Rajaniemi Wins Bronze at World Juniors

Rajaniemi, the Islanders’ 2020 sixth-round pick, logged 10:32 TOI in the game. Rajaniemi finished the tournament with a plus-two rating in five games. 

Click here for more stats, photos and a recap from the IIHF. 

DAY 11: RAJANIEMI TEAM FINLAND FALL SHORT 4-3 IN SEMIFINAL

By Sasha Kandrach 

Matias Rajaniemi and Team Finland’s quest for World Junior gold fell short in a 4-3 loss to Team USA in semifinal action on Monday.

Rajaniemi dressed in the semifinal match, but did not take any shifts. The Islanders 2020 sixth rounder (183rd overall) has posted a plus-two rating through four games in the tournament.  

Click here for more stats, photos and a recap from the IIHF.

Team Finland and Rajaniemi will compete for the bronze medal against Team Russia on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. ET on NHL Network. 

DAY 9: RAJANIEMI ADVANCES TO SEMIS, HOLMSTROM ELIMINATED IN QUARTERS

By Cory Wright

Matias Rajaniemi and Finland advanced to the semifinals at the 2021 World Juniors after scoring a 3-2 comeback win over Simon Holmstrom and Sweden in quarterfinal action on Saturday.

Rajaniemi logged 2:04 TOI with no points or shots, while Holmstrom played 10:40. Holmstrom finishes the tournament with five assists in five games.

Sweden led 2-0 in the first period, but Finland staged a comeback as the game wore on. Henri Nikkanen put Finland on the board in the second period, but the Finns scored twice in the final 10 minutes of the third period, including Roni Hirvonen’s game-winner with 25 seconds to play. 

Click here for more stats, photos and a recap from the IIHF.

Finland will play Team USA in semifinal action on Monday. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. ET on NHL Network.

DAY 7: RAJANIEMI, FINLAND LOSE 4-1

By Sasha Kandrach 

Matias Rajaniemi logged 7:38 in Team Finland’s final preliminary match of the tournament. Team Finland suffered their first loss of the tournament 4-1 at the hands of Team Canada. Brad Lambert scored on the power play for Team Finland in the third period to rob Team Canada of the shutout. Kari Piirroinen made 36 saves in the loss. 

Team Finland currently sits in second place in Group A. Team Finland will take on Team Sweden in the Quarterfinals on Saturday, Jan. 2. 

Click here for more stats, photos and a recap from the IIHF.

HOLMSTROM, SWEDEN LOSE 4-0

Simon Holmstrom and Team Sweden dropped a 4-0 decision to Team USA. Holmstrom logged 13:29 in the second-straight loss for the Swedes. With the win, Team USA clinched the Group B title. 

Holmstrom and Rajaniemi will face-off against each other in the Quarterfinal round on Saturday, Jan. 2. 

Click here for more stats, photos and a recap from the IIHF.

DAY 6: RAJANIEMI, FINLAND WIN 6-0

By Cory Wright

Matias Rajaniemi returned to the lineup on Wednesday after a one-game absence, as Finland beat Slovakia 6-0 in preliminary round action. Rajaniemi, the Islanders’ 2020 sixth-round pick (183rd overall), skated 13:27 and finished with a plus-two rating.

Anton Lundell had a team-high five points (2G, 3A), while Benjamin Korhonen and Roni Hirvonen each recorded four points (2G, 2A). Kari Piiroinen made 12 saves for the shutout.

Click here for more stats, photos and a recap from the IIHF.

With the win, Finland improves to 3-0-0-0 in preliminary play. They return to action on New Year’s Eve against Canada, who is also 3-0-0. Puck drop is 6 p.m.

HOLMSTROM RECORDS ASSIST, AS SWEDEN FALLS 4-3 IN OT

Simon Holmstrom recorded his fifth assist of the 2021 World Junior Hockey Championship on Wednesday, as Sweden fell 4-3 in OT against Russia. 

Holmstrom picked up the assist on Arvid Costmar’s first period tally, his fifth helper in three games.

Sweden’s overtime loss snapped Tre Kroner’s 54-game winning streak in WJC group play. Sweden forced overtime with one minute to play in the third period, but fell in OT on Marat Khusnutdinov’s winner. 

