OHL Flint Firebirds

Saarijarvi Records Three Assists, Impresses at World Juniors

January 2, 2016 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Flint Firebirds News Release


Flint Firebirds Defenseman Vili Saarijarvi with Finland
Flint Firebirds Defenseman Vili Saarijarvi with Finland
(Flint Firebirds)

Helsinki, Finland - A brilliant mind with deception and puck play. That is the description Craig Button, Director of Scouting for TSN, gave after watching Firebirds' defenseman Vili Saarijarvi compete at the World Junior Championship in Helsinki.

The World Junior Championship (WJC) is a tournament held every year showcasing the best under-20 players in the world from the end of December to the beginning of January. On Wednesday night, the Detroit Red Wings draft pick and current Firebird recorded three assists for Finland against Slovakia in front of 12,723 fans at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki. (Highlights)

With the game tied 2-2 in the final minutes of the middle frame, Saarijarvi blasted a puck off the end boards from the right point directly onto the tape of Roope Hintz to earn Finland the go-ahead goal.

Saarijarvi recorded his second assist of the night on an offensive zone face off draw from Roope Hintz. Vili dished the puck to the left wing side where Kaperi Kapanen fired the disc off a defender in the slot and into the back of the net with 7:30 remaining in the game.

Then, with 2:18 remaining, Saarijarvi assisted on the last goal of the contest. With the puck at the right point, he faked the shot, skated around the Slovakian forward and ripped the puck on net where Kaper Bjorkqvist deflected the shot past Slovakia's Stanislav Skorvanek for the final tally of the evening.

Finland would win 8-3 on Wednesday night and finished the preliminary round in second place of Group B with a 3-1-0-0 record. The United States finished in second place of Group A, also with a 3-1-0-0 record while Canada was third place in Group A with a 1-2-1-0 record.

Finland will face Canada next in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 11 a.m. (EST) while the United States will play Czech Republic at 1 p.m. (EST). Both games will be televised nationally on Sportsnet in Canada and the NHL Network in the United States.

In his first season in the Ontario Hockey League, the 2015 Detroit Red Wings draft pick has appeared in 28 games for the Flint Firebirds recording five goals and 14 assists for 19 points. Before leaving for the WJC, Saarijarvi was 11th in points among all defenseman in the OHL.

Saarijarvi is expected to return back to the Firebirds lineup on Friday, January 8th when Flint battles the London Knights for the first time in a nationally televised game on Sportsnet at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario.

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Images from this story

Flint Firebirds Defenseman Vili Saarijarvi with Finland
Flint Firebirds Defenseman Vili Saarijarvi with Finland
   



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 2, 2016


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