The Predators past and present are well represented at the 4 Nations Face-Off by Sweden.
The Predators past and present are well represented at the 4 Nations Face-Off by Sweden.
Team Sweden's roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off has been released and the Nashville Predators' prints are all over it.
Two current and two former Predators have made the squad. Both from the top line of Nashville, Filip Forsberg and Gustav Nyquist are two of the 13 forwards Sweden selected. Both from the Edmonton Oilers, Mattias Ekholm and Victor Arvidsson have also made the team.
Forsberg is one of the stars of the team and there's no doubt about that. Even though the Predators are struggling, he leads them with nine goals and is second with 17 points in 25 games. This season so far isn't a great indicator of how good he is. Forsberg put up a franchise best 48 goals and recorded 94 points in 2023-24. He was announced to the team as part of the initial group of players.
Nyquist is also a partial victim of a Predators team that just isn't working this season. He has six goals and 10 points, but put up 23 goals and 75 points last season, his first with Nashville. That 75 points ranks eighth-best in franchise history in a season. He's a great veteran presence and why he was selected over some potential younger forwards.
The defense of Team Sweden is very good and Ekholm being amongst the selections is no shock. He makes every defense partner he has better and is strong at both ends of the ice. The 34-year-old was drafted in the fourth round in 2009 by the Predators and was traded to the Oilers before the trade deadline in 2023.
Arvidsson is once again having some trouble staying healthy, but when he's in the lineup, he is a very good player. He is underrated and tenacious, putting up 54 goals and 128 points in 177 games since leaving Nashville in 2021. The Predators drafted him in the fourth round in 2014 and the hope and expectation is that he will be healthy for the 4 Nations Face-Off for Team Sweden.
These are four worthy selections for Sweden and all talented players that will make a difference. If Nashville hasn't turned their season around by the time of the tournament, hopefully the games with rosters full of the top players in the NHL can spark something in their games and the Predators upon resuming the 2024-25 season.
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