MEDIA GUIDE 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship A chance to see the best ice hockey players One misconception about the IIHF World Junior Championships is that it features “future” stars. If you look at the development of the event, you will realize that this magnificent tournament features players who are world class stars already today. The World Juniors also show, by the way, how quickly a year goes by. Let’s take you back to December 2012 and the IIHF World U20 event in Ufa, Russia. Canada’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who led the tournament in scoring with 15 points in 6 games is today an integral part of the Edmonton Oilers while his countrymen Jonathan Huberdeau (9 points in 6 games in Ufa) and Mark Scheifele (8 points in 6 games) are the future of the Florida Panthers and Winnipeg Jets respectively. USA’s All-Star defenseman and gold winner in Ufa, Jacob Trouba, is playing sensationally well for the Winnipeg while teammate Alex Galchenyuk personifies the new generation Montreal Canadiens. Last year’s dominating Finns Joel Armia and Markus Granlund have both signed NHL contracts and are biding their time in the AHL, but Swedes Filip Forsberg, Elias Lindholm and Rickard Rakell have all played NHL games this season. So think about this when you watch the 38th IIHF World Junior event in Malmö – you may most likely have one chance to see the best players. Next year they are probably celebrated professionals either in the NHL or in any of the European leagues. A good example of the natural turnover is the defending World Champion United States: from last year’s golden roster in Ufa only there are only three returnees on the 2014 team. But this is one reason why this tournament is such a success. Players play their hearts out because there is this sense of urgency among them – you may only get one shot at winning a medal. The next year you may already be able to make a living from playing hockey, but the chance to stand on the podium and celebrate a world junior championship is gone forever. For the country with the most improved development program in the last 6-7 years, taking the IIHF World Juniors to Malmö was a natural choice. Sweden has hosted the event in the far north, in the central parts, but never in the south. Although the province of Scania (Skåne in Swedish) is not traditionally hockey country in Sweden, the district has developed some good hockey talent lately. Boston Bruin’s Carl Söderberg is from Malmö, while St. Louis Blues’ Magnus Pääjärvi – one of Sweden’s best World Junior performers – got his hockey schooling in this city. Anaheim’s sensational rookie Hampus Lindholm is also a Scania product (from Jonstorp, close to Helsingborg). But maybe the best reason to go to Malmö is the arena, Sweden’s best. The only thing it is missing is a major league team in the SHL. But that’s a story for another day. Enjoy your stay in Malmö. SZYMON SZEMBERG IIHF Director of Communications 2 3 The 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship Media Guide Table of contents 1 Front page 2 Column by Szymon Szemberg, IIHF Director of Communications 3 Local organizer of the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship 4-5 Table of content 6 Opening times and press entrance in the Malmö Arena press center 6 Opening times and press entrance in the Malmö Isstadion press center 7-10 Team Canada, long list roster, article, statistics, team photo 11-14 Team Czech Republic, long list roster, article, statistics, team photo 15-18 Team Finland, long list roster, article, statistics, team photo 19-22 Team Germany, long list roster, article, statistics, team photo 23-26 Team Norway, long list roster, article, statistics, team photo 27-30 Team Russia, long list roster, article, statistics, team photo 31-34 Team Slovakia, long list roster, article, statistics, team photo 35-38 Team Sweden, long list roster, article, statistics, team photo 39-42 Team Switzerland, long list roster, article, statistics, team photo 43-46 Team USA, long list roster, article, statistics, team photo 47-49 The 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship game schedule 50-52 World Junior Championship overall Scoring leaders year by year 1977-2013 53-66 World Junior Championship All Star Team and Best Players 1977-2013 66 The two WJC arenas Malmö Arena and Malmö Isstadion 67 All-Time Standings in World Junior Championship 1977-2013 68 World Junior Championship medal list 1977-2013 69 World Junior Championship medallists 1977-2013 70-71 Standings team by team and year by year 1977-2013 72 World Junior Championship attendance year by year 1977-2013 