Excitement Builds as Team Sweden Prepares for Home Ice Advantage at 2025 Ice Hockey World Championships

Sverige Finland

As the countdown begins for the 2025 Ice Hockey World Championships (May 9 – May 25), the anticipation is palpable across Sweden. After securing a bronze medal in Prague, Tre Kronor, Sweden’s beloved national ice hockey team, is set to take on the world once again, but this time with the added advantage of playing on home ice. The iconic Globen Arena in Stockholm, now newly renovated and ready to host the prestigious tournament, will be the stage where Sweden aims to capture glory.

A Homecoming with High Stakes

The 2025 Championships offer a unique opportunity for Tre Kronor. Playing on home soil is always special, but it also comes with immense pressure. The expectations are high, not just from the team and coaching staff but also from the passionate Swedish fans who will fill the stands, eager to see their team succeed. With the tournament being held in Stockholm, the spotlight will be firmly on Sweden, and the team will be looking to capitalize on the home advantage.

Challenging Opponents Await

The road to the gold medal will not be easy. Tre Kronor faces some of the toughest competition right from the group stage. Among the most anticipated matches are those against Finland and Canada, two of the strongest teams in the world and perennial rivals of Sweden.

The tournament kicks off for Sweden on Friday, May 9th, with a match against Slovakia. This will be an important game to set the tone for the tournament. Following that, on May 10th, they face Austria, which could provide an opportunity to build momentum.

But the real tests come later in the group stage. On Monday, May 12th, Sweden takes on Finland in what promises to be a fiercely contested derby. The rivalry between these two Nordic nations is legendary, and this encounter will surely be one of the highlights of the tournament. Another key match is scheduled for Tuesday, May 20th, when Tre Kronor faces off against Canada, a team known for its powerhouse roster and dominance on the ice.

Other opponents in the group stage include Latvia, Slovenia, and France, all of whom will be eager to cause an upset and make their mark in the tournament.

The Path to the Final

If Sweden navigates the group stage successfully, they will move on to the knockout rounds, beginning with the quarterfinals on May 22nd. Stockholm will host two of the quarterfinal matches, and should Tre Kronor qualify, they’ll have the advantage of playing in front of a home crowd. The semifinals and finals will also be held in Stockholm, with the gold medal game scheduled for Sunday, May 25th. It’s a date every Swedish hockey fan has circled on their calendar, hoping to see their team lift the trophy in front of their home supporters.

Tickets

With the release of the tournament schedule, excitement is building, and fans are eagerly awaiting the chance to secure their tickets. Ticket sales begin on October 3rd, and the organizers have made it a priority to ensure that prices are accessible to everyone. Whether you’re a die-hard hockey fan or just looking to experience the electric atmosphere of a world-class sporting event, there will be ticket options to suit all budgets.

Group B Action in Herning

While Stockholm is the focal point, the tournament will also see significant action in Herning, Denmark, where Group B matches will take place. This group includes teams like the USA, Czechia, Switzerland, and Germany, all of whom will be battling for a spot in the knockout rounds. Though Sweden’s immediate focus will be on their own games, the performance of these teams could influence the later stages of the tournament.

Conclusion

The 2025 Ice Hockey World Championships in Stockholm is shaping up to be a thrilling event, and for Swedish fans, it represents a golden opportunity to see their team shine on the world stage. With a challenging group, the roar of the home crowd, and the pressure to deliver, Team Sweden will need to be at their best. As the tournament approaches, one thing is certain: Sweden is ready, and the nation is united behind their team as they chase glory on home ice.

Mark your calendars and get your tickets—this is an event you won’t want to miss!

Schedule, IIHF World Championship 2019

It’s time for the 2019 IIHF World Championship. Sweden is the reigning world champion and is aiming for their third gold in Bratislava, Slovakia. The tournament will run between 10 – 26 May. In this post you will find information about schedule, Sweden’s matches, and potential reinforcements from NHL. In the group stage, the sixteen teams are divided into two groups. The top four teams advance to the playoffs.

