On Wednesday, all the rosters for the 4 Nation’s Face-Off were revealed and while most of the gushing was reserved for the Canadians and Americans, Adrian Kempe’s team is nothing to sneeze at.
Right away, Sweden’s defensive group has to be in the conversation for the best one (on paper) among the four countries. Physical. Mobile. Versatile. Rasmus Dahlin, Victor Hedman, Gustav Forsling and Mattias Ekholm make about as good a top-4 as anyone can dream up.
Sweden’s goaltending is also very strong with Linus Ullmark and Jakob Markstrom likely splitting game duties and Filip Gustavsson providing very strong depth in case either one falters. Only the United States has a decisively better trio in net.
The weakest part of Sweden’s roster is likely their forward group, but that’s only because Canada and the US are loaded with elite offensive talent. The Swede’s have plenty to be excited about in their depth, but ultimately lack top-tier scorers that can match the likes of Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon.
Where the Tre Kronor can level the playing field is their collective ability to play strong two-way hockey with Joel Erikkson Ek, Mika Zibanejad, Elias Lindholm, William Karlsson, Leo Carlsson and Kempe. All those forwards regularly line up against top NHL units and are fixtures on their respective teams’ penalty killing units.
For Kempe, the 4 Nations Face-off will be the 10th time he’ll represent Sweden in international play. As a Junior athlete, he’s played 29 games and collected 15G - 16A - 31P. As a Senior member of the national team, Kempe has appeared in the IIHF World Championships four times, playing 35 games and registering 6G - 19A - 25P.
Although he has the inside track to be a part of the 2026 Swedish Olympic Men’s team, the 4 Nation’s Face-Off represents a great opportunity for Kempe to establish himself as one of his country's go-to guys.
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