The 2024 IIHF World Championships concluded yesterday as Team Czechia won the gold medal against Team Switzerland. For everyone who isn't aware of the World Championships, it's basically the Olympics, but the World Championships are strictly hockey only.
Regarding the Buffalo Sabres, they were well represented in the tournament as six players represented the blue and gold. Team Canada consisted of forward Dylan Cozens, as well as defensemen Owen Power and Bowen Byram. JJ Peterka was on Team Germany while Rasmus Dahlin and Victor Olofsson were on Team Sweden.
In this article, we're going to take a look at how each member of the Sabres did in the tournament.
JJ Peterka
JJ Peterka is the first player we will talk about. In eight games played, the German forward scored five goals and registered four assists. Peterka was a +2 in the tournament and led the Germans in the notable offensive categories, including in points (9). Even though JJ and his country left the tournament empty handed, he performed well and looked like the player Sabres fans saw this year.
When it comes to playing in the blue and gold, Peterka is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign. He scored 28 goals while recording 22 assists in all 82 games played. After scoring 12 goals in his rookie year and finishing with 32 points in 77 games played, JJ took a leap forward this season.
His 50 points this year was fourth best on Buffalo. Just every team in the tournament, Team Germany has NHL players with players who play in international leagues. It was mostly players who are not in the NHL as Peterka was one of five players on Germany who play in the NHL.
It was good to see JJ perform well in the tournament, and I can't wait to see what he does in his NHL career.