Group A

Canada
USA
Finland
Germany
Slovakia
Denmark
France
UK

Group B

Sweden
Russia
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Norway
Latvia
Austria
Italy

Schedule, IIHF World Championship 2019

The group stage is played May 10-21. Sweden’s matches are played the following days / times:

Friday May 10, 2019 at. 20:15, Czech Republic-Sweden
Sunday May 12, 2019 at 16:15, Italy-Sweden
Monday, May 13, 2019 at. 20:15, Norway-Sweden
Thursday May 16, 2019 at. 16:15, Sweden-Austria
Saturday May 18, 2019 at. 20:15, Sweden-Switzerland
Monday, May 20, 2019 at. 16:15, Sweden-Latvia
Tuesday May 21, 2019 at. 20:15, Sweden-Russia

The play offs start with quarter finals May 23:

Thursday May 23, 2019 at. 16:15, Quarter Final 1
Thursday May 23, 2019 at. 16:15, Quarterfinal 2
Thursday May 23, 2019 at. 20:15, Quartz Final 3
Thursday May 23, 2019 at. 20:15, Quarterfinal 4

The semifinals are played May 25:

Saturday May 25, 2019 at. 15:15, Semi-final 1
Saturday May 25, 2019 at. 19:15, Semifinal 2

Final and Bronze Match are settled on Sunday May 26:

Sunday May 26, 2019 at 15:45, Bronze match
Sunday May 26, 2019 at 20:15, Final

Sweden in the 2019 IIHF World Championship

(This text is continuously updated). For the past two years, coach Rikard Grönborg has been able to build a team around a core of players from the NHL.  So far the following players are joining Three Crowns:

Goalies:

Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)
Jacob Markström (Vancouver Canucks)

Defenders:

Erik Gustafsson (Chicago Blackhawks)
Adam Larsson (Edmonton Oilers)
Robert Hägg (Philadelphia Flyers)
Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Arizona Coyotes)
Mattias Ekholm (Nashville)
Marcus Pettersson (Pittsburgh Penguins)
John Klingberg (Dallas Stars)

Forwards:

Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks)
Marcus Krüger (Chicago Blackhawks)
Oskar Lindblom (Philadelphia Flyers)
Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings)
Mario Kempe (Arizona Coyotes)
Jesper Bratt (New Jersey Devils)
Loui Eriksson (Vancouver Canucks)
Patric Hörnqvist (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Elias Lindholm (Calgary Flames)
William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche)

How many World Championships have Sweden won?

Answer: 11 (1953, 1957, 1962, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2006, 2013, 2017, 2018).

In addition, we have two Olympic gold medals (1994 and 2006).

Ice Hockey World Juniors 2019

World Juniors

Team Canada won the final of the 2018 World Juniors against Team Sweden through a late goal in the third period. The Swedish Three Crowns showed an excellent performance in the group stage as usual, and went through a solid ride in the play offs. Now they have another shot for the gold when the tournament are to be decided in Victoria and Vancouver, Canada. In this post we present the schedule for the 2019 World Juniors, with a focus on Sweden’s games. As by tradition, the World Juniors are initiated between Christmas and New Year, and the play offs are played during the first week of January.

Sweden in the 2019 World Juniors

In the group stage of the 2019 World Juniors ten teams are divided into two groups. Eight spots in the playoffs are at stake. The top team from each group will face the fourth placed team in the other group and so on.

Group A

Canada
Czech Republic
Russia
Switzerland
Denmark

Group B 

Sweden
USA
Finland
Slovakia
Kazakhstan

Sweden, that has a habit to go undefeated during the group stage in the World Juniors, will battle for the group win mainly against USA and Finland. However, Slovakia is not an easy opponent either. Kazakhstan should be the underdog in this company, and anything but a fifth place would be a big suprise.

Sweden’s games (Swedish time):

December 27  2018, 04:30: Finland-Sweden
December 28 2018, 00:30 Slovakia-Sweden
December 30 2018, 04:30 Sweden-USA
Januari 1 2019, 02:00 Sweden-Kazakhstan

Hence, there will be some late nights or early mornings for those of us that wants to see the games on TV.

