World Juniors: Canucks prospect Tom Willander leads Sweden to win over Canada

The Vancouver Canucks’ 2023 first-round decide had a giant efficiency Friday for Sweden on the World Juniors.

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If you happen to’re a Vancouver Canucks fan, you’re allowed to have a giant grin even when your nationwide workforce misplaced Friday on the World Juniors.

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That’s as a result of one of many prize possessions within the Canucks’ prospect cabinet, Tom Willander, put in a large sport for his nation, main Sweden to a 2-0 win over Canada in Gothenburg.

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Willander, the Canucks’ 2023 first-round decide, opened the scoring for Sweden, wiring a robust wrist shot from close to the blueline over the shoulder of Canadian goalie Mathis Rousseau.

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For Willander, there have been some pleasant stakes on the road: He’s a teammate at Boston College with Canadian star Macklin Celebrini, who is anticipated to go first total in subsequent 12 months’s draft.

Willander was grinning submit sport, telling the Canadian Press in response to a query about dealing with his school teammate: “I believe I gained that one. … I believe the scoreboard speaks for itself.”

Willander performed 17:59 for Sweden and was a robust presence each time he was on the ice. He performed a key position in killing off two Canadian energy performs within the third interval.

He constantly made it troublesome for Canada to cycle the puck, utilizing his stick effectively to get into the areas the Canadians wished to hold the puck by way of.

His countryman and fellow Canucks defence prospect Elias Pettersson led Sweden with 20:41 in ice time.

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Pettersson has been a defensive pressure for Sweden at this match, a efficiency that can certainly please Canucks normal supervisor Patrik Allvin, who’s in attendance on the match. Pettersson was drafted in 2022 for his gritty play and good hockey sense, skills he’s placed on show to date this week.

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