2022 World Juniors Day 2 recap: Game summaries, top performers, WJC news

The Finns never really looked back from there. Koivunen and Lambert each put up three points while Finland out-shot Austria 48-9.

Players of the game (selected by the teams): Ville Koivunen, LW, Finland (CAR); Sebastian Wranneschitz, G, Austria

Russia 4 – Switzerland 2

The game was probably closer than it needed to be, but Russia grabbed a lead early and never gave it up.

2022 draft-eligible Danila Yurov’s double-deflection goal was the first of three Russian tallies in the first period.

The Swiss managed to get one back on a tough goal for Yegor Guskov to give up and they kept hanging around.

In the third period, Matvei Michkov (2023) scored his third goal of the tournament to put the game just out of reach, though Switzerland got a goal from Fabian Ritzmann from distance to give them a shot late. Through two games, Russia hasn’t looked its best. With games against the U.S. and Slovakia left, they’ll need to improve quickly.

Players of the game: Kevin Pasche, G, Switzerland; Dmitri Zlodeyev, RW, Russia (VAN)

Germany 2 – Czechia 1 (OT)

On paper it wasn’t as exciting a matchup, but on the ice it was one of the most competitive games of the tournament yet. In a back-and-forth battle that was defined by the performances of goaltenders Jan Bednar (DET) and Florian Bugl, Germany managed to pull off an upset against a shorthanded Czech team in overtime.

Czechia had to play the game with five defensemen with David Jiricek injured and two others suspended, but carried play for large stretches of the game.

Germany took the first lead, however, as Alex Blank fired a shot that caught a deflection and sailed over Bednar. Jan Myšák (MTL) tied things up later in the period when his pass hit a German defenseman’s skate and slid through Bugl, who was otherwise perfect in the game, making 39 saves.

In the extra period, Blank got to play the hero as he broke in wide and fired a bad-angle shot that beat Bednar high and gave Germany a huge win that puts them in a much better position to advance to the playoff round.

Players of the game: Florian Bugl, G, Germany; David Spacek, D, Czechia

Sweden 3 – Slovakia 0

Despite pouring 48 shots on net, Slovakia couldn’t find a way to beat Swedish goalie Jesper Wallstedt.

The Swedes took an early 1-0 lead off of a power-play goal on a perfect play leading to a Theodor Neiderbach (DET) shot for his second tally of the tournament. Despite that goal, Slovakia had tilted the ice often to the other end of the ice, peppering Wallstedt with shots to no avail.

In the second period, Albert Sjöberg (DAL) made a nice move around a defender to break in all alone and beat Simon Latkoczy with a shot over the glove.

In the third period, despite a major power player for the Slovaks and a 5-on-3 advantage where Slovakia tilted the advantage further by pulling their goalie, Wallstedt proved unbeatable. He made 18 saves in the final frame and Daniel Ljungman added an empty-netter to slam the door and extend Sweden’s lead on the rest of the group.

Players of the game: Jesper Wallstedt, G, Sweden (MIN); Juraj Slafkovsky, RW, Slovakia (2022)

Top Performers of the Day

Jesper Wallstedt, G, Sweden (MIN): If it wasn’t enough that Wallstedt made 48 saves in the game, he also made it look remarkably routine. The big netminder wastes no movement in the net and just absorbed so many pucks without popping out big rebounds. Slovakia has a lot of skilled players, but they looked absolutely mystified as to how to beat Wallstedt who just got stronger as the game went on. Having an elite goalie in this tournament can make a huge difference and Sweden has one.

Florian Bugl, G, Germany: The upset of the day would not have been possible without the incredible performance of Bugl between the pipes. He stopped 39 of 40 shots with the only goal coming off of a fluky deflection. Bugl is a below-average sized goalie for this level, but he’s quick and competitive between the pipes. After appearing in three games last World Juniors, he made a statement in helping Germany beat the Czechs.

Topi Niemelä, D, Finland (TOR): He had a goal late in a game where his team scored seven, but Niemelä does such a fantastic job of controlling his shifts. He led all Finns with 22:11 of ice time, made a ton of great plays with the puck on his stick that allowed Finland to stretch out the ice and get pucks into the offensive zone quickly. He does a lot of little things well and makes his team better. He was on the ice for four of his team’s goals for.

Ville Koivunen, LW, Finland (CAR): With a pair of goals, including one from the seat of his pants, Koivunen’s excellent tournament continued on Day 2. Koivunen is an effective player because he has skill, but he’s going to work for his offense, too. He also had an assist in the game where he just out-worked the opposing defender and made a quick decision to feed Samuel Helenius, who finished it off. That line with Koivunen, Helenius and Brad Lambert has been Finland’s best through the first two games.

