S68 Europe WJC Unsung Hero -- Thorvald Gunnarsson

[Cornholio 182]

WJC S68 Team Europe Unsung Hero

 

Yeah, I'm just doing this for the free TPE. Nah, it's nice to get me going, do some research on the VHL. It was tough trying to find an unique topic/person to write about... I could go the easy route and do something on my current VHL team, Prague Phantoms... but I already covered that in my VHL.com PT for the week. With the recent European conquest of the S69 WJC, this brought back plenty of good memories for me. So I decided to check out our S68 roster to see who was our true hero that didn't quite get all the attention he deserved. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages... I present to you... Thorvald Gunnarsson, the starting goaltender for the golden group of Europeans. 

 

 

 

Drafted #34 overall in the S67 VHL Entry Draft, the Finnish goaltender played two years in the VHLM for the Halifax 21st, [S66 & S67] - the latter as a grooming season to fine-tune his game and get himself VHL-ready as much as possible. Gunnarsson played outstanding in S67, winning 43 out of his 72 starts with a save percentage of .900. 

 

 Gunnarsson got his opportunity to play in the VHL one year after his draft year -- in S68 and S69 as backup goaltender of the New York Americans. A younger net minder in A Red Guy has apparently taken the job for good, which essentially makes Gunnarsson a career backup unless he can revive his career. Nonetheless, in S68 -- Gunnarsson posted a winning record with 10 victories in 18 games last year, although he hasn't had much luck this year with just three victories in 13 games. Even though his GAA has dropped slightly, so has his Saves % - which is no bueno. 

 

But we aren't here to talk about Gunnarsson's VHLM or VHL journey... we're here to talk about his magical run at the S68 WJC for Team Europe and why he was the REAL unsung hero of the team. Through the eight-game round robin format, Gunnarsson was literally on fire as he only allowed 14 goals, posted two shutouts and was undefeated in regulation play as Europe dropped two games in overtime play. The European offense wasn't the highest-scoring unit, but their defense was the most stingiest. With a strong foursome playing in front of Gunnarsson [Elmebeck, Persson, Stansson, DESTRUCTIOUS], they made things tough on opposing wingers, but Gunnarsson was the ultimate final line of defense and he did his job. 

 

In the medal round, Europe defeated USA and then Canada in a clean sweep of North America to earn their gold medals and Gunnarsson was simply amazing -- 3 goals allowed in 120 minutes, for a save percentage of .951.  Yeah sure defenseman Pierre Persson had an awesome medal round with 5 points [2 goals/3 assists] and Frederik Elmebeck added 4 points, both posting a +/- of +4.... but Gunnarsson is the man who made this happen. The man who made Team Europe golden in S68. He still had to face 61 shots and he only allowed three to slip through. A round of cheers to Thorvald Gunnarsson! May you find success with your VHL career. 

 

@Saelven88