World U18s: 3 stars from Day 2

Day 2 of the 2021 IIHF World Under-18 Hockey Championship is all wrapped up, and the eight teams that hit the ice kept the excitement rolling on the second day of action.

The first game of the day saw Russia get their second start of the tournament, taking on Finland in their first game. And what a game it was. Led by Fyodor Svechkov‘s two goals and Danila Yurov‘s two assists, Russia went up 3-1 through the first 58 minutes. In the last two minutes of the game, goals from Ville Koivunen and Samu Tuomaala tied the game up. It ended up going to a shootout, where Finland came out victorious.

RELATED: WORLD U18S: 3 STARS FROM DAY 1

This was Russia’s second game in as many days with extra time needed. After climbing back to win 7-6 after being down 5-1 to Team USA on Monday, Russia found themselves on the other end on Tuesday. The game also featured a scary moment when Finland’s Oliver Kapanen lost his footing and went headfirst into the boards, requiring a stretcher off the ice.

Russia’s two overtime games will be interesting when it comes to the final round-robin standings, with Russia only collecting three of a potential six points in through their first two games.

RELATED: WORLD U18S: 10 2021-ELIGIBLES TO WATCH

At the same time, Belarus and Switzerland were facing off in each of their second games of the tournament, and if you missed Danila Klimovich in his first game, he made sure he left an impression today, leading the way with three goals en route to a 7-1 win. Defenseman and captain Vladislav Shilo also picked up three assists in the game. Also of note? Dmitri Kuzmin pulled off potentially the goal of the tournament – check it out in the highlight of the day below.

In the first of the later games, the Americans took on Team Germany and came out on top 5-3, although it wasn’t an easy road. Germany proved to be a difficult test for Team USA, keeping it close throughout the game. The American’s were only given a chance to go up by two goals at a time before Germany would creep back up. Ty Gallagher gave the American’s the win though, thanks to his two-goal performance, with Isaac Howard providing support with two assists.

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The last game of the day, happening at the same time as the American versus German game, had Canada hitting the ice for the first time in the tournament, taking on Team Sweden is what was the biggest test for the Canadians for the preliminary round due to their weaker pool. It turned out to be a 12-1 win for Canada, who was firing on all cylinders. With Canada’s remaining games against Latvia, Switzerland, and Belarus, they have a very strong chance of winning the pool outright.

Shane Wright (three goals) and Brandt Clarke (two goals, two assists) were the stars of the night, as was the OHL as a whole, with the league’s players collecting 10 of Canada’s 12 goals. Francesco Pinelli also had three points (one goal, two assists), with Dylan Guenther, Mason McTavish, Logan Stankoven, Conner Roulette, and Wyatt Johnston all collecting a pair of points. 2022-eligible Simon Forsmark had the lone goal for Sweden, on an absolute rocket of a wrist shot.

The games keep rolling and the highlights are still just getting started. Here are FCHockey’s Three Stars of the Day, presented by SummerSkates – Show Your Game.

Third star: Danila Klimovich (BLR)

After garnering some attention on day one versus Team Sweden, Klimovich came out to impress on day two with three goals in the 7-1 win over Switzerland. It seems in every international tournament there’s a lesser-known prospect that bursts onto the scene and shows why he probably should have been on the radar all along. It looks like that’s Klimovich in this event, already with four goals in two games. Keep an eye on him moving forward to see if he can keep piling the goals on.

Second star: Brandt Clarke (CAN)

Coming into this tournament, Clarke is very much in the conversation for first overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, sitting at No. 5 in FCHockey’s Spring rankings. A big U18 tournament could push him over the edge as the top defenseman in this draft. So far, so good. In the first game of the event, Clarke collected four points (two goals, two assists) in this one. We could be watching the start of Clarke pulling away from the very crowded top-10 in this draft class.

First star: Shane Wright (CAN)

It’s been 422 since Wright last scored a goal – March 1, 2020. Actually, he had a hat trick in that game. In the first game of this tournament, the Canadian captain pulled out a hat trick again, leading Canada to a _-_ win over Team Sweden. He showed off his absolutely lethal shot, completing the hattrick within the first 40 minutes. With Latvia, Switzerland, and Belarus Canada’s remaining opponents, Wright should have a VERY good tournament.

Shane Wright completes the hat trick! 8-0 CAN #U18Worlds pic.twitter.com/neC7v2iOa6

— Josh Bell (@JoshuaBell31) April 28, 2021

Honorable mentions

Dmitri Kuzmin (BLR), Brad Lambert (FIN), Aleksi Malinen (FIN), Francesco Pinelli (CAN), Vladislav Shilo (BLR), Fyodor Svechkov (RUS), Danila Yurov (RUS)

Highlight of the night

While it’s been Klimovich stealing the show for everyone’s favorite Team Belarus early on in this tournament, it’s Kuzmin that has the goal of the tournament so far, pulling off this Michigan/lacrosse against Swiss netminder Kevin Pasche.

🤯 Dmitri Kuzmin scores unbelievable lacrosse-style goal! #U18Worlds #NHLDraft @IIHFHockey pic.twitter.com/uBY00aSi0A

— Хоккей Беларуси | Hockey.by (@hockey_blr) April 27, 2021

FCHockey’s 3 stars of the day

April 26 | Day 1: Third: Fabian Lysell (SWE), Second: Lane Hutson (USA), First: Nikita Chibrikov (RUS)