I hate to sound like a snide butthole (who am I kidding I love it), but this is one year where Sweden looks threadbare. It's a rare thing this past decade for Sweden to ice a relatively weak side. They have been churning out strong players year after year. Not only top prospects, but guys who develop well and perform well internationally (just search the international competition numbers of Sebastian "No Goals" Collberg).
They always manage to ice a team with great depth, rock solid defense and a goaltender that with hype or not, seems to get things done. They also always have a "talisman." Pardon the footy term, but it seems appropriate in this case. Whether it's Filip Forsberg, Magnus Pà¤à¤jà¤rvi or Nicklas Backstrom, they always seem to have "that guy." This years squad has one, but I feel he's more forced into this role due to this being one of the more shallow teams they've sent in recent memory. His name is William Nylander and if he isn't flat out amazing, this team will sink.
This also marks probably the first time in a long time that their goaltending does not just have question marks, but is down right an enigma. There are no Markstrom's, Lehner's or even a Dansk who I think is on the low end of that spectrum. While the exhibition game was just one game and the Ivan Hlinka and U18's are small tournaments, the three events showed how porous their goaltending can be. The defense (which is a pretty good one) will need to be at their best if Sweden is going to compete with guys like Ward and Söderström in net.
Now the doom and gloom aside, this isn't a bad team. It really isn't. It just isn't the usual high-end Gold competitor we've come to expect from Sweden. That doesn't mean that they can't compete or even win Gold...it's just unlikely with that lineup. I'll get into it with more detail later.
Roster
Linus Söderström (G) - Islanders 2014 Samuel Ward (G)
Sebastian Aho (D/F) Julius Bergman (D) - Sharks 2014 Andreas Englund (D) - Senators 2014 Gustav Forsling (D) - Canucks 2014 Robert Hà¤gg (D) - Flyers 2014 Oliver Kylington (D) - Top Prospect 2015 William Lagesson (D) - Oilers 2014 Robin Norell (D) - Blackhawks 2013
Rasmus Asplund (C/LW) - Top Prospect 2016 (Yes you read that right) Anton Blidh (LW/RW) - Bruins 2013 Leon Bristedt (C/LW) Adam Brodecki (LW/RW) Jacob de la Rose (C/W) - Canadiens 2013 Christoffer Ehn (C/LW) - Red Wings 2014 Axel Holmström (C/LW) - Red Wings 2014 Anton Karlsson (LW/RW) - Coyotes 2014 Adrian Kempe (LW/RW) - Kings 2014 Oskar Lindblom (LW/RW) - Flyers 2014 Jens Lööke (RW/LW) - Top Prospect 2015 William Nylander (C) - Maple Leafs 2014 Victor Olofsson (LW/RW) - Sabres 2014 Lucas Wallmark (C) - Hurricanes 2014
*Bolded are returnees
Notable Absentees :
Rasmus Andersson - Top Prospect 2015 André Burakovsky - Capitals NHL/AHL Carl Dahlström - Blackhawks 2013 Niklas Hansson - Stars 2013 Tobias Lindberg - Senators 2013 Anton Cederholm - Canucks 2013 Dmytro Timashov - Prospect 2015 (Fifth in QMJHL point race)
So of that group there is no real shocker to me. Lindberg has had an excellent season in the OHL playing beside Dal Colle and Cassels in Oshawa, but he isn't really a game breaker.
Burakovsky would have been really nice obviously, the speedster was excellent last time around on a line with Forsberg and Lindholm.
I guess the biggest disapointment is leaving off Andersson. He's one of the top defensemen available in the 2015 draft and has really blossomed after moving to the OHL. It was a bit of an odd move, but he obviously wants to fast track his shot at the NHL. He's big, he's mobile and he understands both ends of the ice. He's currently tied for fourth in scoring by defensemen with 7g and 31p in 32 games. Which is pretty funny because he's not even known for his offensive prowess. Would have been nice to see him, but they only brought two draft eligible players (and one 2016 player) so they obviously value experience on the back end.
