2017 World Championships Recap: Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Philip Holm in action on Day 7

Mitch Marner and William Nylander were back in action on Day 7 at the 2017 IIHF World Championships.

Sweden 2 vs. Latvia 0

Latvia has been one of the tougher underdogs to play against in this tournament, winning their first three games of the preliminary round, but Sweden proved to be too much for them in this game. William Nylander, playing on a line with William Karlsson and Joel Eriksson Ek, was held without a point and put one shot on goal in 16:02 of ice-time, but he was a dangerous setup man throughout the game. Unfortunately for Nylander, this game featured a lot of penalty killing time for Swedes, with the Tre Kronor compiling 16 minutes worth of penalties.

Rumours also surfaced today that the Leafs could be adding another Swedish free agent defenseman in 25-year-old Philip Holm, a left-handed defenseman who was paired with Calle Rosen this past season on Vaxjo. Holm, who never made an international appearance for Sweden before this season, has been an extra body on a stacked Swedish blue line, but he was able to see the ice in this game due to an illness to Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He only saw 11:41 in ice time, which included some shifts on the penalty kill, but had a pretty solid performance in limited action as the Swedes shut out the Latvians.

Canada 3 vs. France 2

Mitch Marner remained on the “kid line” with Brayden Point and Travis Konecny against France, and the kids impressed yet again. Marner was generating offense throughout the game with his dynamic skating ability and puck skills. His best scoring chance came ten minutes into the opening frame when he slipped inside a defenceman and redirected a Konecny pass on the doorstep, but French goaltender Florian Hardy came up with a toe save. He saw some time on Canada’s first power play unit again and was one of the primary puck movers on that unit. With the game tied at 2-2 in the third period, Marner made a key check in front of the net after a Marc-Edouard Vlasic shot, leading to the puck bouncing off a French defender and into the net. As the tournament goes on, Marner continues to show that his skill set and compete level is on par with some of the best in the game. Through four games, Marner has a goal and three assists and is a plus-four.

2017 IIHF World Championships - Leafs Player Tracker