with 11 points.

Axel Holmstrom added a late goal for Sweden, which became the first team to score more than two goals against Nedeljkovic, who finished with 35 saves. Still, it was an unfulfilling tournament for the Swedes, who have a 36-game winning streak in group play since 2007 but have failed to win the gold medal in eight of those tournaments.

United States

LW MATT TKACHUK (2016 Draft eligible/1997): It’s hard for a teenager his size to sneak up on you. But when all was said and done for the Americans in Helsinki, Tkachuk finished as one of the tournament’s top scorers. His in-your-face style gave the Swedes fits, as they had no answer for his occupation of the low slot. And it’s not as if the Swedes had Smurfs matched up against him – Tkachuk was truly a load to handle for Sweden’s bigger defensemen. He didn’t have a memorable tournament via one play, goal or game, but he proved he belonged and then some.

C NICK SCHMALTZ (Chicago 1st/2014): Schmaltz had an excellent tournament as Team USA’s second line center, finishing with two goals and six assists in seven games. He was consistently productive in the wins, and a bit of a no-show in the two losses. What’s most impressive about Schmaltz is how calm he is with the puck. It looked as if he never got caught up in the moment, and the touch and precision he showed while setting up scores on two odd-man rushes validated what we saw in other situations. He tried his best all tournament long to get buddy Brock Boeser on the scoresheeet, but in the end, he tried to make everybody around him better.

RHD BRANDON CARLO (Boston 2nd/2015): Carlo had a very good tournament, as he finished tied for fourth in scoring among defenseman with four points, and was second to teammate Zach Werenski with a plus-9 rating. Team USA only gave up 10 goals the entire tournament, and Carlo had a hand in that. He made a nice recovery pass to Ryan Donato for a tap-in goal, and went right up the middle on a 3-on-1 to roof a feed from Schmaltz. Carlo says he models his game after New York Rangers’ defenseman Mark Staal (we’re guessing pre-2011 Marc Staal), and we see some similarities.