World Juniors: Lundell Powering Finland; Knight, Levi Post Shutouts

Anton Lundell simply cannot be stopped.
Finding the back of the net in all three of the games he's played in so far at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, the talented 19-year-old center tallied three points (one goal, two assists) to help lead Finland to a lopsided 6-0 win over Slovakia on Wednesday afternoon in Edmonton.

As it had been in each of his two previous games, Lundell, who's been showing why he was clearly the correct choice to don the "C" for Finland, scored first for his team against Slovakia, crashing the net before burying a dish from Kasper Simontaival to make it 1-0 in the first period.

Lundell currently leads Finland in goals (3) and is also tied for the team-lead in points (6).
"I had trust in myself," Lundell told reporters after the game when asked about his determination to be more aggressive on offense. "I know I can score goals and points so it's not like something I am wondering about. I have had a good season behind me now and it feels good to play."
A demon in the circle, Lundell has also won 42 of the 54 faceoffs he's taken thus far, with his absurd 77.78 percent success rate currently standing out as the best mark at the tournament.
"He's somebody who competes in all areas of the game," Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito said of Lundell following the 2020 NHL Draft back in October. "One of the hallmarks of Anton is his compete. He enjoys hockey. He likes to play. He wants to win."
Scooped up by the Panthers with the 12th overall pick in the draft -- a selection that already has the makings of a bonafide steal -- Lundell has been on an absolute tear ever since that big day.
Prior to filling up scoresheet at the World Juniors, the Espoo, Finland native was producing at better than a point-per-game pace in Liiga. In 17 games, he racked up 20 points, including 12 goals, which are already not only a career-high, but also tied for second-most in the league.
With a hot stick and a good head on his shoulders, Lundell will look to continue his stellar run when Finland faces off against Canada on Thursday. With both teams sitting at a perfect 3-0-0, the winner of the match will claim first place in Group A for the tournament's preliminary round.

SHUTOUT CITY

The Panthers have a bright future blooming between the pipes.
Manning the crease for their respective nations on Tuesday, goaltending prospects Spencer Knight (USA) and Devon Levi (Canada) each backstopped their teams to wins with shutouts.
After being pulled in the second period of USA's 5-3 loss to Russia in the opening game of the tournament, Knight looked like his old self in his return to the net, stopping all 22 shots he faced to help lead the Stars and Stripes to a convincing 7-0 win over the Czech Republic on Tuesday.
"I kind of came in today, just want to play hockey and just have fun," Knight told reporters after the win. "That was kind of my thing for today -- not try to get too worried about the game and all that stuff. Just come to the rink and have a smile on your face and just have fun."
Of course, Knight's bounce-back performance shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone.
Making his third trip the World Juniors (he won silver as a backup in 2019 and was stellar as USA's starter in 2020), the 19-year-old came to the tournament fresh off a hot start at Boston College where he posted a 4-0-0 record, a 1.50 goals-against average, .955 save percentage and a pair of shutouts over just the first four starts of his highly anticipated sophomore season.
Knight was drafted by the Panthers with the 13th overall pick in 2019.
"Playing last year definitely helps," said Knight said when asked about his approach to the tournament in May. "As a goalie, I think every good goalie wants to play. They feel better when they're playing and not just going in and out of games and stuff. That causes inconsistency. Being able to play a bunch, feel the grind of a tournament, it's a lot. That's actually a good part."
From a first-round pick to a late-round gem, Devon Levi has also been turning a lot of heads.
Taken by the Cats in the seventh round (212th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft, the 19-year-old goaltender has quickly become a household name in Canada after backstopping his country to a 3-0-0 record behind a miniscule 0.75 goals-against average and strong .952 save percentage.
On Tuesday, Levi stopped all 15 shots that came his way during a 10-0 win over Switzerland.
"It feels good," Levi, who will suit up at Northeastern as a freshman once the tournament ends, told TSN. "It feels good to be playing. I'm super excited to be here. I have a good team and they play well in front of me. It's been a team effort so far. We look forward for what's to come."
As previously mentioned, Levi's next test will be a date with Lundell and Finland on Thursday.

OTHER PANTHERS AT THE WORLD JUNIORS

F Emil Heineman (Sweden)
Heineman, a 2020 second-round pick (43rd overall), has one goal through three games.
D Kasper Puutio (Finland)
Puutio, a 2020 fifth-round pick (153rd overall), has nine shots and is +1 through three games.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

With all games broadcast on NHL Network in the United States and TSN and RDS in Canada, here's where you can catch Panthers prospects at the World Juniors for the rest of this week. As you can see below, there's a lot of Panther-on-Panther action scheduled for Thursday.
Thursday, Dec. 31
Finland (Lundell, Puutio) vs. Canada (Levi), 6 p.m. ET
United States (Knight) vs. Sweden (Heineman), 9:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, Jan. 2
Quarterfinal 1, 12 p.m. ET
Quarterfinal 2, 3:30 p.m. ET
Quarterfinal 3, 7 p.m. ET
Quarterfinal 4, 10:30 p.m. ET
\Photo courtesy of Andrea Leigh Cardin*