Spencer Knight and USA won the Gold Medal at the World Juniors on Tuesday night against Devon Levi and Canada. After the preliminary round, Austria and Switzerland were eliminated. January 2nd, Florida prospect Anton Lundell led team Finland from a 2 goal deficit to eliminate Sweden in a 3-2 win. This result sent Tampa Bay goalie prospect Hugo Alnefelt and Florida prospect Emil Heineman home early. The remaining prospects from Russia, Canada, and USA won their games to make it through to the semifinals. Finland faced USA in the semifinal resulting in a 4-3 win for USA led by Spencer Knight. Additionally, Maxim Groshev and Russia played Canada and Devon Levi resulting in a 5-0 Canada win. To finish the tournament, Finland beat Russia 4-1 in the bronze medal game leaving Russia with nothing and Finland with bronze. Overall, USA won for the fourth time straight against Canada for gold.
Sweden
Sweden finished 3rd in their group with 2 wins, an overtime loss, and a loss in regulation. The overtime loss occurred against Russia which snapped their 54 game winning streak in the preliminary round. They also struggled against USA who shut them out 4-0. Placing 3rd in the group presented a challenging matchup against Finland, in which they got out to a 2-0 start. Finland pounced on poor defensive play by Sweden to knock Tre Konor out of the tournament. Sweden’s penalties and penalty kill is what cost them the tournament. A power play goal allowed Finland to tie up the Quarterfinal, and Russia to win a group game in overtime.
Hugo Alnefelt, a Tampa Bay prospect, stood on his head for Sweden throughout the tournament. He had an underwhelming .902 save percentage, but his stats do not reflect his play. He threw his body on the line to make every stop possible for his team. The goals he had let in, were only stops an NHL level goalie could make for the most part. Alnefelt’s biggest weakness was consistent play, especially when it came to big games. Against Czech Republic he had 26 saves on 27 shots, followed by a 6 save shutout against Austria. His play then declined against Russia with a .880 save percentage, and he was pulled in a game versus USA. He did show up against Finland with 27 saves on 30 shots followed by a lacking defense with a hurt Philip Broberg.
Florida Panthers 2nd Round Pick in 2020, Emil Heineman was far from 2nd round quality in this year’s World Juniors. Heineman had 1 goal throughout the tournament. In addition, this goal came in a 7-1 blowout win for Sweden against Czech Republic. However, he took a poor penalty against Finland, allowing Anton Lundell to tie the game. Predicted to have 5 or more points, this was a painful tournament for the Panthers prospect. However, a tough tournament could light a fire to perform better in the future. His quick transition play and solid play on the defensive side of the puck were his greatest attributes from the tournament.
Russia
Russia fell short of the Bronze medal following a 4-1 loss to Finland on Tuesday night. Starting the tournament off strong, Russia beat USA 5-3 in a solid preliminary win. They followed that with a poor, upsetting loss to the Czech Republic. Following an upsetting loss, Russia dominated Austria in a 7-0 blowout. The biggest highlight of the tournament for Russia was snapping Sweden’s 54 game winning streak in a battle. Russia’s struggles quickly caught back up with them though, resulting in a tight 2-1 win against Germany in the quarterfinal. An anticipated battle against Canada, turned poorly in a 5-0 loss. Russia could not right the ship as they fell apart after two periods to Finland in the bronze medal game. Russia had their moments, but Larionov’s team fell far short of their potential this year.
Maxim Groshev, was one of two Lightning prospects at the World Juniors. Groshev proved that he has a lot of good aspects in his game, but not a lot of great. He totaled 2 assists throughout the tournament, and these were the only points he totaled. Groshev’s first assist of the tournament was in the first game, a 5-3 domination over USA. He started and finished the tournament with an assist, as the second assist arrived in Russia’s departure.