Brad Lambert, RW, Finland (2022): With a pair of assists and a goal, Lambert is now the tournament’s leading scorer with five points through his first two games. Though his draft stock had been falling, he may be putting himself back on the map. He’ll have to do more against tougher opponents, too, but Lambert made a lot of plays. His first point was a beautiful assist where he faked a net drive, pulled behind the net and gave Koivunen a wide-open look. What makes his three-point game even more impressive is that he did it in under 12 minutes of ice time.

Alexander Blank, LW, Germany: The Germans may be missing their best three players in the age group, but Blank showed up big time for his team. His speed was at a level that allowed him to keep pace or even outskate his Czech opponents, which made him one of Germany’s biggest threats. He scored both of his teams goals on excellent shots, with his OT winner catching Jan Bednar way back in his net and too low. Goals will be hard to come by for Germany, but a player like Blank gives them a chance when they have the chance to counter-attack.

Dmitri Zlodeyev, RW, Russia (VAN): I didn’t love much about Russia’s game, but Zlodeyev was around the puck a lot and scored a goal that gave Russia a 2-0 lead earlier in their oddly-tense game against Switzerland. Zlodeyev showed good poise on the puck, good work ethic away from from it and an easy finish for his first goal of the tournament.

Simon Nemec, D, Slovakia (2022): His team lost, but not through any fault of Nemec. The 17-year-old defenseman played nearly 29 minutes of a regulation game where his team outplayed Sweden for large stretches. He literally played half of each of the second and third periods and had nine total shots on goal in the game. is so poised and smart with the puck on his stick, has great mobility and understands how to defend. He’s got to get stronger, but the maturity in his game is why he should be a very early pick in the 2022 Draft.

Juraj Slafkovsky, RW, Slovakia (2022): A big rig who can lug the puck, Slafkovsky was a force in the game and put pressure on the Swedish defense. He just couldn’t finish. Being a 6-foot-4 winger with good hands, Slafkovsky is so difficult to take off the puck. On top of that, he played almost 25 full minutes of the game. If he can find some more finish to the plays he’s capable of making, he’s going to be excellent not just for this tournament but as a potential top-10 draft pick.

News and Notes from around the WJC

Czechs lose top defenseman: In a blow to Czechia’s hopes of upsetting some of the top teams, David Jiricek will leave the tournament with an apparent knee injury. He is expected to miss some significant time. Scouts were especially excited to see the 2022 NHL Draft eligible playing a little closer to his own age group after spending all of this season in the Czech pro league, where he’s done quite well. Jiricek would have played significant minutes for Czechia. Without him in their lineup, they’re a lot thinner on the back end.

Jiricek was injured on a bad-luck play where he was going to hit Canadian forward Will Cuylle and made contact with the forward’s knee. Jiricek took the worst of the contact, though.

Czechia had to play with just five defensemen in their loss to Germany Monday. Jiricek was unavailable due to injury, but Chicago Blackhawks prospect Michael Krutil was also out for a suspension that carried over from the last tournament. And on top of that…

Czechia D Michal Hradek suspended: The IIHF announced just before Czechia’s game against Germany that Hradek had been suspended one game for a cross-checking violation. Hradek was cited for cross-checking Canada forward Kent Johnson in the neck area. The disciplinary committee viewed that the degree of force Hradek employed as well as the point where he struck Johnson resulted in a dangerous play. Having served his suspension, Hradek will be able to play in Czechia’s next game, which is against Finland on Wednesday.

Canada’s Xavier Bourgault injured vs. Czechia: While Johnson was not injured by Hradek’s infraction, Canada forward and Edmonton Oilers prospect Xavier Bourgault did not practice with Canada on Monday. He was hit high during Canada’s 6-3 win against Czechia. His status going forward is unclear at this time.

Brett Brochu to start for Canada vs. Austria: The Canadians are looking to get all three of their goalies some looks and it will be Brochu up against Austria. There probably won’t be a ton of shots coming his way as Austria managed just nine shots against Finland Monday, but the undrafted London Knights goalie will get his chance on the big stage. It is believed Sebastian Cossa (DET) will get the game against Germany and the coaching staff will make a decision about who gets the nod to start against Finland on New Year’s Eve.

Tuesday’s Schedule

USA vs. Switzerland, 4:30 p.m. ET
Canada vs. Austria, 7:00 p.m. ET