Moments after receiving his Silver Medal, Lias Andersson threw it over into the crowd. There has been debate on Twitter as to whether Lias is a coward and lacks class for heaving his medal over the glass or if he is a warrior for showing his displeasure of getting "first loser."

Here are my personal thoughts on the matter:

Pro(s):
- Shows that he came to Buffalo to get gold, and get gold only.
- Shows that he wants to be the best he can be, and anything less than 100% every shift is intolerable
- Shows that he is emotional and takes every single shift by heart
- Shows that he pins the loss more on himself than his teammates
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Con(s):
- Shows lack of thoughtfulness and lapse in judgement

WATCH: Team Sweden ?? captain and #NYRangers prospect Lias Andersson tosses his #WorldJuniors silver medal into the crowd https://t.co/LO7QQCRoAt #TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/AQ5LuXBtt4

— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) January 6, 2018

I just want to know why the fan was wearing three jerseys!

Big thing to remember is the guy is only 19 years old. These guys are kids and kids are emotional, this wasn’t the NHL or the Olympics these were young guys playing in the biggest game of their early careers. The tension was high, expectations were high, and after a great game by Sweden, the Canadians put it away with mere minutes left to play.

However, throwing away your medal is completely unprofessional and lacks class. He had every right to be angry, the entire Swedish roster was angry, but to go and throw your medal into the stands is the exact opposite of good sportsmanship.

Calling him a coward is way to extreme, but he’s not a hero either. He wanted to win bad, which is fine, unfortunately for him he was left heartbroken, and let his emotions get the best of him.

I think it's classless because he got silver (better than no medal or bronze) and acted like a sore loser by throwing it into the crowd. He got the medal back but it was very disrespectful. He regrets it but be thankful for the medal you got.

Completely indifferent, who cares. most professional athletes who don’t have contracts from pro leagues like the NHL, NBA, etc, and that live off sponsorships, sell their medals. Nobody cares when they do that, but this kid who just got caught on camera tossing his to the crowd, and people on Twitter are losing their minds.

As someone who has won a fair amount of medals, (high school and Canadian college basketball), although they don’t compare to WJ medals, I have my gold medals hung up in my basement. My other medals are in a box back at my parents house I think.

So when Andersson tossed his Silver, it really didn’t bother me, he’s just a 19yo kid caught up in the moment, there’s no need to try and pass judgment if he should called a hero or a coward.

Don't really care what he does with his medal. Keep it, throw it into the crowd, trash, river, it doesn't matter to me. Ultimately in today's world there will always be someone who doesn't like what someone else did and it'll turn into a big social media debate. Had he kept the medal I'm sure there would be a debate about him being visibly upset and whether that means he's not mentally tough enough to play in the NHL or some other dumb irrational thought.

Players toss their sticks to fans every game. Maybe he was just "thanking" a fan for coming to the game as are the stick toss. Who knows? Who cares? ButI think folks how to understand the definition of what cowardice is. It certainly was that.

Me in front of everyone:
Yeah, total lack of respect for the game and obviously a lapse in judgement. I still like the kid but it was a classless thing to do.

Me all by myself:
Whatever, I don't blame him. Team games are generally have "winners and losers" mentality. Do the two losers in the conference finals each year, battle it out to see who is 3rd best? No......No one even gives 2 sh*ts about the runner up in the Cup final once its over...... Does the loser of the Stanley Cup, parade the Campbell or Wales trophy around after the SC is handed out to the winner?. Most times players doesn't even want to touch it...

Don't blame the 18 year old kid taught that there is only one way to win and anything but 1st is a failure. Blame the systemic hockey (sport) mentality that preaches it.

I may still like Lias Andersson, in the future but that may look bad on his resume. I felt bad for team Sweden because they just looked so sad.

It was an extremely close game, one that the Swedes should’ve won if Hart didn’t stand on his head. In the heat of the moment, with all the emotions running high, he acted with his emotions. He’s a 19 year old kid that just lost the biggest game of his life and was handed a medal saying “you were so close, but lost”.

Would I have thrown the medal? No. Do I have an issue with him throwing it to a fan. Absolutely not. It shows that he’s a passionate player, wears his heart on his sleeve, and will only accept winning.

It's his medal. If he doesn't want it he doesn't have to keep it. What's the problem?


...only if he regrets it.

I think the point is that its a disrespectful thing to do when someone is doing a nice gesture. It'd be like getting a hockey jersey of your second favorite team for Christmas and then burning it front of your parents. Yeah its your's to do with it what you want I guess but its disrespectful.

How? He didn't destroy it. It'd be more like getting a hockey jersey of your second favorite team for Christmas and then giving it to your nephew. Not disrespectful at all.

Is it disrespectful for Jose Mourinho to throw his medals multiple times (winners and losers) into the crowd?

Fair enough. it would be like giving it to a random stranger fight after receiving it. Right in front of them watching. Lol

I would hope they'd be okay with such a kind gesture for a complete stranger.

Lol anyways man, see my comment above. I have no problem with the kid. I was just pointing out the negative connotation some people will have with that gesture.

I actually thought he was just trying to be nice to a fan cause it's never been done before. I actually think it was a pretty interesting thing to do and i see nothing wrong with it.

I think its classless (disrespects the game, tourney, his team, coach)
I think it shows a desire to win and not settle, and he showed a ton of emotions.

Overall, I'm indifferent.
I can see why some would love it and some would hate it... I'd rather not make a big deal about it. He's still a kid.

I'm not sure why people think this was supposed to be a nice gesture to a fan. If you watched his face and his body language, you could tell he was very emotional and upset about the loss. He threw the medal out of frustration, not out of kindness and charity. He didn't see the medal as a legitimate accomplishment and he probably didn't want to be reminded of it, so he just chunked it.

Seriously.

I have seen a single person holding that opinion and it's RAIF... so... yeah

It still shows a lack of class and sportsmanship, I don't care if he's a "kid"......gotta understand the moment you are in and act accordingly....

oh he will likely play in the NHL, but I doubt he's mentally tough enough to win a championship. For a captain of a team to act like this shows not only lack of class, but also questions Team Swedens management giving him that responsibility.....

Can you clarify this post? Seems you missed some key words making it unreadable