Penguins Defenseman to Join Sweden at World Championship

PITTSBURGH – The list of Pittsburgh Penguins representing their country at the upcoming IIHF World Championship has officially started to grow. While Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is still weighing his options with Team Canada, defenseman Erik Karlsson has officially committed to Team Sweden.

Native of Landsbro, Sweden, Karlsson is coming off of his first season with the Penguins. Karlsson played all 82 games of the 2023-24 season, scoring 11 goals and 45 assists for 56 points.

Team Sweden has started to announce the players committed to the IIHF Championship in Czechia. Karlsson will be joined by Victor Olafsson and Rasmus Dahlin.

This will be the third time Karlsson joins Team Sweden at the IIHF World Championship. His previous two tournaments were in 2010 when Sweden won bronze, and in 2012. In 17 games between the two tournaments, Karlsson scored 11 points.

Karlsson spoke with Inside the Penguins earlier in the season and discussed how excited he is for NHL talent to be back on the biggest stages in hockey. In the coming years, NHLers will have multiple massive international tournaments to take part in, including the 2026 Winter Olympics. Karlsson said he is ready for the opportunity to represent his country again for the first time in a long time.

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