Quantcast
Channel: McKeen’s Hockey – McKeen's Hockey
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 1870

2018 WJC in Review: Sweden

$
0
0

The 2018 WJC provided promising steps for the Swedish development program. First, for an impressive eleventh WJC in a row, they won all four preliminary games. Most importantly, in the playoffs they beat a North American team (USA) in North America in an elimination game (the semifinal), which has been sort of unheard of for Sweden at this stage for many years. When Sweden won gold in Calgary 2012 they did not face North American opposition on their journey to the gold. This time, Sweden met the other North American team, Canada, in the final and lost to a game winning goal scored with 100 seconds left of an evenly fought game that could have ended up either way.

Why has Sweden been having such trouble beating North American opposition, especially in North America? Well, the obvious reason is that Sweden is a smaller hockey country and in age group tournaments that always makes a huge difference. That is not the whole answer though since Sweden for so long has dominated in the preliminary round. I saw two areas of Sweden’s game that were improved from earlier years.

Sweden were stronger on the puck as they picked a team with many hard working speedy players who were taken over skilled/big not-super-speedy players. Sweden got strong efforts from their third and fourth lines on that part and scored two shorthanded goals in the semifinal and another one in the final. They seemed to more often have the upper hand on winning loose pucks and controlling the tempo of the game with high pressure of the opposition diminishing their space. Sweden’s number one PK-unit did not have a single player standing six feet tall but still neutralized the best power play in the tournament (Canada) six times out of six in the final. The speed in the Swedish depth made them harder to beat, even without their top players on the ice.

The biggest shown improvement for Sweden was the development in goal scoring. Sweden’s forwards scored on some amazing shots and at the same level as the North American teams. Swedes usually develop their shots later and with a mindset that a shot is more selfish than a pass which one could argue to be a reason why Sweden only has had one 50 goal scorer in NHL history (Hakan Loob 87/88). That is starting to change and the shots on all the goals in the semifinal against USA were “selfish” hard, accurate and beautiful shots.

From an individual standpoint Sweden got great goaltending from Filip Gustavsson (PIT). He was named the top goalie of the tournament, just as he was in the WU18 two years ago. He played well in every game and stepped up in the big games. He showed impressive focus and composure. If he can show more consistent goaltending at the senior level soon, he will not be far from stepping over to North America and begin to battle for the spot behind Matt Murray in Pittsburgh.

BUFFALO, NEW YORK - JANUARY 5: Canada against Sweden during the gold medal game of the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. (Photo by Andrea Cardin/HHOF-IIHF Images)

BUFFALO, NEW YORK - JANUARY 5: Canada against Sweden during the gold medal game of the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. (Photo by Andrea Cardin/HHOF-IIHF Images)

The consensus top pick for the upcoming draft, Rasmus Dahlin, impressed. He was named the tournament’s top defenseman and for my money, was the Swedish MVP. His defensive game was strong all tournament. He played competitively with poise and looked like a Victor Hedman-type with elite forward puck skill. When Dahlin was on the ice, Sweden most often had the puck. He did nice work at the point on the power play and was strong on the PK as well. The slight knock I have on Dahlin as of now is that he should score more on the opportunities he creates for himself. In the long run that will probably will not be an issue.

Another as yet undrafted defenseman that had a good tournament was Jesper Sellgren. He is a third time eligible draft prospect. He is an undersized defenseman with speed, responsible decision making and a good puck handling. He was on the first PK-unit and played tremendously, especially in the playoff games. He is fast to the boards as well as to loose pucks and he almost always clears the puck or even start offensive plays with on the PK.

First round draft picks, Erik Brannstrom (VGK) and Timothy Liljegren (TOR), both had good tournaments. Both have high end quality but were set aside from the first power play-unit in favor of Dahlin. Brannstrom played with Dahlin at even strength and helped him as much he was helped by Dahlin. Brannstrom showed skill, speed and balance. Even if he was attacked he maintained good balance and got the puck up the ice. Brannstrom played with Sellgren on that great first PK-unit with success. Liljegren played great with the puck with a great shot and strong passing plays. Liljegren also provided some nice open ice hits. Both young blueliners have the potential to play in the NHL next season.

Sweden’s power play did not produce as well in the playoffs as it did in the preliminary games. Highly touted Elias Pettersson (VAN) and Alexander Nylander (BUF) had some problems finding innovative solutions when the opponents read their standard plays. Both players like to play the right circle and the coaches chose Pettersson for that spot. In my opinion they should have moved their feet more and switched positions to make their play harder to read. Both players showed great skill though, especially Pettersson with some great shots as he scored five goals in the tournament. He also opened the score against USA with a beautiful shot. At even strength, Pettersson showed slick plays and drew more than a handful of penalties getting his team into power play opportunities. In the final, both Pettersson and Nylander could not really play their game as Sweden had too many penalties the second half of the game and limited the ice time for the offensive stars.

The most talked about player for Sweden after the tournament probably has been the captain Lias Andersson (NYR) for throwing away his silver medal. In the tournament he showed great tenacity playing with a shoulder injury and battling hard for the team. He produced points and showed good leadership. He reminds me a bit of Jonathan Toews in the way he plays.

BUFFALO, NEW YORK - JANUARY 4: Sweden's Axel Fjallby Jonsson #22 and Isac Lundestrom #20 have words during semifinal round action against the U.S. at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. (Photo by Matt Zambonin/HHOF-IIHF Images)

BUFFALO, NEW YORK - JANUARY 4: Sweden's Axel Fjallby Jonsson #22 and Isac Lundestrom #20 have words during semifinal round action against the U.S. at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. (Photo by Matt Zambonin/HHOF-IIHF Images)

Draft eligible center Isac Lundestrom grew during the tournament. A smart player that plays well all over the ice and in all three zones, he is a great puck protector and has good vison. At the start of the tournament I thought he played to much on the outside of the opponents but as the tournament went he got more and more involved the offensive zone. He looks solid as a mid/late first round pick.

In my preview I put Axel Jonsson Fjallby (WSH) as the surprise player and he did not disappoint. Fjallby used his tremendous skill and physicality to create scoring chances giving Sweden good secondary scoring. He worked hard on the forecheck, on the backcheck and on the PK.

All in all, a good tournament for Swedish hockey getting them back on the podium after three straight fourth place finishes. If we look at how they played they probably think they should have won that final, too. Sweden were the slightly better team in the first half of the game and that late loss will probably sting for the players for some time. In the long run I believe that this Swedish team will be remembered as one of the most talented they have put together at this stage with Rasmus Dahlin as the headline player. Although Dahlin is eligible for two more tournaments, this probably was his last as he is bound for the NHL next season.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 1870

Trending Articles