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WJC Day 4 Wrap, Day 5 Preview, Gordon and More |
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Quick Hits: August 13, 2022
1) IIHF World Junior Championship: Day 4 Wrap
Among the four Flyers prospects playing at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, Team Sweden captain Emil Andrae has been the standout performer so far through four days of preliminary round competition. He played a strong all-around game in Sweden's opening 3-2 win over Switzerland on Wednesday. The diminutive but sturdy blueliner followed it up on Friday with an offensive breakout against overmatched Austria.
Sweden 6 - Austria 0 (Group B)
Outshooting the Austrians by a 41-14 margin, the Junior Crowns had little difficulty dominating puck possession and making life tough on opposing goalie Sebastian Wraneschitz. The final score, in fact, likely would be a double-digit margin of victory for the Swedes if not for a generally strong outing by Sebastian Wraneschitz. Andrae led the way for Sweden with two goals and an assist. He scored the goals that made it 3-0 and then 4-0.
On the first, Andrae pinched down the weak side and took a cross-ice feed from Buffalo Sabres prospect Isak Rosén. Andrae measured a shot from the left circle that beat goaltender Wraneschitz to the blocker side. Shortly thereafter, Andrae chipped in a power play goal. He took advantage of a screen in from by Jonathan Lekkerimäki and found the net with a point shot that Wraneschitz was unable to track.
Slovakia 3 - Latvia 2 (Group A, SO)
Slovakia needed this one to keep their medal-round hopes alive. They delivered with a 3-2 (2-1) win via shootout over Latvia. However, the Slovaks face a meeting with Finland to wrap up the preliminary round. It wasn't easy, as Slovakia trailed first and was later unable to build on a short-lived lead after scoring twice. A persistent goal by Dalibor Dvorsky put Slovakia in the driver's seat midway through regulation but the Latvians struck back just a few minutes later.
Keep an eye on this player over the next season. A highly regarded 2023 NHL Entry Draft prospect, Dvorsky tore up the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last year (12 points in just five games) and also dominated Sweden's J20 league while playing for AIK Stockholm and eventually dressing in 17 Allsvenskan games for the men's team.
2) Day 5: There are two WJC games on the docket for Saturday: In Group B, Team USA takes on Austria. In Group A, Team Canada (Tyson Foerster, Elliot Desnoyers) opposes Czechia. The other game pits Switzerland (Brian Zanetti) against Germany.
3) Former Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach and 2018-19 Flyers interim head coach Scott Gordon has stepped back into the coaching ranks after a one-season absence. Gordon, 59, has accepted an assistant coaching offer with the San Jose Sharks.
There, he will be reunited with former Flyers/Phantoms left winger Oskar Lindblom, who was one of Gordon's most trusted players both with Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia. Gordon has always championed Lindblom's hockey IQ and work ethic.
4) Happy birthday, Bob Clarke
Today is Flyers icon Bob Clarke's 73rd birthday. For this who weren't born yet when Clarke was playing -- or are old enough to have seen him play but are not from Philadelphia or a Flyers fan -- it's hard to explain exactly how much Clarke meant to a generation of Flyers fans.
5) August 11 is current Flyers goalie Carter Hart's 24th birthday as well as the 51st birthday of Alum defenseman Marcus Ragnarsson.
6) Today in one year since the passing of Jay Greenberg. He is greatly missed.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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