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Despite outplaying Canada for much of the game, Team Sweden lost the gold medal game of the 2018 WJC by a 3-1 score thanks to a heroic effort by CAN goaltender Carter Hart and a late goal by Tyler Steenbergen.
Nobody is ever happy “winning” the silver, but Swedish team captain and Rangers number one draft pick Lias Andersson took his disappointment to another level.
Lias Andersson tossing the silver medal into the crowd. Not gonna lie, I'm hyper competitive and get so mad when I lose, so I feel where he's coming from. pic.twitter.com/9U1NmcaAss
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) January 6, 2018
Another angle:
reddit user u/JiggediJao just uploaded a different angle and it's hilarious. pic.twitter.com/rSSNsg40sC
— Flintor (@TheFlintor) January 6, 2018
This guy got lucky
A Swedish player threw his silver medal over the glass and this guy now has a souvenir pic.twitter.com/HPjM5mHrev
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) January 6, 2018
Really lucky
Apparently this guy also quickly acquired a Sweden jersey. Big night for him pic.twitter.com/ItHQnVqIJk
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) January 6, 2018
The guy who caught the silver medal was wearing 3 jerseys pic.twitter.com/JcfbEQ8PrR
— Patrick Scebba (@scebbs) January 6, 2018
So why did you do it Lias?
Lias Andersson said he tossed the medal into the stands because “the fans wanted it more.” He cited losing in final of U-18 and U-17 as part of his frustration
— Joe Yerdon (@JoeYerdon) January 6, 2018
Full quote from Andersson on why he tossed his medal to the crowd:
— Joe Yerdon (@JoeYerdon) January 6, 2018
“There was one guy in the stands who wanted it more than me so I decided to give it to him and I think he deserved it.”
Andersson did get the medal back from the fan before he left the ice, but apparently he still wasn’t pleased about it.
Lias Andersson asked if he's happy he got the silver medal back after tossing it in the crowd: "No."
— Ryan Kennedy (@THNRyanKennedy) January 6, 2018
The kid is 19 years old. He was frustrated in the moment because this was the last time he could skate for his country’s junior team. But hey, a medal is a medal and you shouldn’t just throw away a symbol of all the hard work and good things your team accomplished in the tournament, especially when you’re the captain.
Besides, the kid is a New York Ranger. He’s going to have to learn to live with disappointment for a long time to come.