Click here for more stats, photos and a recap from the IIHF.

 Sweden is second in Group B with a 2-0-1-0 record (W-OTW-OTL-L) and return to action on New Year’s Eve against USA.

DAY 4: HOLMSTROM, SWEDEN WIN 4-0

By Sasha Kandrach 

Simon Holmstrom recorded two assists and logged 13:54 TOI in Team Sweden’s 4-0 shutout victory over Team Austria on Monday, Dec. 28. 

Holmstrom’s first helper of the night was a secondary assist in the first period on Noel Gunler’s power-play marker. In the second period, Holmstrom dropped a slick backhanded pass to Gunler for his second goal of the match. 

With his two helpers against Team Austria, Holmstrom now has four points on four assists through two contests in the tournament. The winger is now tied with Team Canada’s Dylan Cozens and his fellow Team Sweden teammate, Victor Soderstrom, for the top of the tournament leaderboard in assists. 

Click here for the IIHF recap, stats and photos from the game.

Next up, Matias Rajaniemi and Team Finland play again on Wednesday, Dec. 30 against Team Slovakia at 2 p.m. ET. Team Sweden and Holmstrom are back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 30 as they take on Team Russia at 9:30 p.m. ET. All games are available on NHL Network in the United States and TSN in Canada.

DAY 3: RAJANIEMI OUT OF LINEUP FOR FINDLAND’S WIN

By Cory Wright

Finland scored a 4-1 win over Switzerland on Sunday afternoon, but did so without Islanders prospect Matias Rajaniemi, who was replaced in the lineup by Ruben Rafkin.

Anton Lundell (1G, 1A), Kasper Simontaival (1G, 1A) and Brad Lambert (2A) each had two points for Finland, who improved to 2-0-0 in group play.

Click here for the IIHF recap, stats and photos from the game.

Simon Holmstrom and Sweden return to action on Monday, Dec. 28 against Austria at 6 p.m. ET. Rajaniemi and Finland play again on Wednesday, Dec. 30 against Slovakia at 2 p.m. ET. All games are available on NHL Network in the United States and TSN in Canada.

DAY 2: HOLMSTROM, SWEDEN WIN 7-1 

By Sasha Kandrach

Team Sweden executed a dominant 7-1 result over Team Czech Republic in the preliminary round on Dec. 26. 

Simon Holmstrom skated 14:01 in Team Sweden’s win, tallied two assists, earned a plus-one rating and took one penalty. Holmstrom earned the primary assist on the game-winning goal and second power-play goal of the game scored by Albin Sundsvik. Holmstrom took a tripping penalty in the second period. Holmstrom assisted on Team Sweden’s seventh goal in the third period, which was scored by Noel Gunler. 

Sweden’s scoring was powered by; Arvid Costmar, Sundsvik, Emil Heineman, Theodor Niederbach, Elmer Soderblom, Oscar Bjerselius and Gunler. 

Click here for the IIHF recap, stats and photos from the game.

With the win, Team Sweden earned it’s 53rd preliminary-round win in a row at the WJC tournament. 

Holmstrom and Team Sweden return to action on Monday, Dec. 28 against Austria at 6 p.m. ET. Matias Rajaniemi and Team Finland return on Sunday, Dec. 27 to take on Team Switzerland at 2 p.m. ET. All games are available on NHL Network in the United States and TSN in Canada.

DAY 1: RAJANIEMI, FINLAND WIN OPENER 5-3

By Cory Wright

Matias Rajaniemi and Finland won their World Junior Hockey Championship opener 5-3 over Germany on Christmas Day. 

Rajaniemi skated 3:51 TOI with no points, or shots on goal. Henri Nikkanen, Aku Raty and Topi Niemela each recorded a goal and an assist in the win. Tim Stutzle aand Florian Elias each recorded a goal and an assist for Germany. 

Click here for the IIHF recap, stats and photos from the game.

Rajaniemi and Finland are back in action on Sunday at 2 p.m. when they take on Switzerland. Simon Holmstrom and Team Sweden play the Czech Republic on Saturday at 2 p.m. All games are on NHL Network in the United States and TSN in Canada.