2019 World Junior Hockey Championship: Finland vs. Sweden — Lineups, start time, and TV schedule
The rivals will have no issue getting amped up for their first game of the tournament.
Read about the tense finish in a 2-1 win by Sweden
Finland vs. Sweden
How to watch
Puck drop: 10:30 PM EST / 7:30 PM PST
In Canada: TSN3, TSN5 (English,) RDS (French)
In the United States: NHL Network
Live stream: TSN Direct, RDS Direct
It hasn’t been much fun for Finland at the World Junior Hockey Championship over the last two years. Despite churning out a steady supply of NHL players and top-end prospects, they’ve struggled to compete among the top nations at the Junior level, nearly getting relegated in 2017.
Sweden has been a more consistent team at the annual event, finishing no lower than fourth since 2007, though only winning the trophy once in that time. The country came close last year, making the final after three straght finishes just off the podium, but ultimately settled for another silver.
This year, for one of the rare times in recent history, Sweden is the underdog in the Fennoscandian rivalry, as Finland has a young team, but an extremely talented one that will challenge for gold.
For Montreal Canadiens fans, it’s also a matchup between 2018 second-round draft picks. Finland’s Jesse Ylönen will be speeding up and down the wing in a third-line role, while Jacob Olofsson will be working the top trio for Sweden. It adds one more element to what is already a crucial meeting on the first day of the tournament.
Team Finland roster
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #10 Aleksi Heponiemi | #19 Rasmus Kupari | #20 Eeli Tolvanen |
| #23 Linus Nyman | #24 Kaapo Kakko | #29 Anton Lundell |
| #22 Santeri Virtanen | #25 Aarne Talvitie | #27 Jesse Ylönen |
| #12 Samuli Vainionpää | #18 Teemu Engberg | #28 Sami Moilanen |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #15 Henri Jokiharju | #34 Ville Heinola |
| #2 Oskari Laaksonen | #7 Urho Vaakanainen |
| #3 Toni Utunen | #21 Otto Latvala |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| #1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen |
| #31 Filip Lindberg |
Team Sweden projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #28 Fabian Zetterlund | #22 Isac Lundeström | #18 Jacob Olofsson |
| #10 Emil Bemström | #29 Pontus Holmberg | #26 Rickard Hugg |
| #23 Lucas Elvenes | #27 David Gustafsson | #11 Samuel Fagemo |
| #17 Filip Sveningsson | #15 Oskar Bäck | #19 Filip Hållander |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #12 Erik Brännström | #16 Filip Westerlund |
| #3 Adam Boqvist | #8 Rasmus Sandin |
| #5 Adam Ginning | #9 Nils Lundqvist |
| #25 Philip Broberg |
Goaltenders
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| #30 Samuel Ersson |
| #1 Adam Åhman |