IIHF – Sweden’s redemption mystery
Forward
The Swedish forward line is somewhat different – and much younger. There are only two NHL players involved, and both are very much in the “prospectus” category. Rasmus Asplund, 24, makes his IIHF debut after playing 80 games for Buffalo this season. The center had 27 (8 + 19) points for the Sabers. Emil Bemström, currently an RFA with the Blue Jackets, made the unusual decision to come to Worlds without an active NHL contract. The 24-year-old hopes that his debut in this tournament can improve his reputation across the Atlantic. However, there is a disappointment that such as Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson, Seattle’s experienced Alexander Wennberg or Gustav Nyquist from the Blue Jackets were not available this time.
For greater experience, Sweden looks to its Olympic returnees: Mathias Brome, Max Friberg, Carl Klingberg, Joakim Nordström and Lucas Wallmark all played in Beijing. Wallmark, in particular, caught the eye in China and scored in each of his first five matches before being silenced by Team ROC in a penalty shootout loss in the semifinals. He wears “A” here, Nordström will be team captain.
These are World Cup debuts for Leksand’s playmaker Oskar Lang and center Anton Bengtsson and Joel Kellman from Rogle and Växjö respectively. All three are in their mid to late 20s and will enjoy the chance to represent their country at this level.
Among the young people, there is buzz around Elmer Söderblom. The 20-year-old Red Wings prospect is a giant – 202 cm and weighs 113 kg – and he comes after a break-out season with Frolunda in the SHL. He led the team in goal (21) and his 33 points made him the leading Swede in the team. He left Frölunda during the playoffs to join the national team for the final stages of Euro Tours and did enough there to get a World Cup call.
Canucks prospect Linus Karlsson, 22, comes after a break-out season with Skellefteå. He had 46 points in 52 SHL games to capture the senior national team’s attention for the first time. Another 22-year-old, Nils Aman, a draft pick in Colorado 2018, completes the party.