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Ice Hockey World Juniors 2019

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World Juniors

Team Canada won the final of the 2018 World Juniors against Team Sweden through a late goal in the third period. The Swedish Three Crowns showed an excellent performance in the group stage as usual, and went through a solid ride in the play offs. Now they have another shot for the gold when the tournament are to be decided in Victoria and Vancouver, Canada. In this post we present the schedule for the 2019 World Juniors, with a focus on Sweden’s games. As by tradition, the World Juniors are initiated between Christmas and New Year, and the play offs are played during the first week of January.

Sweden in the 2019 World Juniors

In the group stage of the 2019 World Juniors ten teams are divided into two groups. Eight spots in the playoffs are at stake. The top team from each group will face the fourth placed team in the other group and so on.

Group A

Canada
Czech Republic
Russia
Switzerland
Denmark

Group B 

Sweden
USA
Finland
Slovakia
Kazakhstan

Sweden, that has a habit to go undefeated during the group stage in the World Juniors, will battle for the group win mainly against USA and Finland. However, Slovakia is not an easy opponent either. Kazakhstan should be the underdog in this company, and anything but a fifth place would be a big suprise.

Sweden’s games (Swedish time):

December 27  2018, 04:30: Finland-Sweden
December 28 2018, 00:30 Slovakia-Sweden
December 30 2018, 04:30 Sweden-USA
Januari 1 2019, 02:00 Sweden-Kazakhstan

Hence, there will be some late nights or early mornings for those of us that wants to see the games on TV.

2019 World Juniors: Playoffs

January 2: Quarterfinals x4
January 4: Semifinales x2
January 5: Bronze game
January 6: Final!

We hope for new medals in the World Juniors for the Three Crowns. This post will be updated with more information, including the names of the Swedish squad.

 

Schedule, IIHF World Juniors 2018

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juniorhockey

The 2018 IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Champions are hosted in Buffalo, United States, December 26 2017 – January 5 2018. In this post you find the groups, Team Sweden’s games and dates for playoffs. 10 teams are divided into 2 groups where four teams from every group advances to the quarterfinals. In 2017, Team USA won the gold after defeating Canada in the final game. Russia won the bronze game against Sweden.

Groups, IIHF World Juniors 2018

Group A:

United States (current champions)
Canada
Denmark
Slovakia
Finland

Prediction: Team USA and Canada will fight over the group win. They will face each other on December 29 in an outdoor game!

Group B:

Russia
Sweden
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Belarus

Prediction: Russia and Sweden are facing each other on New Years Eve 2017. That game will probably decide what team wins group B. Sweden has been undefeated in the group phase the last 10(!) years in the World Juniors.

Sweden’s games:

December 26: Belarus – Sweden
December 28: Sweden – Czech Republic
December 30: Sweden – Switzerland
December 31: Russia – Sweden

Playoffs:

January 2: Quarterfinals
January 4: Semifinals
January 5: Bronze game and final game

What team will win the Ice Hockey World Juniors 2016/17?

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juniorhockey

Christmas time means hockey time in Canada! 2016 is no exception when we once again look forward to watching the best juniors in the world take part in the Ice Hockey World Juniors 2016/17. Last year, Finland won the tournament after defeating Russia in the final. In this post we present the group and play offs schedule for this year’s tournament. The 2016/17 World Juniors starts December 26, 2016 and the final is played January 5, 2017.

Groups, World Juniors 2016-17

Ten teams are divided into two groups from which the four best teams advances to the quarterfinals.

Group A:

Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
Sweden
Switzerland

Comment: It is important to wn this group in order to avoid facing Canada, USA or Russia early in the playoffs. Although group A consists of overall strong teams, our bet is that the battle for the group win will stand between the Nordic rivals Sweden and Finland.

Group B:

Canada
USA
Russia
Slovakia
Latvia

Comment: Canada is always strong, especially at home on a smaller ice than in the European version of the tournament. However, there are no easy games in group B where every team has a chance to reach the playoffs. The teams want to place at least 1 or 2 in order to avoid facing Finland and Sweden in the quarterfinal.

Playoffs in the World Juniors 2016/17

January 2: Quarterfinals
January 4: Semifinals
January 5: Final (and bronze game)

What team will win the World Juniors 2016/17?

As stated above, Canada has the advantage of the home crowd which makes a strong team even better. However, the margins in the World Juniors are always small and we know that USA, Russia, Sweden and Finland always are strong competitors for the gold. It will be interesting to see if Finland can build on the success last year where they won both the World Juniors and the U18 tournaments. Sweden has a new coach that yet has to be tested so it is hard to predict where the Three Crowns stands before the tournament has begun.

Finland won the World Juniors 2016

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Team Finland

The 2016 IIHF World Juniors eventually became a tale with a happy ending for the host nation Finland. After the group phase they eliminated team Canada in the quarterfinal, their nordic rivals Sweden in the semifinal and in the final against Russia, Hartwall Arena exploded when Kasperi Kapanen scored the decisive goal in sudden death.

