2013 IIHF World Championships Recap

The 2013 IIHF World Championships finished up yesterday, and Sweden became the first to win gold on home ice since 1986. Let's take a look at the highlights for the gold, silver and bronze medalists.

We begin of course with the champions Sweden, who started the tournament with a disappointing 3-2 loss to the Swiss, but got their revenge in the final. Much of their success is owed to the addition of superstar brothers Daniel and Henrik Sedin after Vancouver was eliminated from the NHL playoffs. Daniel picked up a goal and five assists in four games, while Henrik racked up 9 points, including three in the gold medal game, and was named to the tournament all-star team. Buffalo Sabres netminder Jhonas Enroth was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament, finishing with a spectacular 1.55 goals against average and .956 save percentage in 8 appearances for Sweden.


However, what the Swiss were able to accomplish in losing was perhaps even more impressive. Switzerland, ranked 7th in the world by IIHF before the tournament, was the only undefeated team during round robin play. They manged to defeat the Canadians, the Americans and the Czechs twice on their way to the gold medal final. Defenseman Roman Josi, who plays for the Nashville Predators in the NHL, became the first Swiss player to be awarded the tournament MVP, as well as being named the best defenseman. It was an outstanding tournament for the 22 year old, who picked up 9 points in 10 games.  It was Switzerland's second silver medal in their history, as well as their first medal since 1953.

Though team USA was disappointed by their loss to the Swiss in the semi-finals, they got some retribution in defeating Finland in the bronze medal game. It was a close call for the Americans, who blew a 2-0 third period lead in that game and were outshot by Finland 38-25, but two goals by Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Galcheyuk in the shootout preserved the victory. It was the first medal of the Americans at the tournament since they also won bronze in 2004.  After a disappointing season in Colorado, Paul Stastny had an outstanding tournament, finishing second in the scoring race with 15 points and was named to the tournament all-star team for his efforts.

Here's a look at the final rankings and awards: