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This was quite the storyline within a storyline: Two young Leaf stars facing each other in the gold medal game, with Canada looking to win their third straight gold medal and Sweden seeking their first since 2013.

Despite the low-scoring nature of the contest and the unfortunate way it was decided (shootout), this was a fantastic game between two international powerhouses loaded with NHL talent — and William Nylander and Mitch Marner were two of the more dangerous players on their respective teams.

In the first period, Nylander split the Canadian defense and nearly opened the scoring by tucking the puck past Pickard. Marner, meanwhile, came out flying, getting a bunch of touches early and doggedly pursuing the puck all over the ice. He continued to be a threat as the distributor on the top Canadian power play unit; at the start of the third period, after Marner fired a shot on goal on the PP, Ryan O’Reilly was able to lift the puck over Henrik Lundqvist’s shoulder with the help of a deflection off of Anton Stralman’s stick for Marner’s 12th point of the tournament.

After an epic goaltending duel between Calvin Pickard and Henrik Lundqvist preserved the 1-1 tie until the shootout, Nylander was Sweden’s first shooter but couldn’t solve Calvin Pickard through the five hole. Marner stepped up with the game on the line as Canada’s fourth shooter, but Lundqvist was a wall for Sweden in the skills competition (you can take the shootout takers off of the Leafs but you can’t take the Leafs out of the shootout takers, or something like that).

Nylander, who finished tied for fourth in points (17) and tied for first in goals (7), was named the tournament MVP for his efforts, capping an incredible year of hockey from a just-turned 21-year-old player, including:

  • NHL Rookie of the Month honours, twice — a first for a Leaf rookie. In October, he became the first Leaf skater to receive rookie of the month honours since Steve Sullivan in 1996. He accomplished the double honour in an exceptional year for NHL rookies: In addition to the remarkable seasons of Auston Matthews, Zach Werenski and Patrik Laine (the three Calder finalists), Marner, Sebastian Aho, Matthew Tkachuk, Anthony Mantha, Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point all produced at .60 points-per-game or higher.
  • A 22-goal, 61-point season that ranks fourth all-time among rookies in franchise history.
  • World Championship gold medal for Team Sweden
  • World Championship MVP after leading the tournament in goal scoring (t-1st with seven)

Marner was the youngest player on the Team Canada roster, but that was easy to forget (Head coach Jon Cooper had him on the ice in the final minute of regulation of a 1-1 game). 12 points in 10 games — playing a major role on Canada’s highly-efficient top power play unit, earning Player of the Game honours versus Finland — is quite the haul from a player who turned 20 after the tournament started.  There will be some disappointment in the end result for Marner, but it’s hard to picture the tournament going much better for either Leaf individually as far as announcing their presence on the international stage.

To think they’re only getting started.

As for the other Leaf participating in the tournament, Finland’s Miro Aaltonen: He was the 13th forward for Finland in their semifinal game against Sweden but only saw 2:27 of ice time — all in the third period — and he was on the ice for a goal against during that time. He was able to crack Finland’s lineup in their bronze medal matchup vs. Russia, skating on the team’s third line with Joonas Kemppainen and Antti Pihlstrom. He saw 11:27 of ice time, recorded one shot on goal and was on the ice for all three of Russia’s goals. Aaltonen finished the tournament pointless and posted a minus-eight in eight games.