Gold again for Sweden?

With the majority of experts picking Canada or Russia to be there right at the end battling for Olympic Hockey gold people seem to forget there are other more than capable teams left in the tournament. ‘Here comes the champ’ Muhammad Ali once said…

Heading to Vancouver, Team Sweden don’t boast quite the same star power as Canada or the explosive scorers Russia do but coming back to defend their crown, Sweden still have a lot going for them (even if they’re not Muhammad Ali). In goal Sweden may have the best goaltender in the world, one that’s certainly top 5 in the NHL and given his age Henrik Lundqvist may well be dominant for another decade so there are no worries in net for Team Sweden. Don’t forget it was ‘The King’ (as he’s known to his adoring New York Rangers fans) who backstopped the ‘Tri-Cronor’ to gold last time round. However with Stefan Liv and Jonas Gustavsson backing Lundqvist up, Sweden don’t have the depth in net some teams have so The King will need to be at his best again.

Highlighting Sweden’s defence will once again be legendary defenceman and Hall of Fame certainty Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings. Nick, at 37, may be slowing down but is still an exceptional skater and positional player and will remains the lynchpin of the back end. The rest of the unit is no ragtag squad either. With hard hitting San Jose Shark Doug Murray (yes, that very Swedish name), Atlanta’s Tobias Enstrom, Buffalo Sabre Henrik Tallinder, new Thrasher Johnny Oduya, Lidstrom’s club mate, the rugged Nicklas Kronwall and veteran Tampa D-man Matthias Ohlund, Sweden have depth and experience on the blue line. It may not (Lidstrom excluding) have the star power of Canada’s Boyles, Niedermayer’s and Pronger’s but this is a very capable unit that can play both physically and confidently with the puck on their sticks.

Up front Sweden has an intriguing mix of youth and veteran players. Perhaps the hottest player in the NHL right now is 22 year old Washington Capitals pivot Nicklas Backstrom. The obvious heir to Peter Forsberg’s throne in Swedish hockey, Backstrom is an elite force at 22 years of age and is torching the league on Alexander Ovechkin’s line. Also featuring prominently will be the Vancouver Canucks Sedin twins. Henrik is top 5 in the NHL in points and having a career year while Daniel is a proven goal scorer. The twins will be expected to help Lundqvist and Lidstrom lead the Swedes back to the medal rounds.  Expected to play key roles will also be superstars Henrik Zetterberg and Daniel Alfredsson. Both players are crucial for their clubs (Detroit and Ottawa respectively) and are premier scorers in the NHL and will be expected to do the same in the Olympics. Meanwhile veteran Tomas Holmstrom will add more Detroit Red Wing flavour to the Swedish team and be expected to bring to the games what he does in the NHL so effectively; be annoying in front of the net. Adding youth to the Swedish forward line will be up and coming winger Patrick Hornqvist who’s enjoying a good rookie year in the NHL (with Nashville) as well as Loui Eriksson who has established himself as a solid scorer in Dallas.

However there’s one name that pops out when you scan Team Sweden’s roster: Peter Forsberg. The ex NHL MVP and future Hall of Famer has been blighted by injury and is in Sweden piecing back together the end of his career. Whether he can contribute will remain to be seen but if he’s healthy at the very least ‘Foppa’ is likely to be a force on the powerplay. His could be the story of the tournament.

While Sweden do have top players they have had to call on players from the KHL (NHL failure Mattias Weinhandl) and veteran players from the Swedish league so it may be a concern that Sweden cannot go line for line against the Canadians and Russians. However with the potential late addition of another Detroit Red Wing, Johan Franzen, Sweden may have another ace up their sleeve that they werent expected to have due to injury. Franzen could be a real boost to their hopes.

Sweden does however have an intriguing mix going into the games. Everyone knows they’re strong in net and have a nice blend of top end scoring. If Lidstrom (and Forsberg) can roll back the years and lead the Swedish entry with strong play the Swedes will be right in the medal mix.