The ball keeps on rolling for Leo Carlsson and Isac Lundeström, who will play for Sweden at both the 2025 Betano Hockey Games and the 2025 World Championship.
While Carlsson had previously spoken about playing for Sweden at Worlds, Lundeström’s confirmation for both competitions is a noteworthy revelation.
With the 2026 Winter Olympics quickly approaching, Carlsson and Lundeström are looking to make their mark and prove that they deserve consideration for next year’s squad that will compete in Milan. For Lundeström, it may even be a chance to prove why he deserves to remain a Duck.
Lundeström enters this summer without a contract, though he is a restricted free agent and is eligible to be tendered a qualifying offer until the later of the Monday after the NHL Draft or June 25.
While he has proven to be a dependable, defensive-minded forward, the late-season signing of college free agent Tim Washe and players like Jan Myšák emerging from the AHL could deem Lundeström surplus if general manager Pat Verbeek feels that the role Lundeström fills can be easily replaced.
Lundeström, along with veteran Jakob Silfverberg, helped guide Carlsson during his rookie season and with Silfverberg returning to his native Sweden this past season to play for hometown club Brynäs, Lundeström was Carlsson’s only Swedish compatriot for most of the season.
If Lundeström isn’t retained, it’s possible that Carlsson could be the only Swede on the NHL roster for the first time in his young career.
For Carlsson, playing for Sweden in consecutive international competitions comes off the back of being part of Team Sweden’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-off in February. Though he appeared in just one of their three games, his production rose exponentially upon his return to Anaheim. He had 26 points in the 28 games after the 4 Nations Face-off after managing just 19 in the previous 48 games.
“It felt like a nice break for me,” Carlsson said. “I just played one game, but I still feel like it was a game that was high-speed. (Everything) kind of slowed down for me. It was a good feeling. Puck was (going) into the net for me too.”
The hope is that Carlsson will be able to use the experience he gains to get off to a good start in 2025-26–under a new head coach—and carry over the momentum from his strong finish in 2024-25.
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