August was a chance for both 2008 Edmonton Oilers draft pick Johan Motin and 2007 pick William Quist to don the blue and gold Tre Kronor jerseys in advance of this year's IIHF World Junior Tournament
Two separate exhibition tournaments were the chance for evaluations of Swedish talent prior to selection of the team that will be on the ice this December in Ottawa. Sweden has drawn into group B along with Russia¸ Finland, Slovakia, and Latvia. Canada is in group A with the USA, Germany, Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic.
Pär Mårts returns to the helm of Sweden's Juniorkronorna, as they are known, after last year’s somewhat surprise silver medal performance (link to video clip). Mårts added the Juniors silver to his coaching resume, to go along with a 1994 Olympic Gold (assistant coach) and a 2004 Swedish Elite Series title (head coach).
The approach to selecting this year's team appears to be divided among two groups of players. Half (22 players) I will term the "Real Deal", and the other 22 shall be known as the "Soon-to-be Runners-up".
The "Real Deal" travelled over the Atlantic to Lake Placid, NY in early August to face a series of matches against 3 squads made up of the US junior program. Sweden’s team featured heavily touted 2009 draft prospect Victor Hedman and LA Kings prospect, Oscar Möller. The Oilers' Johan Motin was also among the "Real Deal", though did not register any points in the 4 matches played.
Later in August, the "Soon-to-be Runners-up" traveled to the Four Nations Cup in the Czech Republic. They finished a respectable third, which is not bad considering they were a bit of a B-team. The players, most of whom will be playing in the J20 programs in Sweden or with Allsvenska clubs, had a convincing win over Finland but lost to Russia and the host Czechs. William Quist played 3 tournament matches in the Czech Republic and was held pointless, though did register on the scoresheet with 4 PIM and was -1. Additionally, he appeared in a 6-2 (non-tournament) win over Slovakia, Aug 29.
Though they may be looked at as a B-team, these players were still are on an international stage and it was the chance to impress the coaching staff for future exhibition matches.
Two separate exhibition tournaments were the chance for evaluations of Swedish talent prior to selection of the team that will be on the ice this December in Ottawa. Sweden has drawn into group B along with Russia¸ Finland, Slovakia, and Latvia. Canada is in group A with the USA, Germany, Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic.
Pär Mårts returns to the helm of Sweden's Juniorkronorna, as they are known, after last year’s somewhat surprise silver medal performance (link to video clip). Mårts added the Juniors silver to his coaching resume, to go along with a 1994 Olympic Gold (assistant coach) and a 2004 Swedish Elite Series title (head coach).
The approach to selecting this year's team appears to be divided among two groups of players. Half (22 players) I will term the "Real Deal", and the other 22 shall be known as the "Soon-to-be Runners-up".
The "Real Deal" travelled over the Atlantic to Lake Placid, NY in early August to face a series of matches against 3 squads made up of the US junior program. Sweden’s team featured heavily touted 2009 draft prospect Victor Hedman and LA Kings prospect, Oscar Möller. The Oilers' Johan Motin was also among the "Real Deal", though did not register any points in the 4 matches played.
Later in August, the "Soon-to-be Runners-up" traveled to the Four Nations Cup in the Czech Republic. They finished a respectable third, which is not bad considering they were a bit of a B-team. The players, most of whom will be playing in the J20 programs in Sweden or with Allsvenska clubs, had a convincing win over Finland but lost to Russia and the host Czechs. William Quist played 3 tournament matches in the Czech Republic and was held pointless, though did register on the scoresheet with 4 PIM and was -1. Additionally, he appeared in a 6-2 (non-tournament) win over Slovakia, Aug 29.
Though they may be looked at as a B-team, these players were still are on an international stage and it was the chance to impress the coaching staff for future exhibition matches.
This means very little. If anything can be drawn from these matches, it is the status report on where Mr. Quist and Mr. Motin rank in terms of the Swedish class of 1989-1991. The Oilers have 2 young prospects both of whom are being looked at for the national junior team. Positive, yes?
Next up, Mårts will likely whittle down his prospects, with exception of those playing in the WHL & AHL, and will compose a team of Swedish based players for the Four Nations tournament that is set for Uppsala, Sweden in November.
Motin was previously scheduled to appear at the Oilers Rookie and Training camp though now appears set to start the season with Elite Series team Färjestad BK.
Quist is also set to start the season with his new Allsvenska club, Nybro IF.
FINAL NOTE: Björn Bjurling's Tre Kronor appearance was hardly spectacular as the Swedes lost 4-1. Sweden showed some fire power registering 32 shots, to Finlands 20. This article notes that in the 2nd period, Bjurling allowed 2 goals on 4 shots while during the same span, Sweden peppered Finland with 13 shots and scored only once.
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