The day after host Finland announced its roster for the upcoming Karjala Cup, Sweden did likewise. Unlike the Finns, who chose only five players from their domestic Liiga, the Swedes' entire roster is composed of players from the SHL. Head coach Sam Hallam explained that decision.
“We have chosen to continue with our arrangement from previous seasons, where during the first two tournaments of the season we choose to see as many players as possible,” said Hallam. “Therefore, for this tournament, we have chosen to only take out players from the SHL. This squad feels exciting, with a number of players that we have not worked with before and who have impressed us early in the season.”
The team includes several players with NHL experience – ones who have just returned back to Sweden after time abroad include goaltender Erik Källgren, defensemen Victor Söderström and Mattias Norlinder, and forwards Oskar Steen and Jacob Peterson. The oldest player on the team is 34-year-old defenseman Henrik Tömmernes and the youngest are 24-year-olds Norlinder and Filip Hållander.
The Swedes will play their first game of the tournament on Nov 7 in Karlovy Vary, Czechia against the Czechs, before heading to Helsinki to play Switzerland and Finland Nov 9 and 10.
Goaltenders:
Jacob Johansson (Timrå), Erik Källgren (Brynäs).
Defensemen:
Christian Folin, Henrik Tömmernes (both Frölunda), Filip Berglund (Örebro), Mattias Norlinder (MODO), Marcus Hardegård, Jesper Sellgren (both Luleå), Filip Johansson (Rögle), Victor Söderström (Brynäs).
Forwards:
Jonathan Dahlén, Filip Hallander, Emil Pettersson (all Timrå), Anton Bengtsson, Jacob Peterson (both Rögle), Filip Cederqvist, Max Friberg, Linus Weissbach (all Frölunda), Andreas Johnson (Skellefteå), Oskar Lang (Leksand), Dennis Rasmussen (Växjö), Oskar Steen (Färjestad), Pontus Andreasson (Luleå), Christoffer Ehn (Linköping), Patrik Karlkvist (Örebro).
Head Coach: Sam Hallam.
UPDATE: Since the original publication, Marcus Hardegård, Filip Cederqvist, Oskar Lang, Dennis Rasmussen and Filip Johansson have replaced Oscar Fantenberg, Jonathan Dahlén, Pär Lindholm, Joakim Nygård and Jonathan Pudas.