It has been a strange couple of days here in Copenhagen as the 2018 IIHF World Championship wrapped up on Sunday.
For the first time in my four years of covering the tournament, Canada failed to bring home a medal. The Canadians dropped a 3-2 decision to the plucky team from Switzerland in the semifinal, then laid an egg in a 4-1 loss to the U.S. in the bronze-medal game. The final score makes the game look worse than it was, since the Americans scored two empty-net goals, but I can't say with any conviction that Canada deserved to win.
There is a bright side for Canucks fans, though: Bo Horvat looked good and played hard.
He was named Canada's best player against Switzerland, with one goal and a team-leading seven shots.
"I obviously wanted to win gold," he said about his effort after the loss to the U.S. "I wanted to be in the final and be playing for a gold medal. It's not the result we wanted, but I'm going to take the positives out of this experience and bring them into next year."
Despite the disappointing outcome, Horvat said was able to grow his game while he was here in Denmark.
"We wanted to bring home something. I'm just taking the positives out of this, coming out strong next year in Vancouver. If I get the opportunity to come back here in the future, then we're going to go for gold."
With 20 points in 10 games, U.S. captain Patrick Kane was named tournament MVP. I haven't had a chance to transcribe his comments yet from the bronze-medal game, but he said that one reason why he joined Team USA was seeing how many players have come back stronger to the NHL after past tournaments.
He name-checked guys like Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon. Mark Scheifele is another example. Heck, so is Sidney Crosby—his recent 'best player in the world' run began with his gold medal with Canada in Prague in 2015.
I'm tempted to say that Horvat may have been the Canadian player who most exceeded expectations this year. Mostly given tough, two-way assignments and no power-play time, he tied for fifth on the team with three goals and was tied for fourth with seven points in the 10-game tournament.
"He was great towards me," Horvat said about coach Bill Peters, "giving me lots of ice time and putting me out in key situations—penalty kill and in the last two minutes, trying to score a goal. He was great towards me and I'm definitely grateful for that."
Even without a medal, it was a strong finish to the season for Horvat, who also showed great resolve when he came back from his broken foot earlier in the season. His attitude and determination could be his best asset—and at 23, he's still growing as a person and a player.
Also exceeding expectations—Canucks goaltender Anders Nilsson, who gave the Swedes their chance to win gold when he withstood a barrage of offense from the Americans in the first period of their semifinal game. Sweden went on to win 6-0, but the U.S. team made a huge push early. If they had scored once or twice and gotten some momentum, it could have been a very different story.
Nilsson wasn't tested a ton in the final against Switzerland: Sweden outshot the Swiss 38-27. But by the time the game got to overtime, Switzerland was going for it; they had nothing to lose. They held the 9-5 edge in shots during the extra frame.
From my vantage point, Nilsson looked anxious heading into the shootout:
Switzerland got the early edge when Sven Andrighetto scored on the first shot, but that was the only goal that Nilsson allowed. At the other end, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Filip Forsberg were able to beat sensational Swiss goalie Leonardo Genoni and for the second-straight year, Sweden captured gold in the shootout.
Swedish coach Rikard Gronborg mentioned after the semifinal that Nilsson had been in full vacation mode when he got the call to join the team—in Italy, Nilsson said. During that time, Magnus Hellberg had been playing and practicing with the national team, which is why he was tapped for most of the early assignments, until Nilsson was ready to shoulder the load.
Considering the ups and downs that Nilsson endured in Vancouver this year, Gronborg managed him perfectly. After watching him coach his team to two straight golds, I am super impressed with Gronborg. Word is that he's gunning for an NHL coaching job down the road: he's building the resume he'll need to achieve that goal.
As for Elias Pettersson, I missed him by thismuch on Sunday.
I spotted him from behind, going into the arena, shortly before puck drop. And I saw him again, walking through the media area and heading into the stands during one of the intermissions.
I saw the other Swedish scratches go through the mixed zone after the medals were awarded, but Pettersson somehow snuck past me.
His tournament was cut short by his broken thumb, but he did manage a goal and two assists in five games, so he adds yet another medal to his trophy case from an extraordinarily productive season.
Here in Denmark, the feeling seems to be that it's not clear whether or not Pettersson will make the move to North America for next season. This is an important summer for him in terms of improving his strength—even more than 'bulking up,' per se.
We talked about this last year with Jonathan Dahlen: as a rule, Swedish players prefer to stay close to home until they're sure they can be impact players at the NHL level. With the retirement of the Sedins, the Canucks should have offensive ice time available next season, which could be tempting, but I wouldn't be entirely surprised if we have to wait one more year before Pettersson becomes a full-time Vancouver Canuck.
Speaking of the Sedins, it appears they're doing their best to embrace their new life of leisure:
I've got a couple of days left in Denmark: finishing up some writing and unfogging my brain as well as enjoying this terrific country. The Danes have been outstanding, thoughtful hosts throughout these three weeks—friendly, helpful, supportive and always quick with a smile, both inside the arena and elsewhere.
I've updated my Twitter (@pool88) and Instagram (carolschram) with a few pictures and videos from the last couple of days. Hope to add more before I head home!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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