The second day of the World Juniors Summer Showcase, Monday, July 28, went quite similar to the first; a lot of hits were thrown, goals were scored, and games were won. Canada was still off, so it was just Team USA White/Blue, Sweden, and Finland. Both USA teams came up empty-handed as Finland took the first game 3-2 and Sweden took the second 4-3. Both games were extremely close from beginning to end as expected.
This was the final day Team USA was split into two teams; going forward, they would have just one team. In an interview following the Sweden win, USA head coach Bob Motzko talked about how they aren’t looking to cut their roster yet, as it’s still early and they are missing a few players, including Cole Eiserman and Lane Hutson, so they’re just seeing how the week goes. In this article, we’ll look at some takeaways that stood out from the second day of games at the showcase, starting with the power play success.
Power Plays Shine in Showcase
The first day of games, there wasn’t a single power-play goal scored, but every penalty kill went 100 percent. On the second day, things flipped, and the very first goal scored of the day was on the power play for Finland. However, that was just the start as USA Blue scored on the power play next, and then to seal the win, Finland scored again on the man advantage, and both goals were by the same player Aatos Koivu.
The second game of the day had more goals scored overall, with seven compared to five from the first game, but just one of those seven was on the power play. There were quite a bit more penalties called as well on the second day in both games, and it was rather surprising the second game didn’t follow the route of the first, with more goals on the power play.
It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the showcase unfolds now that some special-teams goals have been scored. The third day will have even more intrigue as it’s the first day Team Canada takes the ice, and they’ll have some firepower to watch.
Teams Settled a Bit
All four teams that took the ice on the second day looked a lot more settled than on the first day. They had more chemistry and were making smoother breakout passes, along with solid efforts on special teams. However, just because they were more at ease didn’t mean everything went smoother. At first, it appeared the tensions of the first day had gone down a bit, but in fact, it just took a little more time to get things going.
There were some very intense scrums and even more big hits as these players were working to earn their spot on the roster. While there weren’t as many small scrums as the day before, the tensions rose to bigger scrums and even bigger hits. The glass and boards could be heard crunching under the hits, and the anger rose, more so in the Sweden game than the Finland game.
Along with the breakout passes and the players being more comfortable with landing the big hits, the players were more at ease when looking for a passing lane. They didn’t rush the puck, but they didn’t overthink either. They took their time, moved along the ice, and found their teammate quickly and efficiently to get the puck across and gave their team a chance to score.
Defense Shines in Multiple Ways
The offense in both games was clearly productive, but what was also noticeable was how the defense reacted. Every team stepped up more in how they blocked shots; it seemed like every player on their respective team was willing to lay it on the line and block the shot. It wasn’t just the close-in shots either; it was the big booming shots they were willing to block, and those blocks kept the scores from being even higher.
The other defensive area that was noticed was the goaltending. While it was strong the first day, the big saves came on the second day, and some of them looked like they should’ve been for sure goals, but the goalie came up big. It wasn’t just one team’s goaltender either; it was every goaltender that came in. They may have let in a goal, but they made saves to make up for it. All of these skills will likely continue to improve as the teams continue to get settled.
Related: Takeaways From First Day of Games at 2025 World Juniors Summer Showcase
The third day of the showcase will be a bit quieter with just one game on the schedule between Canada’s two squads, but they’re the team everyone’s been eager to see since they have Gavin McKenna on their squad. Hopefully, they’ll keep the intensity going, but they’ll have to be careful, as they don’t want to injure their own teammates. Canada is the final team to debut, and they’ll have all the eyes on them to show their talent.
