Canada wrapped up its round robin at the World Championship with a 3-0 win over Germany on Tuesday, clinching third place in Group B. That means the Canadians will play either Sweden or Russia in the quarterfinals.
Sweden and Russia square off at 2:15 p.m. ET to determine who wins Group A. The loser of that matchup faces Canada.
The team's goaltending has been shaky all tournament, but Darcy Kuemper earned the shutout Tuesday. He wasn't tested much, though, turning aside just 10 shots.
Add another player to the list of those who hold dual citizenship and yet choose to represent the United States internationally.
Oliver Wahlstrom, whose father played at the University of Maine before playing in the Swedish Elite League, has represented the U.S. on multiple occasions, including at the last two U18 Men’s World Championships where he earned a gold and a silver medal, respectively.
Wahlstrom is perhaps most widely-known, however, for a viral video of him scoring a shootout goal prior to a Boston Bruins game when he was nine years old. It's a gross understatement to say his puck skills have only improved since that day.
Year in review
If you want a quick snapshot of how Wahlstrom’s season went, he had 48 goals in 62 games and hit seven more at the U18 Men’s World Championships. Let’s not talk about the heartbreaker he missed with less than a second left on the clock in the gold-medal game against Finland. Instead, let’s recall how he was not only named one of the top three players on Team USA by the coaching staff, but was also selected to the tournament All-Star Team. Team USA’s silver continued a medal streak at the U18s that dates back to 2004.
Wahlstrom’s USHL play, in particular, was impressive this year. His goals-per-game mark is the league's highest in six seasons, with 22 of his 48 goals coming in only 26 games. While he's listed as able to play center, he’s mostly been used on the right wing - of late, typically on the flank of U17 player Jack Hughes, with Joel Farabee on Hughes’ left to complete a formidable trio.
Wahlstrom is currently committed to Harvard University for the 2018-19 season. If he changes his mind and chooses to go the CHL route, his rights are held by the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the QMJHL.
Areas of strength
Wahlstrom is the dangerous goal-scoring forward armchair GMs want Brady Tkachuk to be. His puck skills are sublime, and he can use them at full speed, through traffic, and pretty much anywhere he pleases. He’s an incredible playmaker, making skilled passes to teammates through tight openings and extending plays as required to find (or create) the right opportunity. He’s also a sniper, with a wide and high-end array of shots that continues to improve as he develops. And he doesn’t just score from far out - he’s just as willing to go to the net for a rebound or a tip-in.
He’s also a fantastic skater. He accelerates to his top speed at the drop of a hat thanks to his great first step. It also allows him to abruptly change speeds, evading opponents with his agility and edgework. Combine his puck skills and skating skills and, in addition to being an elite-level prospect, Wahlstrom is just plain fun to watch.
Areas of improvement
Perhaps the biggest area of Wahlstrom’s game that needs improvement is his defensive play. While that’s somewhat understandable given he’s used to having the puck all the time, that won't be the case at higher levels.
He needs to be more present and engaged in the defensive zone; eliminating his tendency to puck watch should be high on his priority list. He’s a great skater and can be a physical force - he just has to actively get involved. Flying by the seat of his pants when the other team has the puck won’t work out well for him in college hockey.
The good news? The NCAA is a good place to develop those skills, and his ceiling is high enough that there’s no reason to allow the deficiencies in his defensive game to convince you not to draft him if you’ve got a pick that falls somewhere between, say, eight and 15.
Scouting reports
"Wahlstrom already has an NHL-caliber shot with a quick release and the ability to create space for himself and linemates. He's most known for his goal-scoring ability and elite shot, and can hit a one-timer as good or better than many professional players." - Mike Morreale, NHL.com
“Owns some of the best pure puck skills in the draft. The goal-scoring forward doesn’t shy away from attacking dangerous scoring areas and boasts strong speed and quick feet. An incredible season with the USNTDP this year, leading the charge from tip to tail. Loves to engage physically almost as much as he loves finding the back of the net. Feasts on the man advantage.” - Cam Robinson, DobberProspects.com
Did You Know?
Like many other highly-skilled hockey players, including Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, Wahlstrom attended Shattuck-St. Mary’s. He stayed for two years before joining the USNTDP.
In 26 USHL games this season, Wahlstrom scored 0.85 goals and 1.73 points per game.
He also averaged almost five shots per game in USHL play.
