World
Predators teammates now, but Filip Forsberg, Juuse Saros were foes at World Junior Championship
Eleven years ago, Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros ruined Filip Forsberg’s childhood dream.
It happened at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championship final, a thrilling overtime game between Finland and Sweden at Malmo Arena in Sweden.
In front of thousands of (mostly Swedish) fans, Saros stopped 35 shots in an epic 3-2 win for Finland that ended when Rasmus Ristolainen pocketed the game-winning goal, sending Saros and his teammates into a frenzy.
“It had been so long since Finland had won that tournament,” Saros said. “We were the underdogs, but we ended up winning the whole thing. It was unbelievable.”
But Saros’ elation at one end of the ice meant devastation for Forsberg at the other. His dream of winning the tournament on home ice was over.
“It was (a great tournament) up until the last second,” Forsberg said. “Getting to play on home ice and everything. It would have been awesome to end with a goal, but (Saros) was too good in net.”
Now teammates in Nashville, Saros said he’s careful not to mention the win around Forsberg.
“I try not to talk to about it when (Forsberg’s) around . . . I know that’s a tough memory for him.”
Steven Stamkos, Luke Schenn describe importance of the world juniors
The IIHF World Junior Championship is one of the most electrifying events in international hockey, pitting the world’s best under-20 players against one another in a 10-day tournament. The host site rotates, with this year’s being held in Ottawa, Canada.
The tournament begins on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) and concludes on Jan. 5.
Steven Stamkos played in the tournament with current Predators teammate Luke Schenn in 2008 and counts it as one of his most cherished hockey memories.
“It was an honor to be on that team,” Stamkos said. “As a Canadian kid growing up, that’s what you watch on Boxing Day. To be a part of that was incredible, really, it’s like the Olympics of our sport.”
The 2008 Canadian team was loaded with talent. Stamkos and Schenn joined Brad Marchand, Drew Doughty, John Tavares and P.K. Subban, among others. However, it wasn’t a flawless performance — they lost in the group stage to Sweden, ending a long winning streak for Team Canada.
“We were kind of ashamed of ourselves after losing for the first time in forever,” Stamkos said. “But then we ended up playing Sweden again in the final, who had beaten us earlier, so that was a night to remember.”
Schenn, who was on the ice when Canada scored in overtime to win the gold medal in 2008, said participating in the tournament is every Canadian kid’s dream growing up.
“Every Christmas as a kid, you think of the world juniors going on,” he said. “By the second game, you know every player on the team and everyone is going to the backyard rink, not pretending to be NHL players, but pretending to be world junior players.”
The exclusive nature of the tournament means most NHL players, even ones who win annual awards and Stanley Cups, never had the opportunity to play. But Predators players Roman Josi (2008-10), Brady Skjei (2014), Juuso Parssinen (2021) and Justus Annunen (2020) have.
While Canada leads in overall wins (20), the rest of the world is beginning to catch up in talent and competition. Team USA won last year for its sixth gold medal.
“The U.S. has come a long way over the years,” Stamkos said. “Now it’s not expected for Canada to win, because of all the talent in all the other countries.”
Schenn and Stamkos said they still watch the tournament, both because of the memories it brings and the drive to pass the tradition on to their children.
“I’ve started watching it again because of my kids,” Schenn said. “Introduce it to them, understand that it’s a special part of the year.”
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
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