Four Canucks Move onto Quarterfinals at World Championships

The Vancouver Canucks will have four players advancing to the quarterfinal round of the World Championships.  

Max Sasson (USA), Aatu Räty (FIN), Filip Hronek (CZE), and Linus Karlsson (SWE) are all through to the final eight, after playing seven games apiece through the round robin portion of the tournament.  

Max Sasson  

Sasson suited up in all seven games for the USA and tallied a goal and an assist.

The 25-year-old has been playing centre and won 54.3% of his 70 faceoffs in the tournament. This is the first time in Max Sasson’s career that he has represented his country. We caught up with Sasson on the Canucks Insider Podcast before the tournament began.  

You can view the full podcast HERE. 

Sasson has been playing on Team USA’s third line, which has New Jersey Devils’ Paul Cotter and Columbus Blue Jackets’ Mathieu Olivier on the wings.  

Aatu Räty  

Representing his country is nothing new to Räty, who has been Finland’s third-line centre throughout this event. He has been the most productive Canuck through the round-robin phase, scoring three goals and adding three assists in seven games.

His wingers have moved around throughout the tournament, but in the last two games, he had fellow Oulu-born Sakari Manninen on the left wing with former 2016 fourth-overall pick Jesse Puljujärvi on the right.  

Räty has won 54 of the 78 faceoffs he has taken, giving him a 69.2% win-rate in the dot, which ranks first in the tournament out of players who took more than 50 draws.  

Linus Karlsson

Karlsson is another first-timer at the World Championships. He has played seven games and has a goal and three assists. Karlsson has spent the entire tournament on the wing of Jacob de la Rose, who was selected in the second round of the 2013 NHL draft. He currently plays in the Swiss league.  

Over the past four games, New York Islanders winger Emil Heineman has joined Karlsson and de la Rose on Sweden’s second line.

Filip Hronek  

As the assistant captain of Czechia, Hronek has been leading by example.  

The 28-year-old defenceman led all players in ice time through the round robin portion of the tournament, averaging 24:11 per game. He has played on a pairing with 2018 Stanley Cup-winner, Michal Kempny, throughout the tournament.  

Hronek has picked up a pair of assists and has 15 shots on net in seven games.  

The quarterfinals begin on Thursday at 7:20 am PT, with Räty and Hronek facing off as Finland plays Czechia.  

Sasson will also be in action at 7:20 am PT. His American team takes on Canada.  

Linus Karlsson and the Swedes battle the undefeated Swiss at 11:20 am PT.  

The semifinals will be played on Saturday at 6:20 am PT and 11:00 am PT.  

The tournament wraps up on Sunday with the final going at 11:20 am PT.