The Four Nations Faceoff is coming soon and the Team Sweden roster is set. News emerged on Wednesday that Tre Kronor has announced its lineup for the international showcase. Sweden’s roster was announced with Scandinavian rival Finland this afternoon. The rosters for the United States and Canada will be announced this evening.
Games for the Four Nations Faceoff will be February 12-20 in Boston and Montreal. Sweden will begin play against Canada at the Bell Centre in Montreal at 8 p.m. February 12.
Let’s dive into the Team Sweden roster for the Four Nations Faceoff.
Team Sweden Roster All Set for Four Nations
The first six players were announced by general manager Anders Lundberg in late July of this year. Filip Forsberg, Gustav Forsling, Victor Hedman, William Nylander, Erik Karlsson and Mika Zibanejad were announced as the first six players earlier this year.
Sweden decided not go with a goalie among their first six players. However, there’s plenty of talent on the backend and in between the pipes.
Forwards
A number of Swedish forwards have gotten off to strong starts and have played their way onto the roster. New Jersey Devils forwards Jesper Bratt and William Karlsson of the Vegas Golden Knights have been excellent.
There are some veterans on this roster, but there’s some youth that will fill out this lineup. Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings, Joel Eriksson Ek and Leo Carlsson are young players that will be on the Swedish roster.
Adrian Kempe can be a veteran force for a Sweden roster with lots of youth. Gustav Nyquist is another veteran that’s been in international competition. Elias Lindholm and Viktor Arvidsson also fill out the forward ranks.
Defencemen
Sweden went defence for three of their first six picks. However, they still have some other talented players to draw from. Calgary Flames blueliner Rasmus Andersson has come on strong as a bit of a surprise. However, there’s a good mix of offensive skill and defensive acumen on the roster.
Buffalo Sabres defender Rasmus Dahlin, Minnesota Wild defenceman Jonas Brodin and Mattias Ekholm of the Edmonton Oilers round out the lineup. The Team Sweden roster does have a good balance of players that put up points and mess with opposing forwards.
Goalie
Sweden didn’t use any of their first six picks on goalies. However, the Swedes have three good choices in between the pipes.
Filip Gustavsson, Jacob Markstrom and Linus Ullmark will be slugging it out for the starting spot. Gone are the days of Henrik Lundqvist in goal. However, Sweden does have some talented netminders.
What It Means
Some of the Sweden’s first six have been off to solid starts like Nylander and Hedman. However, Karlsson and Zibanejad have been off to shaky starts this season. Both players are not performing up to their usual standards. However, this international tournament could be a chance to jump-start their slow seasons.
There’s a good mix of youth and experience in the line for Sweden. Many think the Americans or Canadians could be the favourites. However, don’t sleep on this talented Sweden roster. We could see the Team Sweden roster step up in this showcase.
Main photo by: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
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