Top standouts from Sweden vs. Switzerland in quarterfinal World Junior Championship game
Sweden will play Czechia in the World Junior Championship semifinal on Thursday after beating Switzerland 3-2 in overtime.
The Swedes have made it to the medal round 16 times in the past 18 years, with early quarterfinal exits back in 2019 and 2021. They have not won gold since 2012, and will look to win bronze for the first time since 2022 after falling in a crazy game to the United States for third last year.
The game was controlled by the boys in yellow early on, limiting the Swiss to just four shots through 25 minutes of play. Sweden scored quickly when Otto Stenberg tipped in Mattias Havelid’s point shot at 1:34 to make it 1-0. Jonathan Lekkerimaki then doubled up the advantage on the power play at 18:00, a lead that would stay that way until Jan Hornecker scored with under three minutes to go in the second frame to make it 2-1.
And just when it looked like the Swedes might have skated away mostly unscathed, the Swiss answered back. At 49:10, defenseman Nick Meile used traffic in front of goaltender Hugo Havelid and scored to make it a 2-2 game.
For the second time today, a quarterfinal game needed overtime. The Swedes looked nervous, with the Swiss forwards getting a couple of close looks. But with Rodwin Dionicio in the penalty box, Axel Sandin Pellikka’s point shot went through traffic and beat Beglieri, helping the Swedes avoid a major upset.
Sweden
#23 Jonathan Lekkerimaki, RW (Vancouver Canucks): The only guy that can compete with Lekkerimaki in clear space on the man advantage might be Finland’s Kasper Halttunen. Lekkerimaki’s wrister was perfectly placed to make it a 2-0 game, capitalizing on what had been a solid game from the future Canucks winger. When Lekkerimaki is scoring, Sweden’s in a good spot.
#22 Anton Wahlberg, LW (Buffalo Sabres): Wahlberg planted himself in front of the net often in the first period and led to the Swedes scoring twice. He doesn’t get feisty in front; he just gets there he needs to be and takes space away. And nobody seems to want to move him out of the way, either.
#24 Tom Willander, D (Vancouver Canucks): Theo Lindstein has received a ton of attention this tournament, and for good reason. But I thought Willander was more noticeable today. He’s a high-end skater who diligently patrols the blueline, waiting for the right time to make a mass. He’s strong physically and makes it his mission to keep you to the perimeter when rushing in. Today felt like a very complete effort from the 11th pick in 2023.
#25 Otto Stenberg, LW (St. Louis Blues): Stenberg had a quiet few games since nabbing a hat-trick against Germany. Today, he was in the right spot at the right time when he tipped in a shot from Mattias Havelid that was otherwise going high. Stenberg showed some flashes of high-end hand-eye coordination in this tournament, but that was big for the Swedes.
#4 Axel Sandin Pellikka, D (Detroit Red Wings): He was on this before the goal, I swear. The one thing ASP does well is waiting for traffic to form before sending a wrister, and it led to the crucial overtime goal. But he had some other looks in that game where he showed how gifted of a puck-mover he is. With Sweden moving on, they’ll look for him to continue flying high on home ice.
Switzerland
#29 Alessio Beglieri, G (Undrafted): Beglieri hasn’t always had it easy in this tournament, but he’s been one of Switzerland’s most valuable players. He allowed the one tip early from Stenberg but was near lights out the rest of the way. There wasn’t much he could do on that power-play goal with how good of a shot Lekkerimaki has. This could have easily been a 4-0 game early in the second, but instead he kept his team in it all night long.
#28 Nick Meile, D (Undrafted): After not getting named to the roster until Dec. 31, Meile scored a massive goal by using Swedish traffic in front of Hugo Havelid to make it 2-2. He had an opportunity to pass it seconds early but waited long enough to know the Swedish defenders were going to try and get in front of Havelid for a block. It paid off.
#5 Leo Braillard, C (Undrafted): It really seemed like no matter what the result, this game was personal for Braillard. Passed over for the draft last year, this was one of the hardest I had seen him play all tournament long. He was especially noticeable in his first three shifts in the third period as the Swiss needed a goal desperately.
#6 Jamiro Reber, LW (2024 NHL Draft): Honestly, I was hoping for more from Reber at this tournament, but I liked his game today. He was skating well, made some nice plays and set up the late second-period goal for the Swiss.
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