Somewhat lost in the disappointing news that Hendrix Lapierre and Vincent Iorio were cut from Canada’s National Junior team was Washington Capitals’ forward prospect Oskar Magnusson being selected for Sweden’s National Junior team. Magnusson will be competing in this year’s World Junior Championship.
Magnusson was selected by the Capitals in the seventh round (#211 overall) of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The Capitals acquired the pick by trading next year’s seventh rounder pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
JVM-truppen presenterad!
“Spelarna med stora hjärtan – kommer att ge allt för Sverige”
Förbundskapten Tomas Montén har tagit ut truppen till JVM i Red Deer/Edmonton.
Se hela truppen här: https://t.co/KSsgThA7hB #wjc2022 #jvm2022 #twittpuck #juniorkronorna pic.twitter.com/niBbJLsaUV— Tre Kronor (@Trekronorse) December 8, 2021
The team that will be heading to Reed Deer:
Goalkeepers: Calle Clang (NHL Reservation: Pittsburgh Penguins), Jesper Vikman (Vegas Golden Knights), Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota Wild)
Defenders: Emil Andrae (Philadelphia Flyers), Simon Edvinsson Detroit Red Wings, Måns Forsfjäll (available 2022), Helge Grans (Los Angeles Kings), Leo Lööf (St. Louis Blues), Joel Nyström (Carolina Hurricanes), Anton Olsson ( Nashville Predators), Victor Sjöholm (available 2022)
Attackers: William Eklund (San Jose Sharks), Elliot Ekmark (Florida Panthers), Daniel Ljungman (Dallas Stars), Fabian Lysell (Boston Bruins), Oskar Magnusson (Washington Capitals), Theodor Niederbach (Detroit Red Wings), Zion Nybeck (Carolina Hurricanes), Oskar Olausson (Colorado Avalanche), Isak Rosen (Buffalo Sabers), Albert Sjöberg (Dallas Stars), Åke Stakkestad (available 2022), Elias Stenman (available 2022), Daniel Torgersson (Winnipeg Jets).
Magnusson, who will turn 20 on January 31, was selected to play for Sweden in the recent Four Nations tournament in November, and had a good showing. On Sunday, November 14, Sweden played Russia in the final game of the tournament. Russia won the game 5-2 and won the tournament, but Magnusson scored a goal in the game to improve the score to 4-2.
WHAT A FEED! WHAT A FINISH!!
🚨 Oskar Magnusson #SWE
4-2 Russia #FourNations #U20 pic.twitter.com/1vCue438Z4— This is the KHL (@KHLreplays) November 14, 2021
Overall, Magnusson played in all three games in the tournament and scored one goal. But more importantly, he made his case for making the National Junior Team for the upcoming World Junior Championship.
Magnusson scored points for Malmö’s U20 team, but he never really got the chance to show himself in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). As a result, he applied to AIK in the HockeyAllsvenskan league in search of more playing time.
“I thought that this would be good for my development and it has turned out that it has been,” said Magnusson to hockeysverige.se.
As a young player, you need to be able to play in order to develop and establish yourself at the next level. In Magnusson’s case, it meant leaving his home in Skåne and move to Stockholm. After five years in the Malmö Redhawks organization, Magnusson left the club to sign with AIK instead.
“Once AIK came up, it became quite obvious in fact. Just considering that Anton (Blomqvist) is there as I had him in Malmö. It was quite obvious, you have to think about your own development. I thought this would be good for my development and it has turned out that it has been.”
Magnusson had Anton Blomqvis as a coach for Malmö’s U18 and U20 teams. It was also under Blomqvist’s leadership that Magnusson made his big breakthrough during the 2019-20 season.
“It’s nice to have a little security. I know how he is as a person and as a coach and at the same time he knows how I work on the ice. He gets good qualities out of me on the ice and makes me play my best hockey.”
The World Junior Championship will be played in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta from December 26 to January 5.
By Jon Sorensen
