Jets prospect and Team Sweden defenseman Elias Salomonsson has been suspended for one round-robin game at the ongoing 2024 World Junior Championship for checking Latvian forward Emīls Veckaktiņš during yesterday’s contest, the IIHF announced.
The incident occurred seconds into the game, meaning Salomonsson took just one shift in his tournament debut. He racked up as many penalty minutes on the play (25) as he did seconds logged in the contest. The IIHF ruled that Salomonsson “recklessly endangered the safety” of Veckaktiņš, resulting in a de facto two-game absence for one of Sweden’s top defenders.
Winnipeg’s 55th overall pick in the 2022 draft is playing in his first and final World Junior tournament, as he’ll age out of eligibility before the 2025 edition. A smooth-skating two-way defender with size, Salomonsson is under contract with Winnipeg but is on loan to Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League. He has four assists and a +1 rating in 15 games this season while factoring in on the team’s second and third pairing. He’s been impressive on the pro international stage against other opponents from across Europe, notching a goal and three assists in eight Champions Hockey League games.
Other notes from the ongoing 2024 WJC this morning:
- Team Czechia defenseman Adam Jiříček will reportedly miss the remainder of the tournament with a knee injury sustained in yesterday’s round-robin opening loss against Slovakia. It’s a tough break for the 2024-draft-eligible defender, who is widely viewed as a likely top-15 pick. The 17-year-old younger brother of Blue Jackets standout prospect David Jiříček is also a right-shot defender and, at 16 years old last season, led all defensemen in goals with 12 in the Czech U20 league. Playing with HC Plzeň in the top Czech men’s league this year, the Tipsport Extraliga, he has one assist and a -10 rating in 19 games. Czechia has replaced him on the roster with Tomáš Galvas, another 2024-draft-eligible defenseman, although he’s not projected as a first-round caliber prospect.
- The injury bug has also hit Team Germany, who will be without projected starting goaltender Simon Wolf for the entire tournament, per Rinkside.de’s Chapin Landvogt. Wolf has returned to Germany from Gothenburg with an undisclosed ailment. The 19-year-old has put up good numbers in the Austrian circuit this season, posting a .916 SV% and 2.52 GAA in 13 games with EC Salzburg’s junior club in the second-tier AlpsHL and a .933 SV% in two appearances with the main club in the top-tier ICEHL. 19-year-old Philipp Dietl, who plays for EV Landshut in the second tier of German pro hockey, started today’s tournament opener against Finland.