Sweden opens the group stage of the Olympic hockey tournament on Wednesday against the host nation, Italy, and they may do so without one of their key performers. Toronto Maple Leafs star forward William Nylander was missing from practice and is questionable due to a groin injury.
He felt sore yesterday," Swedish coach Sam Hallam told Swedish website Expressen. "We'll see (Wednesday) if he's ready. It will be a late decision."
Sweden men’s team at practice. No William Nylander. pic.twitter.com/iDA2JiVqmX
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 10, 2026
Hallam sought to play up Nylander's absence as more precautionary than an emergency situation.
"Two full ice sessions, and we felt we wanted to lighten the load," Hallam said. "He has been on the ice because it felt good, but we don't want to push it too hard.
"I'm not saying he's guaranteed to play tomorrow. We'll see how he reacts, and if he feels good, he'll play."
Sweden Preparing Without Nylander
Minus Nylander's presence, these were Sweden's lines in practice:
Adrian Kempe – Joel Eriksson Ek – Filip Forsberg
Rickard Rakell – Elias Pettersson – Mika Zibanejad
Jesper Bratt – Elias Lindholm – Lucas Raymond
Gabriel Landeskog – Alexander Wennberg – Pontus Holmberg/Marcus Johansson
Nylander is clinging to the hope that he'll be given the green light to suit up for Wednesday's opener.
"It looks good," Nylander said on Monday. "We are all excited to play our best."
If Nylander can't go, his teammates are prepared to pick up the slack.
Sweden 🇸🇪 head coach Sam Hallam said William Nylander missing practice was “a maintenance thing.”
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) February 10, 2026
After a couple practices, Nylander was “a bit sore” so they gave him an extra day. Hallam said he’s not overly concerned at all. pic.twitter.com/L82wWXiQfR
"We'll see how it goes tomorrow," Kempe said. "You have to like the situation, regardless of who you play with.
"Hopefully it will be good."
Hallam looks upon this situation as just one of the many that a coach deals with during the course of preparation for a game,
"It's a standard situation," Hallam said. "There's always something, a lot that you might not know about.
"We're used to dealing with it. We have a good grasp of the situation."
Hallam has told his goalies Filip Gustavsson, Jesper Wallstedt, and Jakub Markstrom, who will be starting the game, but declined to share that information.
"I know, and the goalkeepers know who will start tomorrow," Hallam said. "We have a plan for the group stage. Then it can change."