Strengths :
William Nylander - Just kidding. Or not. Nylander is the best player on Sweden and one of the most talented offensive players in this tournament (one could argue he's in the top-5). The point per game 18 year old is on a war path in the Elitserien and is doing things no other Swede but Peter Forsberg and Markus Naslund have done at the same age. In the exhibition game against Canada he was the player who stood out most on Sweden. They need him to be that guy and I think he's up to the task. He has a lot of chemistry with Adrian Kempe when they play together for MODO, his size and power forward game meshes really well with Nylander's skill level.
Forward Speed - This is a fast group of forwards. Probably the fastest group in the tournament. Only Wallmark is a below average skater. This team could be an absolute nightmare on counterattacks.
Strong on the Dot - Sweden has some really good face-off men on this team. Holmström, Wallmark and Ehn are all noted face-off men. This includes both Wallmark and Holmström dominating face-offs (highest %) in their respective U18 tournament performances. Nylander himself is actually very competent in the dot, though it isn't a specialty like the other three. Aside from Canada, they probably boast the best face-off men in the tournament.
Weaknesses :
Too Many Cooks - There are an awful lot of offensive defensemen back there...Not to harp on it, but that defense has me slightly worried about their own end. Hà¤gg is a two-way guy, but has some consistency issues in his own zone. Forsling is very much a deadly puck mover with an elite shot, but defensively strong isn't a word often associated with him. Oliver Kylington is developing into a great two-way defender, but he's 17 and still prone to errors and overdoing things. Then there's Sebastian Aho, the literal definition of PP Specialist. Even Bergman prefers the offensive zone to his own. Having a lot of puck movers isn't a bad thing. I just wonder how it will work out for them. Watching them as a group try to defend against Canada was a nightmare. They looked dreadful in front of their net. Only on the rush did most of the defenders look comfortable and eager. Any team that engages in a heavy cycle is going to cause major problems for Sweden. Also, since I'm not deleting everything I've said, Kylington is injured and will miss the tournament, so Englund draws in. Shame for the 2015 hopeful.
Goaltending - I outlined it near the start, but they need an unexpected performance to even be an average goaltending tandem. Ward looks and plays small in his net. He was completely out of position numerous times. Söderström from my limited exposure has performed mediocre at best for Sweden. He was dreadful at the U18's last year and one of the worst goalies during the tournament. Plus he was woefully average at the Ivan Hlinka. In a small tournament anybody can simply get hot (See Benjamin Conz) it's true, but with these two they NEED them to get hot. A position Sweden isn't often in. They need great goaltending to be competitive this year with this team...and I don't think these two can provide it.
Potential Lines :
Adrian Kempe - William Nylander - Oskar Lindblom
(Kempe and Nylander have familiarity and Lindblom adds some nice size and skill to the line, Nylander flanked by two big power wingers seems like a plus to me)
Jacob de la Rose - Lucas Wallmark - Adam Brodecki
(This would probably be considered the first line by many what with the returning two players. Wallmark's playmaking and DLR's grinding do well with the 5'11 speedster)
Victor Olofsson - Axel Holmström - Rasmus Asplund
(Speeeeeed. All three are lightning. Asplund despite being a 2016 eligible player is already the best player in the SuperElit)
Anton Karlsson - Christoffer Ehn - Anton Blidh
(This line should be a pain in the arse to play against. Blidh is known as a great penalty killing defensive player already in the Elitserien and Karlsson played this same role to perfection last year, Ehn is a good face-off man)
Robert Hà¤gg - Robin Norell
(Last year this was Sweden's 1B pairing, now a clear 1A, will do a lot of heavy lifting)
Gustav Forsling - William Lagesson
(Forsling will be eating a lot of minutes, the coach basically told the media that. As for Lagesson, I like him because he's the grittiest defender to choose from and pretty good in his own zone)
Oliver Kylington (Now Aho 100%) - Julius Bergman
(The young Kylington is matched with Bergman in the only left-right combo available. Both are big and versatile. Should be good to help shelter Kylington...or Aho...as his injury has changed everything)
Andreas Englund
(Enigmatic two-way defender)
Linus Söderström
(Best of a bad situation)
Samuel Ward
Thanks for reading. If you didn't see it already, I've done Russia and Canada. Check the archive for it if you want.
Also...why do I pick times with the least viewership to be the most proactive? Because I'm an idiot friends!
Oh and...OF COURSE! I spend all this time and Kylington comes up injured just as I post this. Well...thankfully it makes sense why he was so poor against Canada. He was terrible.