San Jose Sharks William Eklund named Sweden’s WJC list 2022
IIHF 2022 World juniors The championship begins with a show game before the tournament on December 20, and with preliminary camps in progress, the first lists begin to fall in. Sweden’s roster, trained by Tomas Monten, was announced on Wednesday morning.
Sweden has six first-round picks in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, including the San Jose Sharks’ seventh total pick, William Eklund. This will be Eklund’s first world tournament for juniors. Eklund was relocated to Djurgardens IF in the Swedish Hockey League after playing in the nine NHL games at most before his entry contract would take effect. In seven matches with Djurgarden so far, he has made 3 assists.
Another name that makes its World Juniors debut is red wings prospectus Simon Edvinsson. Edvinsson currently plays for Frolunda HC, also in the SHL, and was the third defender from the board in 2021 NHL draft, will be six in total. In 22 matches so far with Frölunda, he has scored 1 goal and 10 assists. The EliteProspects 2021 NHL Draft Guide describes Edvinsson as a “detailed defender with high-level instincts within the zone, a narrow neutral zone difference, well-timed physics and supportive instincts to match.”
One of the few returning players from last year’s team is goalkeeper Jesper Wallstedt. Wallstedt was elected Minnesota Wild with the 20th overall pick in the 2021 draft and was the top-ranked European goalkeeper of the NHL Central Scouting. He currently plays for SHL’s Luleå HF, where his 1.88 goal against average (GAA) is the second best in the entire league, and his save percentage of .918 is ranked as the fifth best in the league.
In last year’s tournament, Sweden lost 3-2 in the quarterfinals against Finland, which continued with bronze. Sweden’s latest gold medal came in 2012. The team has won Silver three times since (2013, 2014 and 2018), as well as a bronze (2020).
The Junior World Cup 2022 begins with a preliminary round on December 26 and ends with the gold medal game on January 5, 2022. Sweden’s first match in the preliminary round is played against Russia on December 26.
Sweden’s complete list can be found below.
2021 Team Sweden WJC Roster
TARGET TIMER
Calle Clang (Pittsburgh Penguins, 2020)
Jesper Vikman (Vegas Golden Knights, 2020)
Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota Wild, 2021)
DEFENDER
Emil Andrae (Philadelphia Flyers, 2020)
Simon Edvinsson (Detroit Red Wings, 2021)
Mans Forsfjall (2022 draft justified)
Helge Grans (Los Angeles Kings, 2020)
Leo Loof (St Louis Blues, 2020)
Joel Nyström (Carolina Hurricanes, 2021)
Anton Olsson (Nashville Predators, 2021)
Victor Sjöholm (2022 draft eligible)
FORWARD
William Eklund (San Jose Sharks, 2021)
Elliott Ekmark (Florida Panthers, 2020)
Daniel Ljungman (Dallas stars, 2020)
Fabian Lysell (Boston Bruins, 2021)
Oskar Magnusson (Washington capitals, 2020)
Theodor Niederbach (Detroit Red Wings, 2020)
Zion Nybeck (Carolina Hurricanes, 2020)
Oskar Olausson (Colorado Avalanche, 2021)
Isak Rosen (Buffalo Sabers, 2021)
Albert Sjöberg (Dallas Stars, 2021)
Åke Stakkestad (2022 draft entitled)
Elias Stenman (2022 draft eligible)
Daniel Torgersson (Winnipeg Jets, 2020)