PETTERSSON LEADS SWEDISH ARTILLERY
When he left Sweden earlier this month, Elias Pettersson was leading the top-level Swedish Hockey League with 35 points in 26 games. He’s scoring at a rate unseen since the days of Peter Forsberg and Markus Naslund.
And yet, Team Sweden head coach Tomas Monten still wasn’t sure the Vancouver Canucks prospect would be able to replicate that offensive production at the world juniors.
“It’s going to be tougher,” Monten said. “He’s not going to put up points like that because it’s a different ice surface and different game, for sure. You have less time with the puck. But for sure he has a lot of confidence — he’ll put in a puck or two.”
On Tuesday, Pettersson did just that by scoring a goal and picking up an assist in a 6-1 win against Belarus. It was an impressive game for the fifth-overall pick, but for anyone who has watched him play this year, it was also fairly ordinary.
“He’s sick,” said defenceman Rasmus Dahlin, who had two assists. “He can score, he can make plays. Give him the puck and he can do great things.”
Sweden has a lot of players like that. While Belarus is not a great litmus test in terms of competition, it’s difficult to imagine that many teams will be able to keep the Swedes off the scoresheet. From Alex Nylander, who last year tied for first in tournament scoring, to Lias Andersson (seventh overall) and Erik Brannstrom (15th overall), Sweden is overflowing with highly skilled players who have no trouble finding the back of the net.
“Dangerous,” said Dahlin, the projected No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NHL entry draft. “We have so many talented forwards. Give them the puck and I will protect the goalie.”
Perhaps therein lies the challenge for a team like Sweden. While the team has the offensive firepower to score its way out of trouble, playing a balanced game will determine whether the country, which lost 5-2 to Canada in last year’s semifinal and finished fourth overall, can win its first gold medal since 2012.
“I need to choose more when I can go,” said Dahlin. “I want to be a two-way D.”
DUBE ‘DEFINES’ CANADA
Unlike several of his teammates, Dillon Dube has not worn the C during his four years with the Kelowna Rockets.
But he was still an easy choice to be named Team Canada’s captain.
For one, the 19-year-old from Cochrane, Alta., has the experience of playing in last year’s tournament. More importantly, the speedy and versatile Dube, who is a second-round pick of the Calgary Flames, embodies the type of game head coach Dominique Ducharme wants the entire team to play.
“Being the captain, one part of it is the way he plays and his personality,” Ducharme said. “His speed, he can be bringing a lot of energy and he can be playing in many different situations — yeah, he defines our team.”
Dube, who is playing on one of the top lines with Sam Steel and Jordan Kyrou, said the team’s main strength is the unselfishness of the players.
“Every guy is worried about winning,” Dube said. “If you put your egos aside, you can accomplish great things. That’s the biggest thing for us. You know every single guy’s a leader. So you know they can accept that and move on.”
MARLIES ARE JUST WHAT LILJEGREN NEEDS
The Toronto Maple Leafs allowed William Nylander to return to Sweden after selecting him with the eighth overall pick in 2015.
Two years later, the Maple Leafs decided to keep Timothy Liljegren, this year’s 17th overall pick, in the American Hockey League with the Toronto Marlies. It was a decision that Monten, Sweden’s head coach, believes has benefited the 18-year-old defenceman’s play in his own zone.
“I think he’s developed a lot and made the right call to stay here and play for the Marlies,” Monten said. “He could always play with the puck and had his offensive skills, but I think he’s developed the other 80 per cent of his game, which is the defensive part.
“He plays with a better gap, has a better stick and commits to the physical part of the game. That’s helped him a lot.”