WJC PLAYERS TO WATCH: A focus on the blueline for the blue and yellow

Sweden has been a perennial medal favorite when it comes to the IIHF World Junior Championship.

This year’s tournament will offer a similar expectation.

Sweden, who has been in the gold medal game in four of the past seven tournaments and has a gold and three silver medals to show, once again will have high ambitions — and high expectations — in 2019.

The anticipation comes with one of the tournament’s most skilled blue lines.

Adam Boqvist, D, London (OHL)

Boqvist, simply put, will be one of the tournament’s most talented defensemen.

He’s no stranger to international ice either. The rearguard, selected with the No. 8 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, helped Sweden to bronze at the 2018 IIHF World Under-18 Championship — where he was named the tournament’s top defenseman