Kazakhstan is still improving, hockey is going in the right direction here, praised Hedman

Sweden was able to maintain its 100% record against Kazakhstan. The Northerners played with the Asian team and deservedly celebrated a 3:1 win. In the post-match interviews, the mutual respect that not only the players, but also the countries have for each other could be heard from both sides.

The score was opened in the 11th minute by Minnesota’s Marcus Johansson. The calmness with which the players play was evident throughout the game. Nobody was rushing anywhere, everybody was making sure to pass the puck, and especially in the offensive zone, accurate pucks were flying from stick to stick.

The surprise goal scorer in the yellow jersey was Linus Johansson, who scored a shorthanded goal in the second period. At the start of the third period, Fabian Zetterlund scored Sweden’s last goal to close the scoring account of the favourite.

Post-game interviews

“It was great to play against players like Hedman and Karlsson. The 25-year-old Kazakh defenceman is playing in his second world championship and the games against world stars must be a great school for him.

“It was good for us, but we have to focus on the next matches. We have to improve our power plays, take our chances and keep moving forward,” the young defenseman concluded his interview with a reporter. Kazakhstan produced only 11 shots for the whole game, yet they enjoyed the goal thanks to Adil Beketayev.

Against Kazakhstan stood real world stars, who are recognized within the overseas NHL. Still, don’t expect arrogance from them. Goaltender Viktor Hedman even paid tribute to the Kazakhs.

“There were two players I played with for three months. Starchenko and Rakhmanov,” the star defenseman of Tampa Bay, with whom he twice celebrated the Stanley Cup. The defenceman was referring to the part of the 2012-13 season he spent with Barys Astana, where he played due to the NHL lockout.

“I think hockey is improving in Kazakhstan as well as in the whole world. They are a good example of that. When I was in Astana, I learned a lot of things there. I think hockey there is developing in the right direction,” Hedman added.

Source: IIHF, World Championship 2024