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Elias Pettersson dazzles for Sweden as Canucks hit the ice for Worlds Day 1 |
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Following the trend of this year's upset-happy NHL playoffs, Day 1 of the 2019 World Championship was an upset-fest in Slovakia. The only somewhat expected result was Russia's 5-2 win over Norway but even there, the Norwegians brought a plucky effort against a Russian team that's so stacked, Alex Ovechkin isn't even on the first power-play unit.
In other games, the sold-out cheering sections in Kosice and Bratislava went home happy as the home Slovaks upset Team USA 4-1, while the team from the nearby Czech Republic knocked off Sweden 5-2 and Canada lost 3-1 to Finland.
So, all three teams featuring Canucks players took losses, but Elias Pettersson was right up there with Kaapo Kakko as arguably the top individual star of Day 1. Pettersson was named Sweden's best player and earned plenty of praise during the broadcast of his game for the strong defensive play and creative moves that we've come to expect from him.
Coach Rikard Gronborg used Pettersson as a bit of a spare part at last year's tournament, on the wing, until he was knocked out of action when he hurt his hand after crashing the net. This year, Pettersson topped all Swedish forwards with 19:35 of ice time as the team's first-line centre in Game 1, playing with William Nylander and Patrick Hornqvist. The trio combined nicely to score Sweden's first goal in the game.
If Petey and Nylander continue to show chemistry as the tournament rolls along, could that add fuel to possible summer trade rumours when Toronto buckles down to make some decisions about its salary-cap crunch?
As for the other two Canucks on the Swedish teamâJacob Markstrom did not dress after taking that hard hit in the Swedes' pre-tournament game, but did post his up-high view of the game to his Instagram Story. And Loui Eriksson didn't get used much differently than he does with the Canucks. He skated on Sweden's third line with Anton Lander and Jesper Bratt. He had four shots on goal and finished up as a team-high minus-3 in 15:37 of ice time.
Moving on to Team USA, coach Jeff Blashill wasted no time putting draft-eligible Jack Hughes into a prime spot in his lineup. Playing primarily in a group of five with Patrick Kane and James van Riemsdyk up front and brother Quinn with Adam Fox on the back end, Jack showed a few impressive playmaking moments but strugged a bit on the defensive side of the puck. Quinn and Fox served as the U.S. team's third defense pairing, behind Ryan Suter/Alec Martinez and Noah Hanifin/Brady Skjei, but Blashill deployed his units pretty evenly. Quinn finished with 18:15 of ice time, had one third-period shot on goal and was even in plus-minus.
Thatcher Demko served as Cory Schneider's backup on Friday. I wonder if he'll get a look fairly early in this tournament? USA faces France on Sunday.
As for Canadaâthey played a tight game against the Finns, but got burned by Kaapo Kakko, who scored twice, and by a fluky play that led to the game-winning goal in the second period. Troy Stecher was on the ice for that oneâstymied by the puck that took a strange bounce off the end boards.
Alain Vigneault leaned heavily on his top defense pair of Thomas Chabot and Brandon MontourâChabot played a team-high 25:08. Considering Stecher was a late add to the roster, it's probably not surprising to see that he played just 9:21, although his ice time increased in the third period. Canada also dressed seven defensemen. Dante Fabbro was listed as the extraâhe's also a rightyâand he played 7:31.
The Canadians lost their most important offensive force when John Tavares was sent back to Toronto after suffering an oblique injury in a pre-tournament practice. Reinforcements are on the way, in the form of two players who were both on the 2018 Canadian squad: Colorado's Tyson Jost and Columbus' Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Stecher has plenty of company as a player with no real experience on Canada's national team. Starting goalie Matt Murray last wore the Maple Leaf in 2012 on Canada's U18 teamâthough he also played for Team North America at the 2016 World Cup. Like Stecher, Jonathan Marchessault is also suiting up for Canada for the very first timeâat the age of 28. Marchessault wore it very well. He had Canada's only goal and recorded six of the team's 21 shots, earning Best Player honours for his club.
Sweden's next game is against Italy on Sunday at 7 a.m. PT, then Canada takes on newly promoted Great Britain on Sunday at 11 a.m.
After leading the Swedes to back-to-back gold medals in this tournament, coach Rikard Gronborg is looking for a three-peat before his contract with the Swedish national team expires after this tournament. There has been buzz all season that he was hoping to make the jump to an NHL head coaching job, but apparently no team was ready to take a flier on hiring the league's first European coach since Ivan Hlinka. Even though Gronborg attended college in the U.S. and spent many years coaching stateside before returning to Sweden, he couldn't get a bite. On Friday, it was announced that he'd signed a two-year contract as head coach of the Zurich Lions in the Swiss League.
As they forge different paths, I'm curious to see if Gronborg or Marco Sturm will win the race to an NHL top job. Looks like Sturm will be sticking around as an assistant in L.A. under new coach Todd McLellanâand is enjoying the offseason lifestyle that life in L.A. provides.
In addition to his strong work with the German national team, Sturm also has the advantage of having played in the NHL. Now, he's learning the ropes of North American coaching in the assistant's role, and staying visible to managers around the league.
A couple of other notes to wrap up today.
Firstâthe Vancouver Marathon website has transcribed Daniel Sedin's interview on Sportsnet 650 about his marathon experience. He's eager for more and thinks his experience will help him crack the three-hour mark in the future.
It makes so much sense. As someone who couldn't match her time from her first marathon in five subsequent tries, I hope Daniel has better luck than I did!
Finallyâhow important was Mikey DiPietro to the Ottawa 67's OHL playoff run?
The team won 13 straight playoff games with him in netâand got the win in Game 14, when he was injured. Since then, they've lost three straight to the Guelph Storm and are now one game away from being eliminated. Game 6 goes Sunday at 11 a.m. PT from Guelph.
DiPietro did get on the ice before Ottawa's practice on Saturday. Will he get the chance to try book his team's ticket to the Memorial Cup in Game 7?
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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