The NHL is once again participating in the Olympic Winter Games – and while some teams have announced invitees to their Olympic Camp, the final rosters for the 2026 Games won’t be revealed for months. But that doesn’t mean we can’t analyze every prominent team’s projected rosters. 

The Hockey News began the process by looking at Team Canada. Then we turned our attention to Team USA. And now it’s Team Sweden’s time in the spotlight.

Team Sweden won’t come into the tournament as a favorite to win gold, or at least, a co-favorite, like the Canadian and American teams will be. The Swedes have some exceptional talent, but as we’ll explore below, their issues may come on the back end.

With that out of the way, here’s The Hockey News’ projected 25-man Sweden roster. You never know what wrinkles will come into play between now and the new year – injuries and/or sub-par performance could influence the final roster decisions – but these are what we feel the Swedish team will look like..

Team Sweden Projected Roster

Forwards: Elias Pettersson (C), Joel Eriksson Ek (C), William Karlsson (C), Elias Lindholm (C), Jesper Bratt (LW), Gabriel Landeskog (LW), Filip Forsberg (LW), Leo Carlson (LW), William Nylander (RW), Adrian Kempe (RW), Lucas Raymond (RW), Mika Zibanejad (RW)

Extras: Fabian Zetterlund (LW), William Eklund (LW)

The Breakdown: The Swedes have a great deal of depth in certain areas – on left wing and defense in particular – to the point that some players we’ve listed above will be playing on their off-wing. 

But the bottom line for the Swedes is that they can’t turn down talent, and Team Sweden has creative players (Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson, Vegas’ William Karlsson, Anaheim’s Leo Carlson), as well as solid two-way presences (Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek, Boston’s Elias Lindholm) and slick offensive powerhouses (Toronto’s William Nylander, New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt, Los Angeles’ Adrian Kempe, Detroit’s Lucas Raymond) to lean on..

In sum, Sweden’s forwards should be able to produce enough offense to keep them in the game no matter who they’re playing. This is a team that can use its speed and skill to overwhelm opponents’ defensive plans, and that will raise expectations for the Swedes. Silver or bronze will be a failure, and only a championship will be cause for celebration in Sweden.

Defensemen: Rasmus Dahlin (L), Erik Karlsson (R), Victor Hedman (L), Mattias Ekholm (L), Gustav Forsling (L), Rasmus Andersson (R)  

Extras: Hampus Lindholm (L), Jonas Brodin (L)

The Breakdown: Team Sweden’s deepest, most skilled position is defense. Again, there’s a slight imbalance in terms of right-shot D-men (in short supply) and left-shot blueliners (in abundance). But we had a very difficult time deciding who should be Sweden’s top-six defensemen, and which two defenders will start the Games in the press box. 

Having a terrific balance of youth (Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin), Stanley Cup-winning experience (Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman, Florida’s Gustav Forsling), and minute-munchers (Edmonton’s Mattias Ekholm, Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson) makes the Swedes especially dangerous, with or without the puck in their possession. And Boston’s Hampus Lindholm and Minnesota’s Jonas Brodin will be on our taxi squad for Sweden’s Olympic team.

This defense corps can move up the ice quickly in transition, and what they may lack in physical snarl (with Ekholm and Hedman the exceptions), Team Sweden makes up for in savvy and a high panic threshold. Thus, if the Swedes can make the most of their defensive depth, there’s no good reason why they can’t be in the conversation for gold in 2026.

Goaltenders: Filip Gustavsson, Linus Ullmark, Jacob Markstrom

The Breakdown: The Swedish team’s goaltending has plenty of NHL experience, but if we’re talking about the goalie with the most consistent above-average play, we have to pencil in Minnesota’s Gustavsson as the starting netminder for the Games. 

This is not to take anything away from Ottawa’s Linus Ullmark and New Jersey’s Jacob Markstrom. They’re both accomplished veterans who can be relied on to give their team a chance to win. However, Gustavsson’s individual numbers – including a .914 save percentage and 2.56 goals-against average – were superior to Ullmark’s and Markstrom’s prime metrics.

At 27 years old, Gustavsson is not only Sweden’s starting goalie of the present – he’s going to be a favorite to be the starter in net in multiple Olympic Games down the line. Ullmark and Markstrom are there as goaltending insurance and to push Gustavsson in practice at training camp. But the No. 1 job for the Swedes is Gustavsson’s to lose. And if he can step up with a strong Games, Gustavsson will lock up his place in Sweden’s netminding hierarchy for a long time to come.

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