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Golden Knights Prospect Powers Finland Victory Over USA

Thanks to the performance of a Vegas Golden Knights prospect, Finland earned a huge victory over the United States at the World Junior Championship.

Jacob Punturi

Aug 3, 2024; Plymouth, MI, USA; Finland's goaltender Kim Saarinen (31) makes a leg pad save against Sweden during the second period of the 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase at USA Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images
Aug 3, 2024; Plymouth, MI, USA; Finland's goaltender Kim Saarinen (31) makes a leg pad save against Sweden during the second period of the 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase at USA Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images / David Reginek-Imagn Images
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The World Junior Championship is always filled with massive blowouts and shocking upsets, and thanks to a Vegas Golden Knights prospect the tournament had their latest surprise outcome. Just a day after Latvia upset Canada, Finland took down the defending gold medalists, the United States, with a 4-3 victory in overtime.

Golden Knights forward prospect Tuomas Uronen shocked the Ottawa crowd when he rocketed a shot past United States goalie Trey Augustine. With three minutes remaining in the overtime period, the Finnish squad capitalized quickly on a US giveaway after defender Cole Hutson slipped on the ice. Uronen started the break out for Finland, carring the puck and carried the puck all the way into the offensive zone. With a 2-on-1 bearing down on Augustine, Uronen fired a wrist shot that beat the goaltender clean over his glove hand. The fired up Finnish squad mobbed their goal scoring teammate while a stunned American team looked on in disbelief.

With this huge goal, it could be the start of more scouts taking notice of Uronen. The Golden Knights drafted him in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL Draft after he recorded 43 points in 39 games in the U20 SM-sarja, the top junior hockey league in Finland.

His post draft season was a tough blow, as he only played 11 games in his debut season with the Ontario Hockey League. But this year, he's becoming a much more consistent prospect and raising his stock in the Vegas organization. With the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL, he has 16 goals and 39 points in 31 games.

Uronen's goal was the cherry on top of a game for Finland, who looked evenly matched against the juggernaut American team and stole a victory in group play. From the opening face-off, Finland controlled the pace of play. It was a complete shift for the United States, who have dominated opponents during their pre-tournament games and group play opener.

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Jacob Punturi
JACOB PUNTURI

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