2019 World Juniors: Playoffs

January 2: Quarterfinals x4
January 4: Semifinales x2
January 5: Bronze game
January 6: Final!

We hope for new medals in the World Juniors for the Three Crowns. This post will be updated with more information, including the names of the Swedish squad.

 

Team Sweden won the 2018 IIHF Hockey World Championship

Team Sweden

Team Sweden won their 2nd consecutive gold in the IIHF 2018 Hockey World Championship in Denmark. As in the IIHF 2017, the final game was decided by a shootout. Then, Sweden’s national team “Three Crowns” defeated Team Canada. This year, Switzerland was the opponent.

The road to the finals

The 2018 edition of the Three Crowns was characterized by two features a) 20 players from the national hockey league (NHL), b) an average age of only 24 years. The team got the best possible start of the group stage by defeating Belarus 5-0. Game number two, against Czech Republic, was tougher, but Sweden managed to grab the odd goal 3-2 win. France was defeated 4-0 in an unusual dirty game. The game against Austria became a feast among the crowd as well as on the ice (7-0). The fifth game, against Slovakia, was tighter and Sweden managed to score the decider, 4-3, in overtime. The upcoming opponent in the final, Switzerland, was outmaneuvered with relative easy, in a 5-3 victory. The last game, against Russia, was a group final where the winner would face Latvia and the loser Canada. The Three Crowns managed to come back and turn 0-1 to 3-1. Russia later lost the quarterfinal against Canada in overtime.

In the playoffs, the quarterfinal against Latvia Sweden showed a somewhat crampy performance, where Latvia played an effective defense, and deadly counterattacks. Finally, Sweden managed to win 3-2. In the semifinal, Team USA led by Chicago Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane was waiting. USA eliminated Czech Republic in the quarterfinal. The last time USA won a world championship was in 1960(!). They were the best team in the first period of the semifinal, but somehow Sweden managed to get away with a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. In the second period, USA got a 4 minute powerplay only to see Magnus Pääjärvi score 2-0. USA never recovered after this. After an idiot move by Johnny Gaudreau, using his stick as a baseball bat, Sweden scored in their powerplay. Then, another quick goal came from nowhere, and Sweden was suddenly up by 4 after 40 minutes of play. The final period was basically just about playing on the result for the Three Crowns, and the final score was written to 6-0. USA won the bronze game against Canada later (4-1).

On the other side of the playoff tree, a disciplined Switzerland first eliminated group winners Finland 3-2, and then Canada with the same figures.

Sweden won the final against Switzerland

The final game between Sweden and Switzerland was a replay of the 2013 final, when Sweden won on home ice (first team to do that since the Soviet Union gold in 1986), defeating Switzerland 5-1. Like then, Switzerland got the 1-0 lead. Sweden got the quick equalized and the score was 1-1 after 20 minutes of play. Switzerland got the 2-1 lead in the second period. Then, Sweden put the pedal to the metal and spent over three minutes in the offensive zone. 2-2 came in the powerplay.In the third period, both teams had their chances to score the decider. Sweden could not convert on a couple of breakaways.

The overtime was characterized by careful 4 vs 4 play, where no team wanted to make any mistake. This game was to be decided by a shootout. At stake was Switzerland’s first world championship gold ever, or Sweden’s 11th. The Swiss scored at their first penalty shot, while Sweden missed. However, after two goals by Oliver Ekman-Larsson (who also scored in the shootout against Canada in 2017) and Filip Forsberg, Sweden won the shootout with two goals to one. The victory gave Sweden and Three Crowns their 2nd consecutive world championship win, just like they did with their young team in 1991 + 1992. One has to feel sorry for Switzerland who manage to pull off their game plan with precision and was as close to a gold medal as a team can come.

The Swedish gold was a result of hard work of coach Rikard Grönborg and his staff. They have managed to raise the professionalism in the Three Crowns a few notches, and make the world championship an attractive tournament and end of season for the NHL players that are eliminated in the North American Stanley Cup playoffs. The players enjoy the idea of youthful entusiasm and classic, Sweden defensive plays. This is the New Sweden!

