The Detroit Red Wings have to be happy with how things are going overseas in Lucas Raymond‘s trip to Sweden to play for the National team in the 2023 IIHF World Championships. Raymond may only have one assist to his credit, but he has begun to pop off and play exceptionally well.
The Detroit Red Wings have several players who headed overseas to take part in Worlds this season, and Raymond’s start with Sweden has helped them get off to a good start. Sweden is 3-0 so far, though one of their wins came in overtime, so they are in second behind the United States team, which is 3-0 in Group A.
Either way, Raymond is helping the Swedes get off to a good start in Group Play. The Swedish winger scored twice in the shootout, including the game-winning goal to help his team earn that victory in the shootout.
Lucas Raymond goes 5-hole again and Sweden wins this game 2-1 in the shootout. #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/FJveI7Haxi
— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) May 15, 2023
There’s plenty to like about Raymond’s early performance for Team Sweden. He’s been able to settle in nicely and pick up his performance. Besides the two shootout goals, Raymond also helped Sweden get their scoring started during the tournament with an excellent feed as he cut through the middle of the ice.
Detroit Red Wings’ Lucas Raymond is helping Team Sweden early at IIHF Worlds.
Raymond may have taken a slight regression in terms of his performance for the Red Wings in 2022-23, but he is looking to finish the season strong with Team Sweden before taking a break and getting after it again in 2023-24.
As he represents his country for Team Sweden, he’s hoping to help them make a run through the 2023 IIHF World Championship. On top of his outstanding performance on the ice, Raymond was named one of the team’s assistant captains, putting him in a leadership position and letting him don an “A” on his jersey.
For the Red Wings, it’s exciting to see Raymond performing this well and seeing him earn an “A” on his jersey for the Swedes. There has to be hope that he can finish the year on a high note with Sweden at Worlds before returning to the Red Wings after a break this summer.
With a slight regression, the Red Wings may not have gotten exactly what they were looking for in 2022-23. However, things are just fine with Raymond. In 74 games played, Raymond scored 17 goals and added 28 assists for 45 total points in the campaign.
Sweden’s got three total wins in the IIHF Worlds, and Raymond’s two shootout goals helped seal off the third; hopefully, he can continue to find success and contribute to the team moving forward.