Roby Jarventie and what we learned from the quarterfinals at the World Juniors
Wednesday saw the busiest day on the World Juniors schedule thus far. All four quarter-final matchups took place, and there were quality games throughout the day.
The Semi-finals are set for Friday, but before we get to that here is everything that we learned from the quarter-finals.
Jarventie dominates in Finnish finish
Roby Jarventie (Ottawa Senators) has been strong for the Finns throughout the tourament, and he turned in his most dominating performance yet at just the right time — quarterfinal action against Germany. Jarventie scored twice and added two assists for an impressive four-point showing in the quarters. He’s now up to nine points (five goals, four assists) through the first five games of the tournament as is among the event’s leading scorers. Finland has been impressive and rebounded nicely after a tough loss to Canada in the preliminary round.
If they keep getting performances like this from players like Jarventie they could be a tough out in the semifinals.
Rosen, Andrae help Sweden to medal round at World Juniors
Latvia deserves a ton of credit for their performance, advancing to the medal rounds and giving Sweden a tough battle in the quarters is a big accomplishment. For Sweden, despite a scary trend of slow starts, they were powered to victory by their top blueliner and one of their best scoring wingers. Emil Andrae (Philadelphia Flyers) and Isak Rosen (Buffalo Sabres) each scored to help Sweden win 2-1 in a game they probably imagined going a little differently.
In these rounds the only thing that matters is the result, but Sweden can’t keep starting games the way that they have if they want a legitimate shot at gold.
Stankoven’s three-point game moves Canada to medal contention
Dallas Stars prospect Logan Stankoven has been a fun player to watch since his draft year, and he had his strongest showing of the event on Wednesday night. Stankoven, the 2021-22 CHL Player of the Year, scored twice — including the game sealing empty-netter — and added an assist for the Canadians in their 6-3 win over the Swiss. The theme for Canada has been a different player stepping up each night, and this time Stankoven stole the show.
He’s a gifted player with the puck on his stick and he had his skill on full display against Switzerland. Canada is a deep roster and if their role players are going to keep stepping up like Stankoven did, they’re going to be tough to bet against going forward.
Kulich shines in latest World Juniors upset
Czechia took on the USA in the late game Wednesday night and pulled off the only upset in the quarters. Their top line was dominant, with Jan Mysak (Montreal Canadiens) and Michael Gut both scoring goals but it was Jiri Kulich (Buffalo Sabres) who stole the show. The 2022 IIHF World Under-18 Championship leading scorer has been pretty good throughout the tournament, but picked a must win game to put on his best performance.
Kulich scored a goal and added two assists for a three-point performance and helped Czechia knock out the Americans and advance to the semifinal against Canada on Friday.
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: OSKAR OLAUSSON AND THE THINGS WE LEARNED ON DAY 4 OF THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 5: WYATT KAISER AND THE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM DAY 5 OF THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 6: RALFS BERGMANIS AND WHAT WE LEARNED FROM DAY 6 OF THE WORLD JUNIORS
DAY 7: RIDLY GREIG AND WHAT WE LEARNED FROM DAY 7 OF THE WORLD JUNIORS
QUARTERS: ROBY JARVENTIE AND WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE QUARTERS AT THE WORLD JUNIORS