WJC Three Stars Day 5: Jonas Taibel leads Switzerland’s offensive surge

On the penultimate day of round-robin play at the World Juniors Championship, the final puzzle pieces for both the playoff and relegation pictures started to fall into place. 

With only two games on the docket for Day 5, each matchup carried potential implications for the upcoming knockout round. 

The first meeting on Saturday featured Switzerland against Norway. Norway entered the contest fresh off an 8-4 loss to Slovakia the day before, while Switzerland had not played since taking an 11-3 beating at the hands of USA on Thursday. 

Perhaps the day of rest did them well though, as the Swiss pulled off their most impressive offensive performance of the tournament with a convincing 6-2 win. Trailing 2-1 against Norway after the first period, Switzerland battled back over the next 40 minutes, scoring five unanswered goals to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. 

This marked the fourth-ever meeting between Switzerland and Norway at the World Juniors, with Switzerland maintaining a perfect record against their Norwegian counterparts. And after enduring their fourth consecutive loss in the preliminary round, Norway secured a place in the relegation game as the fifth-place team in Group B, scheduled for Jan. 4. The remaining four teams in the group – Slovakia, USA, Czechia and Switzerland – are all poised to compete on Sunday to determine the final playoff seeding. 

Meanwhile, in Group A, the situation is a little less clear-cut.

The second and final matchup of the day was a meeting between Latvia and Germany, which yielded a somewhat surprising result. Before the game, Latvia had not secured a win and had yet to score any goals. After the game, this was no longer the case. 

The Germans were considered to have the slight advantage in this one, given that they had only been shut out once, in contrast to Latvia’s three times, and already had one win, as opposed to Latvia’s none. However, Germany faced an unexpected onslaught of goals as Latvia pulled off the second 6-2 win of the day, keeping their playoff hopes alive.  

The Latvians have completed the preliminary round and find themselves tied with Finland and Germany in Group A, each having accumulated three points. Now, they will eagerly await the results of their upcoming games on Sunday against Sweden and Canada, respectively.

In the meantime, here is a look at the top three performances from Day 5.

3^rd Star: Rodwin Dionicio, Switzerland

Having remained point-less in Switzerland’s previous two games, the 19-year-old Dionicio finally made his mark on the scoresheet Saturday, contributing two goals against Norway. 

Dionicio’s first goal materialized during the second period on the power play, as his short side snipe made its way past Norway goaltender Markus Stensrud. His second goal, also the last for Switzerland in the game, occurred 5:12 into the third period when Dionicio skillfully lifted a backhand shot over Stensrud’s glove. Apart from his offensive contributions, the six-foot-two, 214-pound defenceman also made a mark on the game with a handful of impactful hits and blocked shots. 

Dionicio currently plays for the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit after being drafted from the Windsor Spitfires in November. Over 26 games this season between the two clubs, Dionicio has a total of 29 points (11 goals and 18 assists). He was drafted 129^th overall by the Anaheim Ducks this past summer. 

2^nd Star(s): Sandis Vilmanis and Dans Locmelis, Latvia

The Latvian linemates earn a shared second-star honour after each notching three points apiece against Germany. Seeing as Latvia had not generated any offence to this point, it marked their first points of the tournament. Vilmanis, 19, recorded two goals and an assist while Locmelis, also 19, contributed three assists.

The duo combined to assist on Rainers Darzin’s goal in the second period, and on the subsequent two goals scored by Vilmanis, Locmelis earned a primary assist. Vilmanis’ first goal saw him bury a one-timer past German goaltender Philipp Dietl, and after his second goal, Dietl was replaced by backup Matthias Bittner. 

Locmelis, drafted 119^th overall by the Boston Bruins in 2022, currently plays for the University of Massachusetts, contributing five points (four goals and one assist) over 12 games this season. Conversely, Vilmanis is a prospect of the Florida Panthers, selected 157^th overall in the 2022 draft. He plays junior hockey for the Sarnia Sting of the OHL and has already amassed 29 points (10 goals and 18 assists) in 30 appearances this year.

1^st Star: Jonas Taibel, Switzerland

With four points against Norway, Taibel had a hand in all but two of Switzerland’s goals. Going into the contest, he had recorded just a single assist in their game against the United States. After generating two strong scoring chances in the first period on Saturday – one on a breakaway and another hitting the post – Taibel’s persistence paid off when he finally found the back of the net. And the goal was pivotal, acting as the game-winner as he broke a 2-2 tie in the second period. 

Following his goal, the 19-year-old forward continued to make an impact by contributing assists – two primary and one secondary – on his team’s next three goals, scored by Dionicio and Thierry Schild. Having earned Player of the Game honours, Taibel now has a total of five points across three games, putting him 13^th on the World Juniors scoring leaderboard. 

Undrafted to the National Hockey League, Taibel spent two seasons with the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. In the 2023-24 season, he has primarily played for EHC Winterthur of the Swiss League, tallying three assists over eight appearances.