ST. PAUL, Minn. — New York Islanders prospect Viktor Eklund and Casper Juustovaara scored first-period goals Monday night, as Sweden won its third world junior hockey title, defeating Czechia 4-2 on Monday night in the first all-European final since 2016.
Sweden, which also won in 1981 and 2012, received a goal from Sascha Boumedienne to take a 3-0 lead at 3:47 of the third period en route to this latest tile.
Adam Jiricek and Matej Kubiesa scored for Czechia, a country that won its lone titles in 2000 and 2001. Kubiesa’s tally, however, was with 24 seconds left with the game all but decided. Ivar Stenberg then capped the scoring for Sweden with an empty-netter with eight seconds left.
“It was time for a gold, and we did it,” said forward Antron Frodell, drafted third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks last summer. “It’s amazing. We’re a big family. We love each other. We did the right things for the team to win.”
Eklund, a first-round choice last summer who was taken by New York at No. 16 overall, is a left wing that the Islanders have big plans for. Eklund led all junior players in goals and points last season in Sweden, and he is the brother of San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund, who also was selected in the first round back in 2021 at No. 7 overall.
Despite the loss, Vojtech Cihar, the 18-year-old Czechia forward who led his team in scoring with 12 points, won the MVP award for the tournament. Cihar is a Los Angeles Kings prospect, who last month signed a three-year, entry-level NHL contract with an average annual value of $975,000. He was selected by the Kings at No. 59 overall last year.
“I think Sweden played better from the beginning,” Czechia coach Patrik Augusta. “Our legs weren’t going and the game against Canada last night took a lot of energy from us, not just physically but mentally. We were looking for a little spark, and it didn’t come until the last couple of minutes, which was too late.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
