Chicago Blackhawks forward prospect Tim Soderlund will play for Sweden against Canada in the World Junior Championships gold-medal game.
The game will be at 7 p.m. Friday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Sweden defeated the United States, the defending tournament champions, 4-2, while Canada blasted the Czech Republic and Chicago defensive prospect Jakub Galvas 7-2 in the semifinals. Galvas (2017 fifth-rounder) has two assists in six tournament games.
The U.S. and the Czech Republic will play the bronze medal game at 3 p.m. Friday.
Soderlund (2017 fourth-rounder) has four points in six games. He shined in Sweden’s 3-2 quarterfinal win over Slovakia with a goal and an assist.
It’s the first gold medal game for Sweden since 2014. The Swedes last won the tournament in 2012 over Russia in Calgary then dropped the next two to the United States and Finland, respectively. Canada fell 3-2 in a shootout to the Americans in last year’s gold medal game. The Canadians last won gold in 2015 over the Russians.
Canada holds a 5-0 edge in gold medal games over Sweden.