Alexander Khovanov had a tumultuous semi-final against Sweden. In addition to a goal, an assist, 12 minutes worth of PIMs for a hit to the head, Khovanov appears to have upset some of the Swedish players, ones he may be seeing in the NHL in the near future.
When he scored on the power play early in the first period, Khovanov (3rd round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2018), celebrated by skating past the Swedish bench while kissing the two-headed eagle, the coat of arms of Russia, on his jersey. Adam Ginning (2nd round, Flyers, 2018), the Swedish captain attempted to point out the unsportsmanlike behaviour to the referees to no avail. Speaking after the game, Albin Eriksson (2nd round, Stars, 2018) was miffed.
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"They get sensitive when [Canadian captain Barrett Hayton] didn't take off his helmet for their anthem," said Eriksson. "But it's ok to skate by our bench, kissing the coat of arms. Typical Russia."
Khovanov leads Russia with eight points on three goals and five assists in the tournament. He was tearing it up in the QMJHL with the Moncton Wildcats before being called for national team duty, with 53 points (20 G, 33 A) in 26 games. He told Igor Eronko after the game that he did not mean to stir up the Swedes and was not aware of his precise whereabouts during the goal celebration.
Sources:Aftonbladet (Swedish) and Sport-Express (Russian)
