2025 World Juniors: Standouts from Sweden vs. Kazakhstan

Sweden is the only team in Group B with a 2-0 record after beating Kazakhstan 8-1 on Friday evening in Ottawa.

Sweden dominated the first period, racking up five goals on 12 shots. Victor Eklund opened the scoring, before David Edstrom, Linus Eriksson, Felis Nilsson and Anton Wahlberg also found the back of the net.

After a pretty balanced first 12 minutes of the second period, Wahlberg would once again find the scoresheet, beating Ottawa Senators draft pick Vladimir Nikitin for his second of the evening. Nikitin was rock solid between the pipes in the second, making a flurry of desperation saves on Sweden’s power play.

Here’s who stood out on Friday evening:

Sweden

#18 Victor Eklund, C (2025 NHL Draft): Eklund had a solid showing, starting by scoring the first goal five minutes in. Eklund later added an assist on Wahlberg’s goal to end the first period. He finished the night with two points, adding to what’s been an excellent start for the top prospect. There’s a chance he goes in the top five – we’ll see what happens.

#22 Anton Wahlberg, LW (Buffalo Sabres): Wahlberg notched the fifth and sixth goals for Sweden tonight. The second came on the power play on a nice feed from Theo Lindstein, with Wahlberg wasting no time on the shot. He notched two assists as well in the first period, capping the night off with four points. Not bad for a winger who received flak for a quiet showing last night.

#1 Marcus Gidlof, G (New York Islanders): The Swedish netminder stopped 15 of the 16 shots he faced and was solid between the pipes throughout the first and second period. While Kazakhstan did find the scoresheet late in the 2nd period, Gidlof remained poised throughout the rest of the game, keeping the Kazak’s at just one goal.

Kazakhstan

#55 Vladimir Nikitin, G (Ottawa Senators): If you’re Nikitin, you wipe that first period off and focus on the next, and that’s what he did. The Senators’ prospect was all over the place in the second period, making a couple of sprawling saves and helping keep the door shut on a couple of big Swedish power plays. Nikitin then made a sprawling poke check save in the final minute of the third period to channel his inner Dominik Hasek. He faced 52 shots on goal in what will likely be the toughest showing of the tournament.

#15 Artur Gross, C: Goals are going to be hard to come by for the Kazakhs, so Gross’ goal was a big moment for both him and the country. The crowd erupted and loved it, and it helped give them a bit more oomph in their game. It didn’t matter much, but an energy-shifting play like that can be positive for a team that’s just looking to hang around.