World Junior Diary, Day 1: Adversity is Your Friend

Swedish veterans, Finnish draft possibilities and surprise stilt-walkers welcome our correspondent to Gothenburg.

GOTHENBURG, SWE - Maybe it's the jet lag talking, but 2023 ended on a weird note as I arrived at the world juniors. Two arch-rivals, Sweden and Finland, entered the final day of the preliminary round in opposite positions: The host Swedes were undefeated and hadn't surrendered a goal, while the Finns still needed points after a calamitous beginning to the tournament.

With Sweden leading late and Finland's goalie pulled for the extra attacker, Seattle Kraken pick Zeb Forsfjall appeared to have the game salted away on the rush, until he was wiped out by a backchecking Jere Lassila. The crowd wanted a penalty, but none was given. And about a minute later, another Seattle pick - Jani Nyman - tied the game for the Finns. They would go on to win the affair in the shootout, with Nyman again providing the dagger.

If you're Finland, you can now rest in the knowledge that the team has indeed qualified for the quarterfinal. But what about Sweden? Well, a little bump in the road never hurts in this tournament and I almost wonder if the loss will end up being good for them. It's hard to go undefeated at the world juniors and for a program that has often ruled the round robin but hasn't won gold since 2012, adversity may not be a bad thing.

"Yeah, it can be great," said Buffalo Sabres prospect Noah Ostlund. "When we won gold at the (2022) under-18s, we lost to Latvia in the first game. We were not happy about that and came back stronger the rest of the tournament. I think this will make us play better next game. We were not good enough and we need to step up in the first period next game."

Indeed, the Swedes were outplayed by Finland in the first 20 minutes, but came back hard in the second with deft puck movement and a lot of skill. That depth could be a real problem for opponents now that we're into the serious games.

But Sweden also has a veteran lineup, headlined by Ostlund, Jonathan Lekkerimaki (VAN) and Liam Ohgren (MIN), all of whom were first-rounders back in 2022. They were just OK at last year's world juniors, but have been the difference-makers we would expect them to be this time out.

"It's a matter of experience and of course, this is the last (junior) tournament we get to play with each other," Ostlund said. "We want to make something good out of it."

Lekkerimaki had a bit of an excuse last year - he was recovering from a concussion before the tourney began - but now he's looking forward and having success. And for both teens, the idea of home soil bringing extra pressure to win that elusive gold isn't a bad thing.

"Yeah, we love it," Lekkerimaki said. "We love the fans and they are amazing. So no pressure, just fun."

A few more notes before I pass out:

Center Konsta Helenius is the top-rated Finnish prospect for the 2024 draft and he showed off one of the reasons with a sick shootout goal to wrest momentum back to his side. He also got absolutely rocked by an Anton Wahlberg (BUF) hit in the first period, so it wouldn't hurt Helenius to bulk up a bit in the coming years. I could see him having a monster world juniors in 2025.

Every time I watch right winger Oskar Pettersson (OTT) live, I come away impressed. He's so tenacious and has a nice physical dimension to his game. I wouldn't mind seeing him on a Senators line with Ridly Greig or - dare I say it - Brady Tkachuk in the coming years.

I wonder if Tommi Mannisto gets any draft love this summer. The Finnish grinder has been passed over twice before, but his speed and work ethic are tough to ignore. He's in his first North American season right now, with Michigan State, so the looks are there to be had if any NHL thinks they can nab a sure-fire energy guy.

Finally, I don't want to pretend my lack of sleep over the past day and a half has me in some sort of Fear and Loathing-like state, but I had to walk through a Great Gatsby-themed New Year's party and dodge a circus performer on stilts to get to my hotel room and I was not mentally prepared for that. Anyway, time to crash. More fun from Gothenburg coming all week.