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Sweden dominated the World Junior Championship in 2014.
With 32 goals scored and 14 allowed, they were the best team in the tournament and it wasn't really close. Still, the home team, favorites going in to the tournament, left disappointed.
At 9:42 of overtime, Rasmus Ristolainen broke the deadlock to give Finland the victory over their Scandinavian rival - elation for the Finns, heartbreak for the Swedes. For Linus Arnesson, it was a slice of déjà vu, the second straight year he left the tournament with a silver medal.
While the tournament's end likely left a bitter taste in his mouth, his second go-around brought him into a more significant role on the national team. There's no bigger stage than playing on the top pairing in the gold medal game of the World Junior Championship (except the Olympics, I guess).
And after 10 games in the World Junior Championship (including six in the 2013 edition), he registered his first point. He then registered his second in the following game. In fact, he was Sweden's top point producing defender at even strength (tied for seventh in the tournament overall). Not bad for a defensive defenseman.
Sista gången man representerade juniorlandslaget och tog första steget mot en "avdankad back". Träffat… http://t.co/nqcUv0EVEa
— Linus Arnesson (@ArnessonLinus) January 6, 2014
(I have no idea what that means, but it's about playing for Sweden)
Final Stats:
GP | G | A | PTS | PIM | +/- | GWG | PPG | SHG | SOG | SH% |
7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0% |
You can view some of his advanced stats from the tournament alongside his peers here.
Linus Arnesson has played for Djurgårdens of the HockeyAllsvenskan for the past two seasons. Because they were relegated from the SHL, Arnesson is playing Tier 2 hockey. It's in the best interest of his development that he moves on next season. Maybe that means on another Swedish team playing top tier hockey or perhaps moving to America.