The Nashville Predators were well represented at the 2013 IIHF World Hockey Championships, as defenseman Roman Josi was the standout of the tournament. He took home Best Defenseman & MVP honors, leading Switzerland to a Silver Medal (they lost today’s final match 5-1 to the champs, Sweden).
From the IIHF’s site:
Josi became the first Swiss player ever to earn MVP honours and an award at an IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. He led all defencemen in scoring with four goals and five assists in ten games. He’s joined on the defence of the All-Star Team by fellow countryman Julien Vauclair.
America Wins Bronze Medal
Team USA fared well, taking home the bronze medal by topping Finland 3-2 earlier today. Preds forwards Bobby Butler and Craig Smith both contributed to the cause, with Smith turning heads (as he did in 2011) by scoring 4 goals and adding 10 assists in ten games, putting him just one point behind Paul Stastny as America’s top scorer in the tournament.
It’s hoped that a productive showing like this might help Smith rebound from, well, a disastrous 2013 NHL season.