Over the past weekend, Capitals prospect Axel Jonsson-Fjällby made his debut on the international stage. In a pre-World Championship tournament (Carlson Hockey Games) held in Jaroslavl, Russia, and Pardubice, Czech Republic, the 20-year-old played his first two games for the senior level Swedish National Team.
Tre Kronor lost both games to Czech Republic and Finland, but Jonsson-Fjällby had a personal milestone, scoring his first career points for the team.
Jonsson Fjällby initially got fourth line minutes alongside Linus Ölund of SHL rival Brynäs and John Norman of KHL team Jokerit. In their second game together, Axel Jonsson-Fjällby recorded his first point. Down 4-1 in the middle of the third period, he set up Dennis Everberg to cut the Finnish lead to two.
Axel Jonsson Fjällby is a tough guy to stop. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/6lp2JUeq3E
— Alex Nunn (@aj_ranger) April 22, 2018
The Finns would score again but then Axel Jonsson-Fjällby made one of his characteristic end-to-end-drives, leaving everybody behind. With speed and power, Axel muscled himself in front of the Finnish net. Dennis Everberg would pick up the rebound to make it 5-3.
Team Finland would go on to win the game 7-3. Jonsson-Fjällby assisting on two goals by Everberg, a first-line winger, tells us Axel was bumped up the lineup as the tournament moved along.
Jonsson-Fjällby’s representation, the Playmaker Agency, congratulated the forward in an Instagram post. Retired former Capitals forward Michael Nylander is on staff there.
Next weekend, preparations for the World Championships in Denmark will continue when the Swedish Hockey Games will be held in Stockholm and Södertälje. On Monday morning, Tre Kronor announced that Jonsson-Fjällby made the roster.
HÄR ÄR TRUPPEN! VM-förfesten börjar på torsdag när Sweden Hockey Games drar igång. NHL-stjärnorna intar hemmais och här har du hela truppen till turneringen. Läs mer och köpt biljetter på https://t.co/Q7zOe9xjhB pic.twitter.com/x9IKZfuZ3b
— Tre Kronor (@Trekronorse) April 23, 2018
Jonsson-Fjällby’s chances of making the final World Championship remain slim. With the SHL playoffs concluding Sunday, players from the two final teams will now be available for the roster. Players from NHL rosters, including teams that lost in the first round of the postseason, will be available as well. But Jonsson-Fjällby’s recent play made sure to keep him in the conversation.
This season, the Capitals prospect had seven goals and nine assists in the regular season for Djurgården. In the playoffs, he exploded for six goals and two assists, leading all SHL players in goals after the first round. Jonsson-Fjällby was also a standout for Team Sweden during the World Junior Championships in Buffalo.