IIHF World Championship 2017: Sweden won the gold!

Team Sweden

When Sweden’s head coach Rikard Grönborg got 19 reinforcements from the NHL in this year’s edition of the Three Crowns, Sweden was ranked as one of the favorites for the gold in the World Championship behind Canada and Russia. Strong names such as Nicklas Bäckström, William Nylander and Henrik Lundqvist could be found in the squad. However, at the start of the tournament, Sweden had difficulties getting their game together. Sloppy plays and unnecessary penalties put their mark on the games. Sweden beat the weaker nations in the group stage, but lost to the main opponents USA and Russia. USA won the group and Sweden grabbed the third position, behind Russia.

Playoffs

So far, a Three Crowns filled with NHL-players had two losses against Russia and the United States and wins against Germany, Latvia, Denmark, Slovakia and Italy. In the quarterfinals, Switzerland awaited. They managed to get second place in their group, behind Canada. Sweden got the expected victory, 3-1. Rough for Switzerland, who has been eliminated by Sweden a number of times through the years, including in the World Championships in 1998, 2013 and the Olympic Games in 2006.

In the semi-finals, the Nordic rivals Finland awaited. They had a sluggish introduction to the tournament, but managed to beat a sleepy United States in the quarterfinals. Sweden tamed the Finnish lions, through a 4-1 victory.

On the other side of the playoff tree, Canada had advanced to the finals. They beat the host nation Germany in the quarterfinals, 2-1. The semifinal against Russia was a fast-phased game, with Russia leading 2-0 before the third period. Canada showed great morale and managed to turn the game in their favor through four straight goals. Impressive. The question was how Three Crowns would be able to beat their nightmare opponent in the final? Sweden had lost against Canada in the World Championship final before in 1997, 2003 and 2004.

The final game

Three Crowns played a convincing game in the finals, with disciplined defense, stable attacks and a Henrik Lundqvist on top in the goal. The first period ended scoreless. The first goal of the game came in the second period 20 seconds before the break. Victor Hedman sent a bouncing puck on goal in the boxplay. Somehow the puck found the back of the Canadian net. 1-0 Sweden. In the beginning of the third period, Canada tied the game after a cheap penalty. Both teams then had a powerplay each without being able to convert. The score was 1-1 after 60 minutes of play.

The game could not be decided during overtime and the shootout awaited. Henrik Lundqvist came out on top, stopping four out of four penalty shots, which was enough to win the gold after Nicklas Bäckström and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored on their penalties. Another classic shootout, which made many Swedes remember the final against Canada in the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, where Sweden won the gold after a classic penalty shot by Peter Forsberg.

A classic Swedish team with both old and new profiles won the Three Crown’s 10th World Championship.

William Nylander was named the best player of the tournament. His victory jump in the hands of Henrik Lundqvist is already legendary.

Captain Joel Lundqvist, Henrik’s twin brother, took his third World Championship gold. In a Three Crown without NHL reinforcements, Grönborg expects he will lead the team in the Olympic Games of 2018.

Nicklas Bäckström finally got to play the final he missed in the 2014 Olympic Games in.

Anton Strålman finally got to win something in his career.

There are many stories to tell about this classic Swedish team!

The Stanley Cup Round of 16, 2017

Skridskor

The regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL) 2016-17 is over, and the playoffs have started. In this post you will find match-ups for the Round of 16 together with comments. Spring is here, and so are the NHL playoffs!

Stanley Cup Round of 16, 2017

Chicago Blackhawks – Nashville Predators

Comment: The dynasty Chicago will advance from this meeting.

Minnesota Wild – St. Louis Blues

Comment: St Louis Blues still has no Stanley Cup title. Will 2017 be different?

Anaheim Ducks – Calgary Flames

Comment: The Ducks are always strong in the playoffs.

Edmonton Oilers – San Jose Sharks

Comment: Last year’s finalists,- the “beards” from San Jose will probably go far in the 2017 playoffs as well.

