Buffalo Sabres prospect Isak Rosen shines in Game 1
By Sion Fawkes
Buffalo Sabres prospect Isak Rosen has been up and down in Rochester, but he put up big numbers in Game 1 of the IIHF World Juniors.
Isak Rosen has had his moments with the AHL’s Rochester Americans this season, putting up 15 points, 3 goals, and 12 assists in 25 games. The rookie hasn’t been great, but he hasn’t been bad either. Contrast this to his IIHF play dating back to the previous summer, and he has been among the better players on the ice.
This past Monday, Rosen helped Sweden cruise to an easy 11-0 win over Austria in their opening game of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. Odds are, things won’t come so easily for Team Sweden in later games, but this may not be the last set of highlight reel plays from Rosen.
Buffalo Sabres prospect Isak Rosen helped dominate an overmatched Austria
Rosen’s first goal was a classic. He forced a takeaway, drifted into the right circle and toward the slot, giving himself a one-on-one look with the goaltender. As an Austrian defenseman skated his way, Rosen buried the puck into twine to put Sweden up 1-0.
Isak Rosen forces a turnover and buries Sweden’s 1st goal of the tournament.
— Jourdon LaBarber (@JourdonLaBarber) December 26, 2022
pic.twitter.com/cNSRqrKbam
And Rosen wasn’t done quite yet, scoring what may have been the most memorable goal of the game early in the second period with Sweden up 2-0. Displaying tremendous puck control, Rosen skated up the offensive zone and into the left circle, keeping his eyes on the net the entire time.
He skated past a defender and nearly into the forecheck at what many may consider a bad angle. At the absolute last microsecond, however, Rosen buried his second of the contest to give Sweden a commanding 3-0 lead early in the second period.
Second goal of the game for Sabres prospect Isak Rosén. He also has an assist for Sweden.
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) December 26, 2022
pic.twitter.com/cn9EUatp4r
Overall, it was a remarkable showing for the former 14th overall pick and Team Sweden, and he also logged an assist on the day, giving him a total of three points to open the tournament. Fellow Buffalo Sabres prospect, Noah Ostlund, also recorded an assist.
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Later in the day, Jiri Kulich and Team Czechia pulled off a massive upset over Conner Bedard and Team Canada. While Kulich was a non-factor points-wise, goaltender Tomas Suchanek made 36 saves on 38 shot attempts. You may remember Suchanek from the Sabres development camp and the Prospects Challenge, and he is one to keep an eye out for.
(Statistics provided by IIHF.com)
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