With six of seven defensemen on its roster already drafted by NHL teams, Sweden might have the strongest blueline of any team in the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. The team’s two defensemen from Skellefteå AIK led the way in Sweden’s first game – team captain Axel Sandin-Pellikka scored three goals and added one assist and Rasmus Bergqvist scored once in a 5-2 victory over Slovakia.
“He’s our captain and he shows the way,” Swedish coach Magnus Hävelid said about Sandin-Pellikka, the Detroit Red Wings’ first-round pick from 2023, who leads all SHL defensemen with 22 points in 25 games so far.
“It feels incredibly good,” Bergqvist said after the game, according to HockeyNews.se. With the team trailing 1-0 early in the second period, Bergqvist scored Sweden’s first goal, taking a feed from Sandin-Pellikka and beating goalie Samuel Urban with a well-placed wrist shot to the glove side.
“I get to play with Axel and got a nice feed at the point, so then it was just a matter of hitting my spot,” the 19-year-old Montreal Canadiens prospect described.
Bergqvist has just one assist in 21 SHL games with Skellefteå this season. After the first period, he was interviewed by TSN, where English was a bit of a challenge for him. After the game, however, he felt more comfortable expressing himself to Swedish media.
“I just think it’s really fun,” he said about playing in his first World Junior Championship. “I’m really going to take advantage of the chance I’ve been given.”
Bergqvist is one of several Swedes playing in their first World Junior Championship, and they might have been nervous to start their first game, but the calmness of Sandin-Pellikka set the tone for the whole team the rest of the way.
“It’s his third World Junior Championship,” said Hävelid. “I feel that the experience he has built up, not only from previous World Juniors but also in Skellefteå, means that he’s in a very good place, both as a hockey player and as a person. He says the right things in the dressing room and leads through his game. He looks at ease.”