Montreal Canadiens – New York Rangers

Comment: Tough resistance for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers. Can they withstand the pressure at the Bell Center?

Ottawa Senators – Boston Bruins

Comment: This matchup is difficult to predict, but we believe in Boston.

Washington Capitals – Toronto Maple Leafs

Comment: The toughest opponent possible for the Swedish rookie William Nylander and Toronto in the first round, but on the other hand, Washington is known to fold when it is time for the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Penguins – Columbus Blues

Comment: Crosby, Malkin and their henchmen are hoping to repeat last year’s success.

Notably, last year no Canadian team made it to the playoffs. This year four teams have reached the round of 16: Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. Vancouver and the Sedin brothers miss the playoffs. Now we’re just waiting to see how many NHL players that will join 2017 Ice Hockey World Championship. According to Sweden’s head coach Rikard Grönborg, things are looking great. The following players have said they will play for The Swedish national team in the 2017 championships:

  • Alexander Edler, Vancouver.
  • Elias Lindholm, Carolina.
  • Joakim Nordström, Carolina.
  • Victor Rask, Carolina.
  • Victor Hedman, Tampa.

Last time Sweden won the Ice Hockey World Championships was in 2013.

Canada won the 2016 Ice Hockey World Championship

Team Canada

In the final of the 2016 Ice Hockey World Championships in Moscow, Russia, two of the favourites fought for the tournament victory: Canada and Finland. After 60 minutes of play, Team Canada was defending champions.

Canada 2-0 Finland

The final was a pretty one-sided event even if it didn’t contain much scoring. Connor McDavid gave Canada the early lead and Finland played a tight point defensive game. That is a style of play we’ve seen Finland use the last years. However, it did not work against Canada this time. The Canadian players played an excellent dump and chase hockey, putting a tremendous pressure on Finnish defencemen. Finland did not have the energy to counterattack except for a few one man shows. In the end of the third period, they pulled the goalie in a last attempt to get the equalized just to see Matt Duchene put the puck in the open net with 0.9 seconds left to play. A funny detail was that the referees insisted on playing the last tenths of a second, despite Canada celebrating their gold. After the game, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin held a speech, congratulating the winners and stating that the Russian people had hoped for more than the bronze medal (Russia defeated team USA in the bronze medal game). Gulag next for Ovechkin and his friends?

Team Canada’s road to the gold

Canada came to Russia as defending champions. They won all their games except for against Finland in group B. This placed them second in the group which meant a quarterfinal against Sweden who placed third in group A. The game against Sweden, that had one of the weakest squads in many years, was an easy 6-0 win. The semifinal against North American rivals USA was a bit tougher, Canada winning 4-3. It is good for the Ice Hockey World Championships that Canada is putting a good squad on the ice instead of just sending college players that they did a few years ago. Now, we only wish that Swedish players will stop turning down playing in the national team so we can once again compete for the gold. After this victory, Corey Perry is the latest player in the triple gold club of hockey, which consists of players that have won Stanley Cup, The World Championship and the Olympics.

We remember: The 2006 Olympic Hockey Tournament in Torino, Italy

Team Sweden

February 15-26, as a part of the XX Olympic Winter Games, the men’s hockey tournament was held in Torino, Italy. For the third time since 1998, players from the National Hockey League (NHL) were allowed to participate. This meant that the nations could put the best team available on the ice and that the winner could name themselves as the greatest hockey nation of the year. This can be put in perspective of the World Championships in which the best players usually are playing in the play offs in the NHL.

Prior Olympic Hockey tournaments

In the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, a strong Czech Republic team, with players like Dominik Hasek, came out strong. In fact, they had a short dynasty going on at this time with several golds in both the World Championships as well as in the 1998 Winter Games where they beat Russia in the final. In the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, USA, Team Canada won the gold by defeating the host nation in the final. In Sweden, the 2002 Games are mostly remembered for an unexpected loss against Belarus in the quarter final. This was followed by a humiliating defeat at home against Czech Republic in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Sweden won the Olympic gold in 1994 and the World Championships in 1998, but had a hard time going all the way when all the best players were participating. This would change in 2006.

