Eight teams will play in the Men’s U19 World Floorball Championships A-Division: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia and Denmark will play in the Group A and Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland and Latvia in Group B.
The reigning champion Finland is ready to defend their title. Switzerland, who is ranked second, aims to steal the crown, but so are the next ranked Czech Republic and Sweden. Tight matches have been played between the top four during the past and anything can happen.
Slovakia is ranked 5th and aims to hold onto their ranking. Poland is ranked 6th and Latvia 7th. Denmark is the 8th team in the A-Division. They won the B-Division in 2015 and were promoted to the A-Division.
The 9th Men´s U19 WFC 2017 will be on the 3rd until 7th of May 2017 in Växjö, Sweden. The Final Round is made of up 8 teams in A-division & 8 teams in B-division. All A-division teams, as well as two B-division teams, were directly qualified, based on results from the Men´s U19 WFC 2015. The remaining 6 spots in B-division were determined via regional quota systems and qualification events.
Official website: wfc2017.se
Team Presentations:
Group A
A lion needs not to roar to prove that it´s a threat. The Finnish lions are ready to hunt.
Players to watch
Alexander Nyman: A leader and spine of the defence.
Eero Jalo: A hardworking wing that creates plenty of scoring opportunities for his line mates.
#25 A. Nyman |
#12 E. Jalo |
A team full of technical players who have a good character and fighting spirit. They pass the ball very quickly in offence. Team´s aim in Vaxjö is to perform the best floorball so far.
Players to watch
Oskar Malmgren: Oskar is a stable defence player.
Linus Holmgren: Linus can play both defence and offence.
Kasper Broby: Kasper is quick and fast in both mind and feet.
#54 O. Malmgren |
#22 L. Holmgren |
#8 K. Broby |
Talented team in the “Scandinavian group”. The goal of the team is to reach the semi-final, what could be the best result in Slovak history.
Players to watch
Michal Dudovic: Team captain with heart for the team. Michal has gained experience from the Swiss team SV Wiler Ersigen.
Adam Kohut: One of the most talented goalies in Slovakia. He is born in 2000, so he can play also on the next Men´s WFC.
Erik Moravcik: The tallest player of the team. He has been playing in the 3rd Slovakian league, but has worked hard and goes now to the national team.
#21 M. Dudovic |
#93 A. Kohut |
#81 E. Moravcik |
Teams ambition and goal for the WFC is to remain in the A group. Knowing, that it will be a big challenge to succeed in this mission, they are ready to fight for it. They are sure, that their team spirit can take them there.
Players to watch
Jesper Schmidt: A talented defender, who contributes with his defensive and offensive qualities to their team. He is an important part of the team and can help his teammates with his experience from the U19 WFC in 2015.
Mathias Glass: A striker with great qualities in the offensive zone and he is a good team player who works for the team. He has experience from the Men´s national team and the WFC in Riga.
Emil Brixager: A talented goalkeeper who is very skilful in predicting the game and takes a good position in the goal. He was involved in the U19 WFC in Helsingborg.
#33 J. Schmidt |
#17 M. Glass |
#31 E. Brixager |
Group B
Switzerland sends a hungry, talented, but also an ambitious team to Vaxjö. After months of preparation, including several training camps, the team is ready to challenge the world´s best. This well balanced Swiss team will put a lot of passion in its game to reach the set goals.
Players to watch
Simon Laubscher: The most experienced Player and Captain of the team. A two-way-centre with outstanding scoring skills.
Stefan Hutzli: Can play both as a defender or in the centre position. Reached a very good level this season in highest Swiss Men´s league.
Harry Braillard: Smart player with soft hands, good running skills and great fighting spirit. He will never give up.
#14 S. Laubscher |
#10 S. Hutzli |
#21 H. Braillard |
Czech Republic has a very ambitious team with lots of players from the Czech men´s Elite Division. Their aim is to play attractive floorball that helps them to win a medal.
Players to watch
Ondrej Nemecek: Versatile player with great overview of the game and individual techniques.
Daniel Muck: The best goalkeeper in Czech Republic in 2016, goalkeeper with quick hands.
Krystof Krbec: Hard defender with quick shot, great in supporting offense.
#17 O. Nemecek |
#40 D. Muck |
#23 K. Krbec |
After the 6th place during the last Championships the team wants to keep the same or even higher place. Consisting of very good players, many of whom play in the senior teams, the Polish team will be very dangerous to every opponent.
Players to watch
Malajka Wojciech: Very talented player who plays in Czech Extra league. Top scorer of the team and a key player.
Pelczarski Karol: A universal player who can play on every position. His characteristic feature is very high efficiency, great technic and speed.
Korczak Jakub: Polish senior champion from Gorale Nowy Targ, multiple Polish representative who has already scored many goals and still hoping for more.
#25 W. Malajka |
#13 K. Pelczarski |
#19 J. Korczak |
Team with a tenacious character and three balanced lines. All players have Latvia´s highest division experience. Team´s main objectives are to fight for the win in every match and to reach higher position than at the U19 WFC 2015.
Players to watch
Peteris Trekse: Fast and smart player. He is excellent scorer and playmaker with experience from the Men´s WFC 2016.
Klavs Ozolins: Only player from foreign leagues, playing in Finland´s “SC Classic” system. He has great scorers´ instinct and ability to be in the right place at the right time.
Janis Ragovskis: Composed defender with excellent individual technique and scoring ability.
#22 P. Trekse |
#3 K. Ozolins |
#7 J. Ragovskis |
U19 WFC Final Round Playing system
A-Division: Every team plays each other once within their group. The top two teams after the group stage proceed to the semi-finals, while the other four teams have placement matches. The 8th placed team in A-division will be relegated to B-division for 2017.
B-Division: Every team plays each other once within their group. The top two teams after the group stage proceed to the semi-finals, while the other four teams have placement matches. The winner of B-division will be promoted to A-division for 2017.
Qualifications
A total of 26 teams registered for the 9th Men´s U19 World Floorball Championships. In the qualification events, France & Iran competed for the first time in this category. Qualification events were held in Europe (Italy) and Asia-Oceania (Japan) in September 2016. General information on those events can be found below.
Europe
The European qualification event was held in Celano, Italy, from 6th – 10th September 2016. Based on the results of the event, and the IFF regional quota system, two teams – Hungary & Estonia – qualified from Europe.
Asia-Oceania
The Asia-Oceania qualification event was held in Fuji-Yoshida, Japan from 18th – 20th September 2016. Based on the results of the event, and the IFF regional quota system, two teams – Australia & Japan – qualified from Europe.
Americas
Based on the IFF regional quota system, two teams – Canada & USA – qualified from the Americas.
All team and player information is provided by the teams themselves and only edited by IFF
