Swedish Media Critical of Red Wings Raymond

“Among the forwards, Tre Kronor has gotten far too little out of players like Lucas Raymond and Adrian Kempe, two of Sweden’s best wing forwards in the NHL,” wrote Adam Johansson of Sweden’s Expressen.se. “Raymond did score against France but, like Kempe, has been too invisible during the championship.

“Both have the potential to be scoring kings in the WC, we have seen very little of those qualities so far.

“They will be needed when tougher opposition awaits.”

Three Goals For Raymond

Monday’s tally was the third for Raymond in the tournament. He would score in Sweden’s first two games. His tally against the USA in Sweden’s opener saw him beating Red Wings teammate Alex Lyon. He would also net a goal in a decisive win over Germany.

The past season was Raymond’s most productive in the NHL. He would score a career-high 31 goals for Detroit and led the team in scoring with 72 points. Raymond was also afforded the opportunity to play NHL regular-season games in his homeland when the Red Wings were facing the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators as part of the NHL Global Series in Stockholm.

Raymond is wearing an alternate captain’s letter on a Swedish team featuring 18 NHLers. A three-game goalless drought saw Swedish coach Sam Hallam dropping the Detroit player from the club’s top forward line.

Sweden is 6-0 in the tournament. However, the Swedes are an alarming 4-for-21 on the power play. That’s ranking the country 10th overall. Raymond has been working as the bumper on Sweden’s power play.