It's incredible how effective he is, his smartness both with and without the puck, to be able to do all that at such a young age is very impressive.
For Viggo Björck, Tre Kronor's youngest World Cup player of all time, the first championship goal came in the second match.
"Fun, of course. A good pass from Ivar (Stenberg). He told me to be ready and then just tap it in when you get it," says Björck about his 5-1 goal in numerical superiority.
He kept the puck and it will definitely find a place, maybe on a bookshelf at home.
“Don't have that many”
Like the Swiss watch he received when he was named the best Swedish player - because wristwatches are not something he uses on a daily basis.
"I don't have that many watches, I don't use them that much," he says with a laugh in the mixed zone.
The 18-year-old super talent - born in March 2008 - had just turned four when Jakob Silfverberg scored his last World Cup goal, before Sunday's, in his second World Cup tournament in 2012.
The former NHL forward is now playing in his fourth World Cup and went goalless and pointless in his previous one, in 2023.
"I just heard that it was the first goal for the national team since 2012, so a little has happened since then. Of course it's fun to be there and contribute offensively, it's incredibly nice that it came in. I hope to score more in the future," says Silfverberg, who scored the 4-0 goal.
“Turn your back on them”
The Brynäs forward has been with the national team in both World Cup preparatory tournaments and has been able to follow the juniors closely.
Three of the five have so far made it to the World Cup team. Viggo Björck scored a goal and an assist against Denmark; his teammate in the first line, Ivar Stenberg, had two assists; and center Jack Berglund was scoreless but had two assists in the opener against Canada, a 3-5 loss.
"Incredibly impressive, it's incredibly cool. They get a big responsibility and shoulder it in an impressive way. They create every change, it's just for us older ones to back them up," says Silfverberg.
Sweden will face the Czech Republic in their next match on Monday evening.
