Eurolanche

WJC 2016: Summary

The 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki is over, as the tournament was wrapped up by the medal games yesterday. The Colorado Avalanche had two prospects attending the tourney – forward Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Sergei Boikov. The tournament was played in both the Helsinki Ice Hall and the Hartwall Arena and set a new world junior attendance record for Europe.

The second arena, which also hosted the jersey retirement ceremony for Finnish legend Teemu Selanne, hosted the gold medal game, the last game played at this year’s tournament. Battling for gold were the hosts and their Russian counterparts, with the Finns emerging victorious after a dramatic finish, winning the game 4-3 in OT after the Russians tied the game with 6 seconds left in regulation. Finland has now won two of the last three world juniors. The bronze medal game saw the US defeat Sweden 8-3. It was Sweden’s biggest margin of defeat in a medal game at the world juniors.

The new junior world champions

The Finns lead by head coach Jukka Jalonen had to give their best en route to a gold medal, as they conceded at least 3 goals in 5 of the 7 games they played. Despite conceding a lot of goals, the Finns made up for their defensive lapses by playing great offensively and only lost one game, falling 6-4 against Russia in the preliminary round. Because of the loss, Finland finished second in the group stage and faced Canada in the quarterfinals. The hosts showed great resilience in the aforementioned game, winning a seesaw game 6-5. In the semifinals, they squared off against their archrivals Sweden, winning a close 2-1 game.

IIHF Vice President Kalervo Kummola handing Rantanen the WJC Cup

Sweden went on to lose in the bronze medal game, again finishing fourth, while the Russians once again finished as runner-ups. The fourth-place finish for the Swedes will be viewed as a massive disappointment, as they were viewed as one of the tournament’s favorites, while they were also out for payback against the Finns, who won gold in Sweden two years ago. The Swedes were forced to play without defenseman Sebastian Aho, who was sidelined since playing against Canada and William Nylander, who was forced out of the lineup after Sweden’s first game at the tournament against Switzerland.

Following the gold medal game, 17-year-old phenom Jesse Puljujarvi was named the tournament’s MVP, after scoring 17 points in 7 games, finishing fourth in all-time points for an under 18 player at the tournament only behind Jaromir Jagr, Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros, the latter two also scoring 17 points. Jagr leads the list with 18 points. Aside from being named MVP, Puljujarvi was also named as the tournament’s best forward.

Sweden’s Linus Soderstrom was named the tournament’s best goalie, who recorded a remarkable shutout against the US in Sweden’s last game of the group stage. The Islanders prospect became a fan favorite after sharing his life story, having being diagnosed with Asperger’s and ADHD when he was only 7. To the surprise of many, Soderstrom was benched in favor of Felix Sandstrom in the bronze medal game. US captain and Blue Jackets prospect Zach Werenski was named as the best defenseman of the tournament.

The trio was also named to the tournament’s All-Star Team, where they were joined by Finnish defenseman Olli Juolevi, Puljujarvi’s linemate Patrik Laine and projected top-prospect Auston Matthews.

Grading the Avalanche prospects

Sergei Boikov – C+

It’s difficult to properly grade a shut-down defenseman like Boikov without the availability of stats like blocked shots and hits. Despite finishing the tournament without a point, Boikov had a solid outing, considering this was his first major international tournament. Throughout the tournament, the young defenseman was paired up with offensive defenseman and Flyers prospect Ivan Provorov, which only stressed his importance as a shut-down blueliner, defense being a big part of Russia’s run to the finals. Boikov was victimized on Finland’s golden goal, as Kasperi Kapanen deked past him, went behind the net and scored on a wraparound.

Boikov and Provorov covering Rantanen in front of the Russian net

Mikko Rantanen – B

Rantanen’s grade would’ve been higher if it hadn’t been for the emergence of Puljujarvi’s line and his subsequent demotion to the third line in the latter stage of the preliminary round. Although he was separated from Kasperi Kapanen, Rantanen still played with him on the second power-play unit. Throughout the preliminary round, the Finnish captain only recorded one goal – an empty-netter. Despite his lack of production, Rantanen remained a threat every time he stepped on the ice and upped his play once it mattered the most. He led Finland’s comeback against Sweden, setting up both Finnish goals. Rantanen almost scored the game-winner in the finals, but his goal was canceled out by the Russians 6 seconds before the end of regulation. After the game, he was named as Finland’s player of the game.

After the gold medal game, Rantanen was named as Finland's player of the game

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