Team Sweden has been eliminated from the IIHF World Championships, sending Anton Frondell and Arvid Soderblom home.
Thursday's slate of IIHF World Championship games included four quarterfinal matches. There were two in the morning (local time) and two in the afternoon, all in Switzerland.
The first slate of games saw four Blackhawks players eliminated with Team USA, as they were defeated 4-0 by Canada. Finland also beat Czechia.
The second slate of games was two entirely different types. One was Latvia vs Norway, who were both thrilled just to be in the quarterfinal. This game was a chance for one to advance to the semi-final and be guaranteed a chance to play for a medal over the weekend.
Norway won that one 2-1. They have been the most surprisingly good team during the entire tournament, and their Cinderella run will now continue.
The last game to finish was the match between Switzerland and Sweden. Arvid Soderblom was the backup goalie for Sweden for this one, and Anton Frondell dressed as a forward.
Frondell and his mates were not impactful enough, as the Swiss earned a huge 3-1 victory to advance to the semis. It's a disappointing end for Sweden, but this Swiss squad continues to impress, as they are now a perfect 8-0 in the tournament, going into the next round.
This ends a long year for Frondell. Last June, he was drafted third overall. Then, he went back to Sweden to play in the SHL despite signing his entry-level deal with Chicago.
During the year, he was fantastic in the regular season despite playing a limited amount of ice time. In the middle of the year, he played a huge role in Sweden winning the Gold Medal in the World Junior Championships.
Once his SHL playoff run came to an end, he joined the Chicago Blackhawks for their final 12 games of the season. During that time, he excelled in all three zones as both a winger and a center.
When Chicago was finished, he went to Switzerland for this tournament, where he sat for the first few games before coming in, sustaining an injury, and returning for the last two. Now, he gets some much-needed rest.
That was also the last hockey game that Ivar Stenberg will play before being selected in the 2026 NHL Draft. There is speculation that he could fall to the Blackhawks at fourth overall, but you can't count on it following his wonderful performance in Switzerland.
Despite there being no Blackhawks left in the tournament, there is still some extremely exciting hockey left to watch. The semi-finals will take place on Saturday when Switzerland takes on Norway, and Canada matches up against Finland.
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