When Viggo Björck made his debut against Canada in Fribourg twelve days ago, he became Sweden's youngest ever World Championship player for Tre Kronor.
After the 3–5 loss, he ran into Canada's 20-year-old superstar Sidney Crosby in the mixed zone and received praise.
"Good match. Really cool," the Djurgården center said.
“A really cool person”
He also plucked up the courage to ask Crosby for a stick and now that Tre Kronor has moved to Zurich for Thursday night's quarterfinal against host nation Switzerland, it is clear that the Pittsburgh star has kept his promise.
"I've actually got it now," says Björck after the national team's voluntary training in the Swiss Life Arena.
He will now tenderly care for the precious object, but Crosby was not personally responsible for the delivery.
"I think it was the equipment manager. It was standing outside the locker room. It's going home. It's going with the club bag. I get to sit and carry it," the 18-year-old says with a smile.
It is clear that Crosby – who has won two Olympic gold medals, one World Championship gold medal and three Stanley Cups – is Björck's big idol in ice hockey.
"He's probably one of the few people you really feel is a really cool person in hockey."
Is it autograph mode?
"No, I probably wouldn't dare ask," he says, laughing.
The road to the quarter-finals was a bumpy one for Tre Kronor. Fourth place in the group was only secured via a 4–2 victory in the group final against Slovakia on Tuesday.
"The goal of every championship is to go for the gold. It's bad to go out in the group stage, but I feel we shouldn't be satisfied here; we should go all the way. That's the goal," says Björck.
“Awesome experience”
He is asked if the meeting with Switzerland will be a greater experience than the World Junior Championship (WJC) final against the Czech Republic in Minnesota, USA, in early January.
"The WJC gold was impressive. We'll see. It should be packed, so it will be an impressive experience," says Björck, who had six points in the tournament.
Switzerland has lost two straight finals - four in total - and is yearning for a first World Championship gold in history. There is hockey fever in the summer-heated Alpine country and the majority of the 10,000 spectators in the Swiss Life Arena are unlikely to support Tre Kronor.
"It's fun," says Björck, laughing.
Thursday, quarterfinals:
Finland–Czech Republic (4:20 p.m. in Zurich).
Canada–USA (4:20 p.m. in Fribourg).
Switzerland–Sweden (8:20 p.m. in Zurich).
Latvia–Norway (8:20 p.m. in Fribourg).
Semifinals will be played on Saturday and medal matches on Sunday - all matches in Zurich.
The highest ranked semifinal team will face the lowest ranked semifinal team. The second best team will face the third best ranked team.
Rankings for the quarterfinals: 1) Switzerland, 2) Canada, 3) Finland, 4) Norway, 5) Czech Republic, 6) Latvia, 7) Sweden, 8) USA.
