The Swedish Ice Hockey Association announced on Thursday that Vermont coach Todd Woodcroft has been named an assistant coach with the 2021 Sweden National Junior Team.
The Sweden National Junior Team will take part in the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship Dec. 26, 2020 to Jan. 5, 2021, in Edmonton, Alberta. All games will be held at Rogers Place, the home of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.
In his role as assistant coach, Woodcroft will help the team remotely, working specifically on pre-scouting the opponents and post-scouting all of Sweden’s games.
“The invitation from Tomas Montén and the Swedish Ice Hockey Association to serve as an assistant coach for the Juniorkronorna at the ’21 World Junior Championships is truly an honor,” said Woodcroft in a statement. “I have had the opportunity to work with Team Sweden on two separate occasions (2016 World Cup, 2017 World Championship), coaching alongside Tomas and winning a gold medal together in the process.
“I am humbled by his opinion of me as a coach and I am excited to continue to learn from him as we prepare for the best junior tournament in the world.”
Sweden will compete in Group B of the tournament facing Austria, Czech Republic, Russia, and the United States in round robin action. Sweden will begin the tournament on December 26 facing the Czech Republic at 2 p.m. EST.