The group stage of the 2006 Olympic Hockey Tournament

The teams in Torino 2006 were divided into two groups which finished in the following way:

Group A

Finland
Switzerland
Canada
Czech Republic
Germany
Italy

Group B

Slovakia
Russia
Sweden
United States
Kazakhstan
Latvia

Finland and Slovakia won the groups with 5 straight victories. Notably was Switzerland’s success in group A, with a second place before nations like Canada and Czech Republic. Sweden, with players like Nicklas Lidström, Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg and Henrik Lundqvist, finished third in group B after some rather mixed performances.

Playoffs

In the quarter finals, Sweden was up against Switzerland after the Three Crowns lost the last group stage game against Slovakia. This was a pretty beneficial draw after ending third in the group. The game ended 6-2 in favor of Sweden and they advanced to the semi final against Czech Republic who eliminated their rivals Slovakia. This tournament would not be based on how the teams managed to place themselves in the groups, it would be all about winning the important playoff games. Finland and Russia eliminated the North American teams, which as this time often had a great drawback from the larger European ice rinks. Both USA and Canada has become more mobile nowadays though, much thanks to the modern ice hockey which is based on agile defenders and fast forwards.

In the semifinals, Sweden got a great start against the Czechs and won rather comfortable 7-3. Finland eliminated their Eastern rivals Russia 4-0, just like they did in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. The final would thus, be a showdown between the Nordic rivals: Sweden’s Three Crowns against Finland’s Lions.

In the final, Finland got the best start with an early lead. Sweden managed to both tie and take the lead, which was shortly equalized by Finland. Before the third period, the game was tied at 2-2.

The beginning of the third period is a Swedish classic: On the face off, Saku Koivu’s stick broke. Peter Forsberg rushed into the offensive zone, dropped the puck to Mats Sundin who dropped it to Nicklas Lidström who did as he had done so many times before as a captain in the Detroit Red Wings: Shot a laser beam from the blue line which found the way back in the Finnish net. 3-2 Sweden. At the end, Finland put the pressure on for an equalizer, but goalie Henrik Lundqvist stood firm and did some decisive saves. Sweden won their second Olympic Gold medal, this time with all the best players participating. A curse was lifted and our golden generation finally got to win a big tournament together! Later in 2006, Sweden became the first team to win both the Olympics and the World Hockey Championships the same year.

2016 Stanley Cup: Round of 16

Skridskor

The regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL) 2015-16 is finished and, as usual, it means that 16 teams have made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs. In this post you will get information about match ups, together with predictions.

Stanley Cup 2016, Round of 16

Washington Capitals – Philadelphia Flyers

Comment: Caps, led by Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Bäckstrom has performed well in the series, as usual. But now it’s time for the playoffs, where they have not been able to match their regular season in the recent years. Chances are that “the Philly Flu” will reach the capital before this series is over.

Florida Panthers – New York Islanders

Comment: One of the most interesting match ups beforehand. Two teams that have been struggling for the past years, but have raised their game lately. Islanders have something good going on and the Panthers, led by Czech icon Jaromir Jagr, have showed that there are room for two hockey teams in sunny Florida. At the same time it is one of the more difficult sereis to predict,  it could go either way. Jagr scores the decider in game seven overtime? 🙂

Tampa Bay Lightning – Detroit Red Wings

Comment: Detroit barely reached their 25th straight playoff barely. They got some help from Ottawa who unexpectedly defeated Boston Bruins, even though they had nothing to play for, while Bruins were chasing a playoff spot. The Red Wings have not played convincingly this year and is not the same team as it used to be. However, they have a lot of routine in players like Kronwall, Zetterberg and Datsuyk. Tampa was in the final last year and would normally count as a clear favorite in this series. However, they are plagued by injuries on some of their key players.

