Devils forward, Penguins defenseman among those expected to represent nation in Milano Cortina
The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 begin with Opening Ceremonies on Feb. 6.
The men’s ice hockey tournament will start with preliminary games Feb. 11, with the gold-medal game scheduled for Feb. 22.
This is the first time NHL players will participate in the Winter Olympics since Sochi in 2014.
In the Olympics, each team carries 25 players — traditionally 14 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies.
NHL.com is predicting the Olympic rosters, which will be officially named around Jan. 1.
Today, senior writers Amalie Benjamin and Tom Gulitti and NHL.se writer Janne Bengtsson reveal their combined picks for Team Sweden.
Mikael Backlund, Calgary Flames
Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils
Leo Carlsson, Anaheim Ducks
Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild
Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators
William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights
Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings*
Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche*
Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins
William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs*
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
Rickard Rakell, Pittsburgh Penguins
Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings*
Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers
With Landeskog, Raymond, Kempe and Nylander, already selected, Team Sweden coach Sam Hallam has a solid foundation. Landeskog and Backlund are popular team captains for Colorado and Calgary, respectively, and will be the leaders who can get the players on board and inspire and motivate teammates. Backlund received the 2023 King Clancy Award for his leadership qualities on and off the ice. The fact that Landeskog was named in the initial six shows not only the respect he garners from the Swedish Federation, but the faith that he will be a part of the Olympic team after missing nearly three seasons with a serious knee injury. Sweden also counts on scorers like Bratt, Kempe and Nylander. Face-off specialists like Lindholm and Eriksson Ek and stable role players like Rakell, Karlsson, Forsberg and Zibanejad will provide valued depth, though Rakell is out a projected 6-8 weeks after having surgery on his left hand Oct. 26. Raymond, Carlsson and, to some extent, Pettersson are the new blood. Raymond is an integral part of the Red Wings and Carlsson has made a steady impression in Anaheim. Hallam has a skilled and goal-scoring team at his disposal with six right-shot forwards. Outside but still close to the team is William Eklund, a 23-year-old forward with the San Jose Sharks. — Bengtsson
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Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames
Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild
Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres*
Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers
Gustav Forsling, Florida Panthers
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning*
Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins
Hampus Lindholm, Boston Bruins
Defense remains a strength for Sweden. It will be difficult to find a deeper group in Milano Cortina. This one is nearly identical to Sweden’s corps for the 4 Nations Face-Off last season. Being able to include eight defensemen after there was room for only seven at 4 Nations created space for Lindholm, who was unavailable last season anyway after fracturing his patella Nov. 12, 2024. Having six left-handed shot defensemen and only two righties — Andersson and Karlsson — isn’t ideal, but Dahlin is used to switching to the right side. Otherwise, Sweden’s defense has a good balance and a mix of offensive skill with Hedman, Dahlin and Karlsson, and the shutdown abilities of Brodin, Forsling, Ekholm and Lindholm. Karlsson was a question mark after struggling last season with the Penguins but played well at 4 Nations and has had a strong start to this season. Hedman, a six-time Norris Trophy finalist and the 2018 winner voted as the NHL’s top defenseman, could be Sweden’s captain again after wearing the ‘C’ at 4 Nations. — Gulitti
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Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild
Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils
Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators
What was once a position of strength for Sweden looks a bit more tenuous a few weeks into the NHL season. Gustavsson has been the best of the bunch, Ullmark is confident he’ll rebound from a slow start and Markstrom looks to return to form now that he’s back from a lower-body injury. Though Samuel Ersson of the Philadelphia Flyers could pose a challenge, Markstrom, even at 35 years old, seems to be the one to beat. — Benjamin
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