St. Louis Blues at World Junior Championship: Roundup Day 1
Jimmy Snuggerud and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki found a way to light the lamp ont he opening day of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship on Tuesday.
Snuggerud did so in a winning cause for USA in its 4-1 win against Norway, while Kaskimaki did so in a losing cause for Finland, which dropped a 5-2 decision against Canada.
Dalibor Dvorsky and Juraj Pekarcik were part of Slovakia's 6-2 win against Jakub Stancl and Czechia; Canada then defeated Finland before USA topped Norway, and then Otto Stenberg and Theo Lindstein and host Sweden crushed Latvia 6-0 to cap off four games.
* Slovakia 6, Czechia 2 -- Dvorsky, who is a forward and the Blues' No. 1 pick (first of three) in the 2023 NHL Draft and 10th overall pick, did not factor in the scoring but had three shots and was a minus-2 in 20:11 for the victors, while Pekarcik, also a forward and a third-round pick in 2023, picked up an assist on four shots and was a plus-1 in 13:23 for Slovakia.
Stancl, a forward and a fourth-round pick in 2023, did not factor in the scoring for Czechia but had three shots and was even in plus-minus in 15:22.
Slovakia will play Wednesday at 5 a.m. (CT) against Switzerland, while Czechia will face Norway at at a.m.
* Canada 5, Finland 2 -- Kaskimaki, a center and 2022 third-round pick, had the one goal on two shots and was even in 16:14 for the Finns, who face Germany at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Kaskimaki scored at 15:56 of the second period, a power-play goal on a tip, to cut Canada's lead at the time to 2-1.
* USA 4, Norway 1 -- It took a while for the favorites of the tournament to get going, but Snuggerud, a winger and a 2022 first-round pick (23rd overall) playing at the University of Minnesota, found some soft ice in the slot and got the US on the board at 9:59 of the second period.
Snuggerud finished with six shots on goal, was a plus-1 in 16:59 for USA, which is off on Wednesday and faces Switzerland at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
* Sweden 6, Latvia 0 -- Stenberg, a center and 25th overall pick in the 2023 draft, picked up the one assist and was a plus-1 in 13:11 of ice time, while Lindstein, a defenseman and 29th overall pick in the 2023 draft, had two assists and was a plus-2 in 19:41 of ice time for Sweden, which will play Germany at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The Blues are tied with the Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres for most prospects (seven) in this year's tournament. It is the most the Blues have had in a single tournament.
