PROSPECTS: Puutio, Jansson capture medals at World Juniors

After two weeks of intense action at Rogers Place in Edmonton, a pair of Florida Panthers prospects are heading home from the 2022 World Junior Championship with medals around their necks.
Shining bright under the spotlight, defenseman Kasper Puutio, who previously won bronze at the annual best-on-best international U-20 tournament with Anton Lundell in 2021, helped lead Finland to silver, while fellow defenseman Ludvig Jansson captured bronze with Sweden.

Helping push host Canada to overtime in the gold-medal game on Saturday, Puutio was one of just two players on Finland's squad to see more than 25 minutes of ice time in the eventual 3-2 loss. After Joakim Kemell scored to pull Finland even and made it 2-2 midway through the third period, Kent Johnson knocked in a loose puck at 3:20 of the 3-on-3 extra frame to win it for Canada.
"I'm really proud,"

. "That's an amazing, amazing performance from them. Overall, our journey has been really nice and valuable. We have been talking about the values and humanity, also of course about the hockey also. They showed some character today. It was so close."
Tied for first in goals (4) and third in points (7) among defenseman at the World Juniors, Puutio made headlines during the semifinals when he scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Sweden. Breaking the scoreless tie early in the second period, the 20-year-old deftly maneuvered around defenseman Mans Forsfjall in the left faceoff circle before slipping the puck between goaltender Jesper Wallstedt's pads.

Named the best defenseman at the tournament by the IIHF Directorate, Puutio joined Topi Niemelä (2021), Rasmus Sandin (2020), Alexander Romanov (2019), Rasmus Dahlin (2018), Thomas Chabot (2017) and Zach Werenski (2016) as recent players to receive the honor.
"It's incredible," Puutio, a fifth-round pick of the Panthers in 2021, told the IIHF following his heroics in the semifinals. "This is such a great group of guys. A lot of us have been playing together for six years and have faced a lot of adversity. I can't describe this feeling now."
After losing to Puutio and Finland in the semifinals, Sweden rebounded with a 3-1 win over Czechia in the bronze-medal game behind a 27-save performance from Wallstedt, who was singled out as the top goaltender at the tournament by the IIHF Directorate.
Making his first trip to the World Juniors, Jansson did not suit up for Sweden in the win, but still showed plenty of promise during the four games he took the ice in at the tournament. Still only 18 years old, Florida's 2022 fourth-round pick last suited up in Sweden's quarterfinal win over Latvia.
The individual award winners from the World Juniors are as follows:
IIHF Directorate Awards
Best Goalkeeper: Jesper Wallstedt, Sweden
Best Defender: Kasper Puutio, Finland
Best Forward: Mason McTavish, Canada
Media All-Star Team & MVP
Goalkeeper: Jesper Wallstedt, Sweden
Defender: Olen Zellweger, Canada
Defender: Emil Andrae, Sweden
Forward: Mason McTavish, Canada
Forward: Joakim Kemell, Finland
Forward: Jan Mysak, Czechia
MVP: Mason McTavish, Canada
For more information on the tournament, click
HERE
.