Vancouver Canucks prospect Joni Jurmo will play for gold at the 2022 IIHF Men’s World Junior Championship after helping Team Finland defeat Team Sweden on Friday evening.
The 20-year-old left-handed defenceman helped limit the Swedes to just 23 shots on goal in the semifinal game. Finnish goaltender Juha Jatkola successfully turned away everything he saw in the 1–0 win.
Playing for Team Sweden on Friday, fellow Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki saw just 10 minutes of ice time and took one shot on goal in the loss. Here’s the video of that chance, courtesy CanucksArmy‘s own Chris Faber:
Jonathan Lekkerimäki (#24) with an early scoring chance.
🎥: TSN pic.twitter.com/Ns46YJ9CA3
— 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀 Faber 🔥🎙 (@ChrisFaber39) August 20, 2022
Lekkerimäki, the Canucks’ 2022 first-round pick, has struggled in a reduced role with the Swedes at this year’s tournament, racking up three points (all assists) in six games. The 5’11” right wing will have another chance to score his first World Juniors goal on Saturday when Team Sweden takes on Team Czechia in the bronze medal game.
The Canucks originally selected Jurmo in the third round (No. 82 overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft. The Espoo, Finland product was the only defenceman to log under 18 minutes for Team Finland on Friday, and he undershot that mark by a lot — he saw just 13:41 in all situations.
Jurmo definitely wasn’t perfect on Friday — he baked up a couple of turnovers — but he also looked confident and assertive with the puck.
Good movement and breakout once again from the 6’4” defenceman Joni Jurmo.
🎥: TSN pic.twitter.com/FAcATeJ1EE
— 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀 Faber 🔥🎙 (@ChrisFaber39) August 20, 2022
Team Finland will take on Team Canada in the 2022 World Juniors gold medal game on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. PT. The Swedes and Czechs will face off for bronze at 1:00 p.m. PT.
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