WJC Three Stars Day 4: Havelid's shutout keeps Sweden undefeated

Day 4 of the World Junior Championship was a mix of close games, not-so-close games, new achievements, emerging leaders, and, naturally, standout performances. 

With four games on Friday’s slate – two Group A matchups and two from Group B – viewers tuning in experienced yet another day of thrilling action as round-robin play continues to unfold in Gothenburg, Sweden. 

Kicking off the day, Slovakia stayed perfect with an impressive 8-4 triumph over Norway. The Slovaks’ achievement of three consecutive wins to open the tournament marks a first in their World Juniors history. And despite being on the losing side for the third straight game, Norway managed to achieve its highest goal tally in a World Juniors contest since Jan. 4, 1990.

Following that, Finland secured its first win of the tournament by stopping all 23 of Latvia’s shots for a convincing 4-0 shutout. Struggling to find any kind of tangible success, Latvia remains winless and has been unable to find the back of the net in its opening three games. 

A back-and-forth affair unfolded between Czechia and USA in the third game of the day. Tied at three goals apiece by the end of regulation, both countries managed to secure at least one point as the game headed to overtime. However, it was the Americans who ultimately emerged victorious, clinching two points with a 4-3 shootout win.

In front of a vibrant sea of yellow, blue, red and white, Friday’s busy schedule was capped off by the highly-anticipated matchup between Sweden and Canada. Handing Canada its first loss with a 2-0 shutout, Sweden claimed its third consecutive victory without conceding a goal. 

So, with another day of World Juniors action behind us, let’s spotlight the top three performers from these four games.

3rd Star: Servac Petrovsky, Slovakia

Registering a four-point showing Friday, the 19-year-old has been consistently hot to start off this year’s tournament. 

Petrovsky, chosen 185^th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild, has showcased his offensive prowess, leading World Juniors scoring with five goals and three assists for Slovakia in three games. In his team’s tournament-opening victory against Czechia, he contributed three points (two goals and one assist), followed by a one-goal performance in their subsequent triumph over Switzerland.

Petrovsky helped open Slovakia’s scoring against Norway, recording the primary assist on Samuel Honzek’s power-play marker in the first period. In the second period, Petrovsky netted back-to-back goals in less than a minute, further solidifying Slovakia’s lead. His fourth point of the contest came with a secondary assist on another power-play tally, this time from Luka Radivojevic.

The forward currently plays for the Ontario Hockey League’s Owen Sound Attack, having accumulated 28 points (10 goals and 18 assists) over 28 games this season.

2nd Star: Isaac Howard, USA

Howard, aged 19, played a pivotal role in maintaining the United States’ undefeated status in this tournament thus far. In the seven-round shootout that also saw goals from Slovakia’s Jiri Kulich and USA’s Gabe Perreault, it was Howard who sealed the win by beating goaltender Michal Hrabal. 

Not only did Howard end the game, he also kicked things off for the U.S., netting a goal just 1:12 into the matchup. Capitalizing on an odd-man rush and cross-ice pass from teammate Frank Nazar, he found the net with the game’s opening shot on goal. 

The forward has contributed three goals and an assist over three games, tying him for 16^th on the World Juniors scoring leaderboard. 

Selected 31^st overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2022 draft, Howard is in his first season at Michigan State University after transferring from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In the 2023-24 season, he has collected 20 points (five goals and 15 assists) across 18 appearances. 

1st Star: Hugo Havelid, Sweden

Despite Canada entering Friday’s competition with an impressive 15 goals in its previous two contests, the Swedish goaltender successfully shut down their offensive efforts. By turning aside all 21 shots he faced, and with the help of Tom Willander and Noah Ostlund’s second-period goals, Havelid played a crucial role in helping shut out Canada for the first time in a World Juniors game since 2021. 

The undrafted 19-year-old demonstrated his skills with a series of key saves, most notably stopping a breakaway chance for Canada’s Carson Rehkopf in the first period and successfully denying Matthew Savoie’s deke attempt in the second period. The Canadians had two power-play opportunities in the third period, but Havelid stood tall for his team, preserving a clean sheet. 

Thanks in part to Havelid’s outstanding efforts, Sweden now stands alone atop Group A with nine points following the win. Havelid, who has made 41 saves on 41 shots over his two appearances, is currently the top goaltender at the World Juniors. 

A relatively small goaltender at five-foot-10 and 179 pounds, Havelid plays for Djurgårdens IF in Sweden's HockeyAllsvenskan league. In seven games this season, Havelid has posted a 3-4-0 record with a .890 save percentage and a 2.77 goals-against average.

Honourable mentions: 

• Slovakia’s Dalibor Dvorsky, a prospect for the St. Louis Blues was another player who lit up the scoreboard against Norway, notching two goals and two assists, mirroring the impressive performance of his compatriot Petrovsky. 

• Norway’s Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, a projected first-round pick for the 2024 NHL Draft, recorded three points against Slovakia. His pair of goals marked a significant milestone as his first at the World Juniors.  

• Finland’s Jere Lassila set the tone by scoring the opening goal against Latvia, and he continued to shine by adding an assist on each of his team’s subsequent three goals. 

• Canada's Michael Rousseau was arguably just as strong between the pipes as his opponent across the ice, making 22 saves on the 24 shots he faced, several of them highlight-worthy.