73-74 Figures about ice hockey nations 75 Interview with Team Sweden´s Head Coach Rikard Grönborg 76 Interview with Team Sweden´s forward Alexander Wennberg 77 Team Sweden´s Media Policy 78 Team Sweden´s Team Management in 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship 79-104 Team Sweden´s players in 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship 105-106 Team Sweden´s results and game schedule season 2013/2014 107-108 Team Sweden´s Goalkeepers and Scoring Leaders season 2013/2014 109 Team Sweden´s standing in World Junior Championship 1977-2013 110-111 Team Sweden won the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship Gold Medal 112-113 Team Sweden won the 1981 IIHF World Junior Championship Gold Medal 4 114-116 Team Sweden´s Scoring Leaders in WJC year by year 1977-2013 117 Team Sweden´s Scoring Leaders in World Junior Championship 1977-2013 118 Team Sweden´s players with the most junior national games played 119 Team Sweden´s Team Leaders in WJC year by year 1977-2014 120 General information about Swedish Ice hockey 121-130 Team Sweden´s World Junior Championship rosters 1977-2013 131 Team Sweden´s Goal Scoring Leaders in World Junior Championship 1977-2013 132 Svenska Spel – The main sponsor of Swedish Ice Hockey The 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship Media Guide Editor-in-chief International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Anders Feltenmark Brandschenkestrasse 50 The Swedish Ice Hockey Association Postfach Box 5204 8027 Zurich 121 16 Johanneshov Switzerland Sweden Telephone: +41 44 562 22 00 Phone: +46 8 449 04 08 directly Fax: +41 44 562 22 29 President and General Phone: +46 8 449 04 00 operator Secretary Mobile phone: +46 70 445 04 08 Fax: +41 44 562 22 39 administration, sport, Fax: +46 8 91 00 35 PR and marketing E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.iihf.com E-mail, general: [email protected] Staff writer E-mail, media: [email protected] Journalist Jan Bengtsson, Stockholm, Sweden E-mail: [email protected] Johan Andersson, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association Photo credits Fotokenne Reklamfoto AB Brådstupsvägen 11 129 39 Hägersten Sweden Telephone: +46 8 97 95 95 Fax: +46 8 97 27 05 Cell phone: +46 70 566 11 90 Stig Kenne Cell phone: +46 70 787 75 95 Peter Nerdell www.swehockey.se Web site: http://www.fotokenne.se http://stats.swehockey.se E-mail: [email protected] www.hockeyakademin.se Idrott & Reklamfoto AB Stambanevägen 63 141 43 Huddinge Design, layout, printing and distribution by Sweden Telephone: +46 8 774 02 20 Fax: +46 8 711 29 20 ÅGRENSHUSET, Bjästa E-mail: [email protected] www.agrenshuset.se 5 Opening hours in the press center Malmö Arena Malmö Isstadion Closing time Closing time (approximatley (approximatley Opening Opening 2 hours after 2 hours after time time the end of the the end of the last game) last game) Thursday 2013-12-26 8.45 23.00 7.45 21.30 Friday 2013-12-27 8.45 21.00 8.15 19.00 Saturday 2013-12-28 8.45 23.00 7.45 21.30 Sunday 2013-12-29 8.45 21.30 8.15 19.00 Monday 2013-12-30 8.45 23.00 7.45 21.30 Tuesday 2013-12-31 8.00 22.00 7.45 21.30 Wednesday 2014-01-01 10.15 19.45 10.15 18.30 Thursday 2014-01-02 8.15 23.30 7.45 21.00 Friday 2014-01-03 10.15 18.30 8.45 20.00 Saturday 2014-01-04 8.45 23.00 Closed Sunday 2014-01-05 7.45 23.00 10.30 16.00 6 Canada has a lot to prove BY JANNE BENGTSSON Canada comes to the World Junior Championship as one of the perennial favourites. Canada has won a total of 15 WJC gold medals, including four straight triumphs from 2005 to 2009. But then things went awry. It became, by Canadian hockey standards, with "only" silver medals in 2010 and 2011, a bronze medal in 2012 and the most unimaginable last year in Ufa, Russia. Hockey Canada, with no less than 446 543 registered junior players, ended up in fourth place and off the podium. Experienced and recognized hockey writer and columnist Bob McKenzie took the sledge hammer in an analysis of the young Canadians in Ufa: – Canada was out coached. – Canada let in too many goals. – Canada had the wrong players. “If you didn't know better,” Bob McKenzie wrote, “One would think that the head coach Steve Spott and his entire staff, goalie Malcolm Subban and his backup Jordan Binnington, on the road to Ufa fell off a truck filled with Swedes...” Harsh words for a fiasco that must not be repeated. So Canada has built from the ground up. In comes head coach Brent Sutter, 51, with experience in the NHL (Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils) but mainly from the WJC in 2005 and 2006, when Canada won the gold, both times without losing a single match.