Reacting to Team Sweden's 2023 World Junior Roster

Tony Ferrari takes a look at the key players and key omissions after Team Sweden released its roster for the World Junior Championship.

The rosters for the World Junior Championship continue to release as we draw closer to the premier international junior event of the year. Sweden has released their preliminary roster, which is full of talent with 16 NHL drafted players and two potential first-rounders for the upcoming 2023 NHL draft.

Sweden looks to be strong up front with a number of highly skilled players, including six first-round picks and a projected top-five pick for this year’s NHL draft. Their blueline is good but missing some staples from the team’s recent international junior teams. Their goaltending lacks the standout in Jesper Wallstedt that they’ve had in recent years, but they should be more than capable of holding down the fort.

Noah Ostlund, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Liam Ohgren were all drafted in the first round last year, between picks 15 and 19. They have been dynamic together in the past and could very well form the Swedish top line at the World Junior Championship.

The trio fits the stylistic archetype so many teams want to fill a line at the top of their lineup. Ostlund is the creative and skilled playmaking center. Lekkerimaki is the goal-scoring winger with a wicked shot. Ohgren is the hard-working winger who wins battles and cleans up around the net. Each of them can do a bit of everything offensively but their strengths mesh quite well and could make them one of the tournament's best lines.

Djurgarden will also be represented on the back end by Calle Odelius and goaltender Carl Lindbom.

Despite Simon Edvinsson being projected to be one of Sweden’s best players, the Red Wings' top prospect opted not to play at the world juniors and continue his development in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins. The team will miss the star blueliner, but he’s far from the only notable omission from the roster.

The blueline takes a couple more hits because of injuries as Elias Salomonsson and Mattias Havelid are both set to miss the tournament. Both players would have been offensive options from the blueline with Edvinsson out.

Anton Olsson has been a staple of Swedish international teams since his U-16 days, including being a member of the U-20 squad at the summer world juniors, but he was not named to the roster this time around, meaning the Swedes will have one less returnee than expected.

Liam Dower-Nilsson, a forward who has been a captain at international events as recently as the U-18s in 2021, was also omitted from the roster. Albert Sjoberg, Alexander Suzdalev, and Ludwig Persson were all forwards that many expected to be on the roster as well.

Leo Carlsson and Axel Sandin-Pellikka were included on the world juniors roster and both could play quite important roles despite being the youngest players on the team. Both 2023 draft eligible players have had impressive seasons to date and earned the right to play up with the U-20 squad.

Carlsson is a center who blends skill and power in a way that could make him one of Sweden’s most unique players. He has been playing at the SHL level, scoring at a rate that resembles Mats Naslund and Nicklas Backstrom in their draft years. Carlsson will look to showcase his game on the international stage and solidify his standing as a top-five pick in the 2023 draft class. The young Swede could wind up centering the team’s second line behind Ostlund and the Djurgarden trio, helping lead the second wave of Swedish attackers.

Sandin-Pellikka has been one of the biggest risers in the draft class this season, showing his impressive puck-moving ability and mobility with and without the puck. With so many of the top names unavailable on the blueline for the Swedes, Sandin-Pellikka could find himself in a position to be an offensive contributor and possible power-play quarterback for the team. He will have to earn his role, but Sandin-Pellika playing a big role on the back end is certainly a possibility based on the natural skill level that he possesses. 

The tournament kicks off in Halifax, N.S. and Moncton, N.B. from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.