Flames Kylington not on Sweden’s long list for the Olympics: report
Calgary Flames defender Oliver Kylington was not among the 50 skaters on Sweden’s long list who were sent to the Olympics in Beijing 2022 this autumn, according to a report from Aftonbladet.
Kylington is in the middle of a career season with the Flames, appears as a top four blueliner and leads all Calgary defenders in points with an NHL career high of 12 points (3G, 10A) in just 21 games.
The 25-year-old is fifth in total in the team’s points and has an average of 17:27 ice time per match after taking a look at the team’s depth chart.
“I do not want to comment on whether Oliver is with or not,” said Sweden’s Olympic coach Johan Garpenlov, according to Google Translate. “But we’re looking at the possibility of adding names to the list.”
Oliver Kylington not in Tre Kronor’s gross squad for the Olympics https://t.co/DQrZijNqvy
– Sportbladet (@sportbladet) December 1, 2021
Until October 15, the countries had to submit their long lists of about 50 players to the Olympics for drug tests.
Kylington, a left-back, had 16 points (5G, 11A) in 95 games for the Flames from 2015 to 2021 before his surprising appearance this season.
He is third in NHL points among Swedish-born defenders 2021-22, but even if he is added, there is no guarantee that Kylington would break Sweden’s blue line.
Victor Hedman has already been named to the tournament, and the candidates Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Ekholm, Hampus Lindholm, Jonas Brodin and Alexander Edler are all left-back defenders Kylington would compete with.
Oh my 😍 pic.twitter.com/q11we8QNl2
– Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) 13 November 2021
Kylington also competes with Flames teammate Rasmus Andersson. Andersson, a right-hander, has 11 points – all assists – and has an average of 22:30 ice time per game on Calgary’s top pair with Noah Hanifin.
The lists are expected to be ready in January.
The men’s tournament runs from February 9 to February 20.