Team Sweden proved why they’re one of the best teams in the World Junior Championship. With a USA-heavy crowd at the Grand Casino Arena, they stormed in and gave the USA their first loss of the tournament and won Group A.
Love Harenstam Stood Tall
Sweden, in the first 10 minutes of the game when they were finding their footing, turned the puck over way too many times in their own zone. It was the first time Sweden had faced someone with that tenacious of a forecheck, so it took them a bit to settle in. During that time, Ryker Lee and the U.S. forwards were all over Sweden in their own zone and had the edge physically. Because of that, multiple turnovers took place.
Related: Guide to the 2026 World Junior Championship
The one Swede who was always there to keep it notched at zero was Harenstam. About three minutes into the game, Lee had a big takeaway and a one-on-one chance with Harenstam. Harenstam sprawled all the way out and made the save with his left pad, and then only a few minutes later, Sweden came up with their first goal.
Even on the goals that went in, Harenstam was down on his backside and made two or three saves beforehand; he held on until he simply couldn’t anymore. He could do nothing about the tipped goal by Teddy Stiga.
2 Multi-Goal Games
Eddie Genborg and Lucas Pettersson both had two goal games for Sweden. Genborg scored both of his on the power play and got his first two goals of the World Junior Championship. The first one came after he ripped one of the hardest shots of the night past Nick Kempf. The second came on a beautiful feed from Viggo Bjorck. Genborg, with the way he’s been playing this whole tournament, was due for one sooner than later.
Both of Pettersson’s goals came from the same spot on the ice: top of the left circle. His first goal was to make it 3-0, but his second one was the most important. Jack Berglund stripped the puck away from the Americans, gave it to Pettersson, and he converted on a two-on-one chance to score a shorthanded goal. That broke the game for the U.S., as they were just beginning to find themselves again and were only down by two with a power play opportunity.
The Power Play
Sweden’s power play is the best power play in the tournament, even though, statistically, they’re second behind Canada. Canada has a power play percentage of 53, with 7-out-of-13 chances converted on, while Sweden is at 50%, or 9-of-18. But when you watch Sweden’s power play, it passes the eye test.
It all starts with a strong zone entry from Viggo Bjorck or Alfons Freij. From there, they set it up, and the passing and puck control from Ivar Stenberg takes over. Anton Frondell is sitting on that left side where he’s been dangerous the last four games. Berglund holds things down in front of the net. The second unit is scary, too. Sweden was given a 5-on-3 after AJ Spellacy hit Pettersson in the head, and Stenberg put an end to that quickly, tucking one in past Kempf.
Teams that go against Sweden cannot go into the penalty box, and the USA paid the price for it, as half of their goals came from the power play alone.
Sweden will need to continue this play going into their quarterfinal game against Latvia, as right now, they have all the tools in place to win gold.