Finland
Finland, led by Anton Lundell, won the Bronze medal by a score of 4-1. They got off to a slow start with two close games against Germany and Austria. Finland bounced back and smacked Slovakia in a 6-0 rout. However, they lost their groove and ended the preliminary round in a painful 4-1 loss to Canada. In the quarterfinals they came out on top of their Nordic rivals, Sweden, in a 3-2 comeback win. They nearly followed it up with a comeback against USA but fell short in a 4-3 semifinal loss. Finland with the poor taste in their mouth finished with a solid 4-1 win against Russia for Bronze.
Kasper Puutio had a great tournament that was not recognized by all. Throughout the tournament he rose from a 3rd line depth defenseman to a crunch time pair with Topi Niemela. He totaled 2 assists in the tournament. Puutio played amazing on defense though, sticking tight to the point, while still creating offense. This offense was generated through his countless shots from the point. Furthermore, a commentator for the tournament stated that Puutio was “quietly effective, d[id]n’t over extend play”. Puutio also added Player of the Game against USA to his list of achievements. He proved to be a great player that did not see a lot of recognition from the media.
Anton Lundell was a standout player for Finland. He totaled 6 goals and 4 assists through the tournament, but did not finish an expected top 3 in points. He showed his outstanding speed and excellent two way game. Furthermore, he proved himself as a “QB” role player of the power play. Ray Ferraro dubbed him as a “Matchup Setter, Penalty Killer, contribution, [but] not the scorer he is in Finland” when he makes it to the NHL. Panthers fans should be ecstatic for his eventual appearance in the NHL. In all, Lundell was fantastic as the team captain for Finland and led them to a Bronze medal.
Canada
Canada was dominant throughout the preliminary round, representing their nation, in their own home. They began the tournament with a 16-2 annihilation of Germany. However they followed that up with a shaky 3-1 win over Slovakia. Coming off a poor performance Canada returned to previous form taking care of Switzerland in a 10-0 breeze. The first time they faced a rendition of opposition was against Finland. In this game they took care of business after a collective effort to win 4-1. Placed against Czech Republic in the quarterfinal, Canada took care of business with a 3-0 solid but not great win. Against a sloppy Russian team, Canada surprised with 5-0 domination to advance to the final. In Canada’s most competitive game for Gold, they fell short 2-0 to USA.
Devon Levi was a very interesting player at the tournament as he carried a lot of hype. Following a .975 save percentage and 3 shutouts going into the final, Levi had people going wild. A goalie who was possibly not going to play this tournament became a star which stood out. However, this is the goalie that is behind 6 1st round draft picks on defense. Now that is what makes the Panthers Prospect so interesting. Is he a diamond in the rough? Or is he just another 7th round pick? In Devon Levi’s gold medal game he proved that he is still on his way to the NHL.
USA
The United States led by standout Panthers prospect Spencer Knight, won Gold at the WJC by a score of 2-0. The tournament started off worrisome for the Americans following a shaky 5-3 loss to Russia. USA fixed things up in time to manhandle Austria 11-0, on a big win night. USA followed up with a 7-0 win against Czech Republic. They quickly followed that result with a 4-0 dominant win against Sweden. Those wins combined with Russia’s shocking loss gave them first in the group. They proceeded to have two close games in the knockout stage against Finland and Slovakia. They wrapped it all up with a Gold medal.
Spencer Knight surprisingly struggled to begin the tournament. He began the tournament with a .630 sv% and was quickly pulled against Russia. Nate Leaman gave Knight some time to rest against Austria and he did not feature in that game. However, the Panthers prospect quickly bounced back, for a 22 save shutout against Czech Republic. Spencer Knight built on this momentum for another 22 save shutout against anticipated tough competition, Sweden. His shaky play returned against Slovakia, but USA’s substantial lead gave no worries. Knight continued his solid play through a battle against Finland, in which poor defensive play surrounded him. In the end, Spencer Knight shutout Team Canada in the most important game, resulting in a Gold medal.