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William Nylander, Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Sweden defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) celebrates with teammates including forward William Nylander (88) after scoring a goal against Team Finland in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

2026 Olympic men’s hockey team preview: Sweden

Originally posted on Daily Faceoff | By Uffe Bodin | Last updated Feb 5, 2026 11:53 AM ET

Can Sweden live up to the role as the primary challenger to Canada and the United States?

Maybe.

There are undeniably qualities that make this team a legitimate contender, but also question marks at several key positions.

After a few years of fairly lean results on the international stage, the domestic pressure is significant on Tre Kronor and outgoing head coach Sam Hallam to deliver results — and not least to defeat rival Finland in a red-hot group stage showdown.

LOOKING BACK TO 2022

Without NHL players, Sweden iced a rather anonymous lineup in Beijing. The team relied heavily on players from the KHL, Switzerland and the domestic SHL but lacked the game-breakers required to go all the way.

In the group stage, Sweden defeated Latvia and Slovakia before falling to eventual gold medalist Finland in overtime in the group final — after surrendering a 3–1 lead late in the third period.

The team’s primary offensive catalyst, Lucas Wallmark, scored the goal that guided Sweden to a 2–0 quarterfinal victory over Canada. However, the gold dream ended in the semifinal against ROC (Russian Olympic Committee), where a dramatic shootout was decided in the eighth round when Arseni Gritsyuk sent the Russians to the final.

Following a lackluster performance in the bronze-medal game against Slovakia (0–4), Sweden left the Olympics without a medal.

OFFENSE

Sweden’s lack of a true NHL superstar may potentially be offset by its offensive depth. Particularly on the wings, the team boasts several highly reliable players capable of producing close to a point per game in the NHL.

No name is more talked about — or debated — than Toronto’s William Nylander. Had it not been for the injuries he has battled this season, he likely could have pushed for a top-10 finish in the NHL scoring race. In this Swedish lineup, the 29-year-old is expected to play a leading offensive role and drive one of the top lines. His impact in a short tournament like this could be the difference between success and failure. Sweden does not have much of an X-factor on this roster.

That said, Nylander is well supported by other established Swedish forwards such as Detroit’s Lucas Raymond, Los Angeles’ Adrian Kempe, Nashville’s Filip Forsberg and New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt. At just 23, Raymond has enjoyed his definitive NHL breakout, and his ability to elevate his play in a national team jersey makes him Sweden’s biggest forward star behind Nylander.

Kempe and Forsberg bring goal scoring and work ethic, while Bratt is a pure playmaker. He has not come close to last season’s level so far, but the hope is that he can raise his game in a national team environment. Then there is Gabriel Landeskog, the likely captain, who has not played in more than a month due to a rib injury. His stat line this season may not sparkle, but his leadership and character were sorely missed at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off. In that sense, he is a unique player type for Sweden whose importance cannot be overstated.

While the wings look strong, there are once again more question marks down the middle — especially after Leo Carlsson was forced to withdraw due to injury. Fortunately, Mika Zibanejad is playing his best hockey in a long time on an otherwise underwhelming New York Rangers team, and given his form — and the lack of true competition in Carlsson’s absence — he should be considered Sweden’s top center.

Elias Pettersson has yet to rediscover the dynamic offensive game he displayed in Vancouver a few years ago and is not even among the top 10 Swedish point producers in the NHL this season. There may even be a case for moving him to the wing and allowing more in-form options such as Joel Eriksson Ek and Elias Lindholm to take on more prominent roles.

DEFENSE

This is an aging defensive group representing Sweden in the tournament. The fact that Rasmus Dahlin and Philip Broberg are the only two defensemen aged 25 or younger says something about the lack of elite defensive development in Swedish hockey in recent years. That said, this is by no means a weak unit — quite the opposite, it may be one of the strongest in the tournament.

With Dahlin, the question many are asking is whether this will be the tournament where he finally takes over as Sweden’s top defenseman. Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson have led the blueline for the past decade, but injuries have kept Hedman off the ice for large portions of the season. Karlsson, meanwhile, has bounced back with a rejuvenated Pittsburgh Penguins team but does not offer the same all-around game as Dahlin.

The logical move would be for Hallam to give Dahlin the top minutes and hand him the quarterback role on the power play. It’s his time to shine.

Behind the stars are several highly competent NHL defensemen in Gustav Forsling, Rasmus Andersson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The absence of injured Jonas Brodin is notable, as he is quietly one of the NHL’s best defensive defensemen. Hampus Lindholm is a strong replacement, but his past couple of seasons in Boston have been marked by recurring injuries.

Broberg has been a bright spot for the St. Louis Blues this season and represents the next wave of Swedish defensemen, along with Simon Edvinsson, who was ruled out as a Brodin replacement after suffering an injury himself. The sense is that Broberg will play a much larger role at the 2028 World Cup and the 2030 Olympics and that this tournament is largely a learning experience for him.

GOALTENDING

Heading into the season, it felt like a dead heat between Filip Gustavsson, Linus Ullmark and Jacob Markström for the starting job at the Olympics. Since then, a lot has changed. Ullmark unfortunately fell out of the picture after stepping away from hockey following Christmas, while Markström’s form has been anything but convincing on an underperforming New Jersey team.

At the same time, Jesper Wallstedt entered the chat with an outstanding rookie fall for the Minnesota Wild and earned a well-deserved roster spot. At present, he appears to be the primary challenger to Gustavsson for playing time in Milan — though Markström’s experience and pedigree mean he cannot be completely written off.

For now, however, Filip Gustavsson stands out as Sweden’s natural No. 1.

COACHING

When Hallam took over Tre Kronor in 2022, expectations were high. As a club coach in Sweden, he led Växjö Lakers to three championship titles (2015, 2018 and 2021) and was regarded as one of the country’s top domestic coaches. The hope was that he would guide Sweden back to success after several lean years. That has not fully materialized.

While Sweden has captured two bronze medals at the World Championship over the past two years, the lasting memory from last year’s home tournament in Stockholm is how the Swedes were completely outplayed by a young U.S. team in the semifinal — a result that triggered a storm of criticism at home. Nor was the 4 Nations Face-Off a true success, as narrow overtime losses to Canada and Finland were followed by a largely meaningless win over an already final-bound United States.

Hallam now has the Olympics and this spring’s World Championship in Switzerland to change the narrative around his tenure. Next season, he will hand over the reins to Rikard Grönborg and move to Switzerland to coach Genève-Servette in the National League.

BURNING QUESTION

Does Sweden have the game-breakers to go all the way?

The absence of a true superstar at forward raises questions about this team’s ultimate ceiling. For Sweden to realistically push for a spot in the final, one or more players will need to step up and play the hockey of their lives. And yes — I’m looking at you, William Nylander.

When everything clicks, Nylander belongs among the NHL’s elite. He needs to find a phone booth in Milan and go from Clark Kent to Superman. And he will likely need support from players like Raymond, Kempe and Forsberg if Sweden is to have a realistic chance of matching Canada and the United States in particular.

PREDICTION

The highly anticipated group stage clash with rival Finland will likely determine which group Sweden plays in — and a win there would, in theory, pave a smoother path to the semifinal. On paper, it is difficult to see how Sweden could defeat Canada or the United States, but stranger things have happened in Olympic history.

That said, entering the tournament, Sweden appears to be the favorite for the bronze medal.