Finland took down another international hockey powerhouse Tuesday morning, defeating the United States 6-2 and clinching the Group B title in the process.
The Finns wrap up the round robin with 16 points - same as the Americans - but earn the tiebreaker with the head-to-head victory. They'll play Switzerland, which finished fourth in Group A, in the quarterfinals, while the U.S. will play Group A's third-seeded Czech Republic.
"I think we showed the world we earned the right to be here," the forward told reporters after scoring twice in a 3-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets that knotted the series at one game apiece.
Marchessault and his fellow castoffs earned a road split of the first two games, and in doing so, temporarily stole home-ice advantage from the Jets with the series headed to Nevada for the next two.
The 27-year-old emphasized how the players have come together and rallied around the fact that they were all rejected by their former organizations.
"We're just a bunch of hockey players that wanted to find a home, and we did," he said, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "This has been awesome."
Marchessault tied the NHL record for points in a single postseason by a player on an expansion team Monday night, matching Bill Goldsworthy's mark of 15 set in 1968 with the Minnesota North Stars.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Jonathan Marchessault scored twice and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 30 shots, lifting the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-1 series-evening win over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final.
Kyle Connor scored midway through the third period to pull Winnipeg within a goal. Marchessault restored the two-goal lead 1:28 later.
Tomas Tatar scored 6:37 into the game for the Golden Knights.
Connor Hellebuyck had 25 saves for the Jets.
Game 3 is Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
The expansion Golden Knights appeared to be rusty in the series opener and the Jets scored three goals early in a 4-2 win .
It looked like they were going to pick up where they left off, but Fleury made key saves early and got help from a teammate and a post in the opening minutes to keep the puck out of his net.
Vegas generated offense by making plays without the puck, forcing turnovers to set up goals.
After the Jets failed to clear the puck out of a corner in their end, Tatar ended up stuffing the puck in the net after hitting the side of the net with a shot.
Connor was pressured into turning over the puck near center ice late in the opening period and Reilly Smith set up Marchessault, his former Florida Panthers teammate, at the blue line and he scored on a breakaway backhander.
The Jets closed the scoreless second period and started the third on the power play and still couldn't get the puck past Fleury.
Yet.
Winnipeg kept up the pressure on by relentlessly forechecking and drew another penalty early in the third. Connor took advantage, squeezing a shot between Fleury and the post from the bottom of the left circle 7:17 into the third.
That whipped the white-clad fans into a frenzy, triggering jeers of ''Fleu-ry! Fleu-ry!'' only to be quieted by another Marchessault backhander that beat Hellebuyck.
The Jets pulled their goaltender to add another skater over the last couple minutes of the game, but Fleury didn't let the puck get past him again.
NOTES: Vegas put Tatar and Tomas Nosek in place of David Perron and Oscar Lindberg. ... The Jets have not lost consecutive games this postseason.
The Nashville Predators players would like another chance to prove themselves.
The team held its end-of-the-year press conference Monday where general manager David Poile noted several squad members asked that few changes be made as they still believe in the current roster.
"A lot of the players expressed to us in the team meeting that they really believed in our team," Poile said, per NHL.com's Robby Stanley. "They loved our team. They thought our chemistry, our culture, was really good. If I was trying to frame it correctly, basically I think what they were saying to the general manager and to the coach is they didn't want to see a lot of changes.
"I think if we could start tomorrow and be given another opportunity, we and our team would like to play Winnipeg again in another seven-game series. I think that's how close it is."
The Predators claimed the Presidents' Trophy this season but were ousted by the Winnipeg Jets in the second round in what some circles believed to be the "real" Stanley Cup Final.
Luckily for the players, their request shouldn't be too difficult to grant as the lone unrestricted free agents are Scott Hartnell (who Poile said will not be re-signed) and defenseman Alexei Emelin.
Tatar played in only two of the six games during Vegas' second-round series against the San Jose Sharks, and two more in the Golden Knights' first-round sweep of the Los Angeles Kings.
He previously appeared in a 4-0 loss to the Sharks in Game 4 on May 2, and had been held without a point in all four playoff appearances this spring.
Nosek suited up for all four games against the Kings and the first four games versus the Sharks. He also last played in that Game 4 defeat.
Perron had seven assists in nine postseason games this year before missing Monday's contest. Lindberg had a single point in three playoff appearances in 2018.
