Backstrom, Sedins lead Sweden's initial World Cup roster
After fourth place finishes in both the 1996 and 2004 World Cup of Hockey, Sweden looks to build off a strong showing at the 2014 Olympics in September’s big tournament.
The Swedes revealed the first 16 players to their roster on Tuesday and showed off the strength of their defense.
Goalies
Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks
Defensemen
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
Niklas Hjalmarsson, Chicago Blackhawks
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
Niklas Kronwall, Detroit Red Wings
Anton Stralman, Tampa Bay Lightning
Forwards
Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals
Loui Eriksson, Boston Bruins
Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators
Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche
Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
Alexander Steen, St. Louis Blues
Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings
The final seven players must be announced by June 1.
Here's the Tre Kronor sweater:
How “Swede” are these? @adidas has designed some stunning #WCH2016 uniforms for Sweden. pic.twitter.com/N5ZnQPvFiF
— NHL (@NHL) March 2, 2016
• Sweden, unlike the Czech’s, is very deep on the blue line and it shows in that John Klingberg isn’t among the initial names on defense. It would be a big surprise if he isn’t on the final roster even though six have already been named and potentially only one spot is up for grabs. GM Tommy Boustedt noted that experience played a big factor in deciding on those six defensemen.
• As for the final goaltender spot, Boustedt said that five or six players are in the mix.
• Per Marts is no longer the national team coach, which means Victor Hedman will don the Tre Kronor, something he didn’t do during the 2014 Olympics. “I regret nothing,” Marts said after the Sochi snub.
• With Marts gone, that also means Ekman-Larsson won’t be in the dog house of Sweden’s head coach, a place he found himself in Sochi.
• Who could make a move into the forward group? Carl Soderberg, Rickard Rakell, Gustav Nyquist and Andre Burakovsky are just a few of the names who could claim one of the final spots up front.
Previously released 16-man rosters:
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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