Pittsburgh Penguins – New York Rangers

Comment: A prestigious and classic match up. Last year, Swedish forward Carl Hagelin sent home penguins to lethargy in a deciding game. This year, Hagelin will try to do the same for the Penguins who have played a good game at the end of the regular season. If they retain the shape in the playoffs, then Rangers might not advance to the quarter finals this year.

Dallas Stars – Minnesota Wild

Comment: Dallas has as usual done a great job in the regular season, but just as with the Capitals, they often have difficulties to follow it up with equally robust efforts in the playoffs. It will be necessary in order to defeat Minnesota Wild.

Anaheim Ducks – Nashville Predators

Comment: Anaheim Ducks began the season in the worst possible way, but then managed to raise their game. They are a team made for playoffs with robusness, subtlety and some malice. Chances are, in 2016, the Predators will not be at the top of the food chain.

St. Louis Blues – Chicago Blackhawks

Comment: Another team that performed well in the regular season against a classic playoff team. Blues have never won the Stanley Cup and the risk is that they will not advance from the round of 16 against the modern dynasty and current champions Chicago, who always manage to find ways to win important matches.

Los Angeles Kings – San Jose Sharks

Comment: Can the Sharks led by Joe Thornton manages shake of their playoff ghost? The resistance is the toughest possible, with the Kings who are eager for revenge since they, as reigning champions, missed last year’s playoffs. An interesting and difficult series to predict, but it might end with King’s eating shark fin soup in the quarterfinals.

Finland won the World Juniors 2016

Team Finland

The 2016 IIHF World Juniors eventually became a tale with a happy ending for the host nation Finland. After the group phase they eliminated team Canada in the quarterfinal, their nordic rivals Sweden in the semifinal and in the final against Russia, Hartwall Arena exploded when Kasperi Kapanen scored the decisive goal in sudden death.

Finland won a dramatic final

However, it was Russia who got the early lead through Vladislav Kamenev 4:50 into the first period. Both teams had their chances in the first and second period, but both goalies played a solid game. In the third period, Finlands best offensive line woke up though. Patrik Laine scored the equalized just 24 seconds into the period. They were also close to gaining the lead, but instead, Russia scored 2-1 on the counter attack. Finland tied the game once again, this time through Sebastian Aho, assisted by Laine and Jesse Puljujärvi. With only 2:09 left on the clock, many thought that Mikko Rantanen would be Finland’s golden hero with his 3-2 goal. Russia managed to tie the game to 3-3 with only 6,9 seconds left on the clock though and this show went to overtime. One and a half minute into sudden death, Kasperi Kapanen rounded the Russian goal and scored the decider. This was Finland’s second gold in three years, both gold medals gained through overtime victories.

Team USA won the bronze

Sweden did not manage to recharge and motivate themselves after the loss in the semifinal against Finland. USA got the early 2-0 lead. Sweden quickly tied the game in the first period, but most of the remaining game was all about USA who won comfortably 8-3. This year’s version of Sweden’s national team Three Crowns was about all-or-nothing. They went for the gold, and when this goal was out of reach, they failed to recharge. The World Juniors is a hard tournament to win with all the best players participating. In the playoffs there are three elimination games that have to be won in order to become the world champions. Sweden will have to go back to the drawing board and find new ways of winning important games. The next year they will have a new coach since Rikard Grönborg is going to coach the senior national hockey team, starting with the World Cup of Hockey.

World Juniors 2017

The World Juniors 2017 are played in Canada and these are the groups:

Montreal:
Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland

Toronto:
Canada, Russia, USA, Slovakia, Latvia

A hockey tournament in Canada means small ice and a dedicated crowd. It will be a blast! In the 2012 World Juniors, the tournament was hosted in Calgary and Edmonton. Then, Sweden won the gold by defeating Russia in the final. Mika Zibanejad scored the decisive goal in overtime. Maybe we will see something similar happening next year. One can always hope!

The all star team 2016:

Goalie: Linus Söderström, Sverige
Defenders: Olli Juolevi, Finland, Zach Warenski, USA
Forwards: Patrik Laine, Finland (MVP), Jesse Puljujärvi, Finland, Auston Matthews, USA