Finland won a dramatic final

However, it was Russia who got the early lead through Vladislav Kamenev 4:50 into the first period. Both teams had their chances in the first and second period, but both goalies played a solid game. In the third period, Finlands best offensive line woke up though. Patrik Laine scored the equalized just 24 seconds into the period. They were also close to gaining the lead, but instead, Russia scored 2-1 on the counter attack. Finland tied the game once again, this time through Sebastian Aho, assisted by Laine and Jesse Puljujärvi. With only 2:09 left on the clock, many thought that Mikko Rantanen would be Finland’s golden hero with his 3-2 goal. Russia managed to tie the game to 3-3 with only 6,9 seconds left on the clock though and this show went to overtime. One and a half minute into sudden death, Kasperi Kapanen rounded the Russian goal and scored the decider. This was Finland’s second gold in three years, both gold medals gained through overtime victories.

Team USA won the bronze

Sweden did not manage to recharge and motivate themselves after the loss in the semifinal against Finland. USA got the early 2-0 lead. Sweden quickly tied the game in the first period, but most of the remaining game was all about USA who won comfortably 8-3. This year’s version of Sweden’s national team Three Crowns was about all-or-nothing. They went for the gold, and when this goal was out of reach, they failed to recharge. The World Juniors is a hard tournament to win with all the best players participating. In the playoffs there are three elimination games that have to be won in order to become the world champions. Sweden will have to go back to the drawing board and find new ways of winning important games. The next year they will have a new coach since Rikard Grönborg is going to coach the senior national hockey team, starting with the World Cup of Hockey.

World Juniors 2017

The World Juniors 2017 are played in Canada and these are the groups:

Montreal:
Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland

Toronto:
Canada, Russia, USA, Slovakia, Latvia

A hockey tournament in Canada means small ice and a dedicated crowd. It will be a blast! In the 2012 World Juniors, the tournament was hosted in Calgary and Edmonton. Then, Sweden won the gold by defeating Russia in the final. Mika Zibanejad scored the decisive goal in overtime. Maybe we will see something similar happening next year. One can always hope!

The all star team 2016:

Goalie: Linus Söderström, Sverige
Defenders: Olli Juolevi, Finland, Zach Warenski, USA
Forwards: Patrik Laine, Finland (MVP), Jesse Puljujärvi, Finland, Auston Matthews, USA

We look forward to the (super)sports year 2016

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In an earlier post we summarized the sports year 2015. I this post we look forward to the biggest events of 2016. Immediately we can sort out a top three list with European football championships in France, Summer Olympics in Brazil and World Cup of Hockey in Canada. On top of that, all the usual yearly events will entertain us between the major happenings.

Tour de Ski

Tour de Ski is the first milestone of 2016. January 1-10 the best skiers of the world will battle for gold and glory in a series of events which ends with a climb up a downhill slope. In the nordic skiing events so far this season, the Norwegian skiers have dominated the tracks. However, in Sweden we hope that Charlotte Kalla will be able to challenge Therese Johaug, Heidi Weng and the other competitors.

Längdskidor

More info: FIS Ski

IIHF World Championships in Russia

The World Championships of Hockey are always fun to watch. It gets even more interesting when the tournament is set in a big hockey nation. Last year, Canada won by defeating Russia in the final. This year, the Russians want to use the home field advantage to retake the throne and win the gold. We hope for a high quality tournament in which many players want to show their best skills in order to gain a spot in the World Cup in september-october. The IIHF World Championships 2016 are played May 6-22.

Tre Kronor2

UEFA Euro 2016 in France

June 10 – July 10 the biggest football event of the year is held in France. 24 European nations are battling for going all the way to the final. After exciting qualifiers we look forward to a tournament of good quality. Sweden managed to reach the Euro 2016 by defeating Denmark in the play offs. Team captain Zlatan Ibrahimoivc must now find ways to score against tougher opposition, in the group phase they are drawn against Belgium, Ireland and Italy.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

More info: UEFA

Summer Olympics in Brazil

The summer olympics are always a special event. This year they are held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. We look forward to seeing more duels like the ones in the 2015 IIAF World Champions in Beijing 2015. Will Mo Farah and Usain Bolt continue to dominate or is it time for a new generation of athletes to challenge the masters? August 5-21 over 10500 athletes from more than 200 countries will fight for the medals.

More info: Official homepage

World Cup of Hockey in Canada

The biggest hockey event of the year is held in Canada September 17 – October 1. The World Cup of Hockey 2016 might be one of the greatest international competition in modern time. The last time it was held was in 2004 and 1996. Before then, the tournament was known as Canada Cup. The World Cup is held early in the season and all the best players will participate. Also, two wildcard teams, consisting of young, North American players and a mix of European players from the “lesser” hockey nations, will challenge the established “big six”.

World Cup of Hockey 2016

More info: NHL.com

World Juniors in Canada

The finale of the sports- and hockey year 2016 is held in Canada when the World Juniors 2017 begins. It is aways fun to watch a hockey tournament held in the home land of the sport, although Canada always make sure they gain every possible advantage at home. However, the 2015-16 edition of the tournament in Finland is still underway and we will follow the play offs as the world’s best junior hockey players are battling for the gold. Later, we will post the schedule for the 2017 World Juniors.

World Juniors

Stay tuned and follow us as we progress through the super sports year 2016!