Oskar Olausson and the things we learned on Day 4 of the World Juniors
The fourth day of the World Juniors was a lighter schedule than the previous three, with only two games on the docket.
Sweden continued its winning ways with a predictable effort against Austria, blanking the country with a productive 6-0 effort, while Slovakia edged Latvia in a nail-biter that could have netted some crucial points banked for later in the tournament.
Despite the lighter slate of games, there were still plenty of takeaways from the action brought to us Friday.
Here’s what we learned from the fourth day of action at the World Juniors:
Oskar Olausson proves he can do more than just score
Swedish forward Oskar Olausson is known for his ability to shoot the puck, but against Austria he found a different way to get onto the scoresheet. Turns out, the offensively-gifted Colorado Avalanche prospect is a gifted playmaker as well. Olausson was credited with three assists on the game, leading all Swedish players in points for the game.
Olausson has yet to find the back of net, but if he can find a way to contribute with his playmaking ability he will become even more valuable to Sweden moving forward
Pair of prospects help propel Slovakia at World Juniors
Without Juraj Slafkovsky, Filip Mesar, and Simon Nemec, Slovakia needed someone to step up in a big way. On the first day of the tournaemnt Servac Petrovsky (Minnesota Wild) came through with a goal and against Latvia on Friday night, their other big guns showed up. It was New York Rangers prospect Adam Sykora and Dalibor Dvorsky, one of the top prospects for the 2023 NHL Draft, doing so on Friday. Both scored goals to help push the game to a shootout, where Slovakia ended coming away with the victory.
The win was a crucial victory for them because not only was it was both their first win of the World Juniors, but it helped them leapfrog Latvia in the Group A standings.
Latvia shows fight in their shootout loss
Despite losing their third of three games, Latvia showed some impressive resiliency against the Slovakians. Starting goalie Bruno Bruveris made 39 saves on 41 shots and was the standout player of the game. Latvia took the game to a shootout, earning their first point of the tournament — which could be crucial for them if everything falls their way during their final day of round robin action.
DAY 1: JOAKIM KEMELL AND THE THINGS WE LEARNED ON DAY 1 OF THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 2: CONNOR BEDARD AND THE THINGS WE LEARNED ON DAY 2 OF THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 3: MASON MCTAVISH AND THE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM DAY 3 OF THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 4: