"It's a rivalry for sure," Team Canada defenseman Dennis Cholowski said. "We don't like them, they don't like us on the ice. We're going to give it our all."
LARSSON IMPRESSES: After Team Sweden was defeated by Team USA 3-2 on Wednesday, Swedish coach Tomas Monten heaped praise on his losing goalie, Larsson, a Wings prospect.
Monten told the assembled press for his first start he thought Larsson acquitted himself extremely well, that he has been excellent in practice and Larsson's decision to play in North America this upcoming season should be a beneficial experience.
On Friday, Larsson was Sweden's backup goalie in a 7-4 loss to Team Canada.
After the game, Larsson was still smarting from Wednesday's loss to the Americans.
"I think I played good. I had three really tough goals against me, there's not much I could have done about them; other than that, I think I played very well," Larsson said about his only start in the WJSS. "Those were three really tough goals, I didn't have a chance on any goal actually, so it was a tough game but to play against the U.S. They didn't shoot much, but when they had their chances they're really tough."
He admits he was getting a bit antsy as the week wore on and he had not been in a game.
But deep down he knew he was practicing well enough to get his opportunity.
"I didn't know if I was going to play," Larsson said. "The goalie coach had seen me at practice and I did good there, so I thought I earned a chance, maybe I get to play (again Saturday against Finland).
"This week has gone very well. I have been very good at practice and the staff have also told me they're really happy from what they've seen from me, so I have done really well here."
Since he is playing for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL this fall, it's imperative Larsson makes a good impression on the Swedish coaching staff during the WJSS.
While most of his teammates will play in Sweden, he will not.
So, to get an invite to Sweden's world juniors tryout camp, he realized the WJSS could be his only opportunity to leave a lasting impression.
"I had a lot of options. I could play still in Sweden, but I thought to get many games over here (in North America), maybe I'm a backup on a senior team in Sweden, it's a better option for me to keep playing a lot and the option to go to college is a great opportunity for me," Larsson reasoned. "Maybe by Christmas I'm used to these (smaller) rinks, so that's good for me, I may have a bigger chance than a goalie in Sweden to get a chance here (to make the World Junior team)."
Unlike his teammate and fellow Wings prospect Lindstrom, Larsson doesn't seem fazed by playing on the smaller North American ice surface.
"It's more traffic in front of the goal for me; other than that, I don't feel so much of a difference, just the rebounds maybe makes it hard," he said nonchalantly.
LINDSTROM LIKES TO GET PHYSICAL: Wings assistant general manager Ryan Martin said this week that one of the things that surprised him about Lindstrom was the way he played with an edge.
"When it's one-on-one along the boards, you have to be physical to take the puck," Lindstrom said. "I like to play physical and help my teammates to get the puck."
Lindstrom said he has been a physical player for as long as he can remember.
"I think that I always had liked to play physical," Lindstrom said. "That's a very important game. So I like to play physical. That's what I do, I try to do almost all the time."
