Six years ago Artemi Panarin was playing in the World Junior Championship for Russia. And now he’s wishing his young countrymen could have beaten the United States for the second straight year in the semifinal.
The 25-year-old Russian forward lost a $500 bet to Patrick Kane on the game, he told Scott Powers of The Athletic.
The United States defeated Russia 4-3 in a shootout powered by Anaheim prospect Troy Terry, a Denver sophomore, with two goals in the shootout. The Americans will play Canada in the gold-medal game while Russia draws Chicago prospect Lucas Carlsson and Sweden in the bronze-medal game.
It’s not uncommon for players to place wagers on the world juniors tournament. It’ll be interesting to see if Kane and other U.S.-born players on the Blackhawks make any wagers on the gold-medal game with their Canadian teammates. Panarin might not be feeling so confident after Russia’s loss to make a wager with Swedish teammates Gustav Forsling, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Marcus Kruger on the bronze-medal game.