Sweden Announces Roster For Upcoming WEHT

Interesting omissions provide opportunity for new players to seize roster spots with Sweden's Olympic qualifying team at Women's Euro Hockey Tour.

Sweden’s roster for the next event of the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour is set. The team features a mix of youth and experience. Management has some tough decisions to make in the coming weeks, as Sweden is set to compete at the final Olympic Qualifying tournament in February. The December WEHT tournament features six teams: Sweden, Switzerland, Czechia, hosts Finland, and development teams from Canada and the US.

SDHL goaltenders Ida Boman and Ebba Svensson Träff earned their spots on the team with strong play in the first half of the season. Boman boasts a .937 save percentage and 1.60 goals against average in 15 starts for Djurgården, while Svensson Träff has posted a league-leading five shutouts. Boston Fleet backup Emma Söderberg rounds out the trio, but may be substituted prior to the tournament’s opening game, depending on her PWHL team’s needs. An obvious replacement option would be Luleå’s Frida Axell, who may not get the respect she deserves because she happens to play for the league’s top team. Axell’s numbers this season are outstanding: she is 10-0-0 with a .946 save percentage and a 0.90 GAA.

On defense, Linnéa Andersson, Emma Forsgren, Ida Karlsson, Paula Bergström and Jenna Raunio all return, while new additions Annie Silén (Brynäs) and Nathalie Lidman (Frölunda) will get a chance to strut their stuff in the absence of PWHL players Maja Nylén Persson (NY Sirens) and Anna Kjellbin (Montreal Victoire). While Jenna Raunio is the top scoring Swedish defender in the SDHL this season, she ranks sixth among all defenders (2g-9a-11p in 19 games), behind a slew of foreign stars. Backend scoring could continue to be an issue for Sweden in this tournament, and it will be interesting to see how the coaching staff fills the modest offensive void left by Nylén Persson and Kjellbin who combined for ten points in 15 games with the national team last season.

The forward group holds some interesting omissions. Hanna Olsson, Isabelle Leijonhielm and Lina Ljungblom are all conspicuous in their absence. Olsson is having a strong comeback season for Frölunda after struggling with injures, and has tallied 23 points in 20 SDHL games. Look for her to make the final roster for the Olympic Qualifying tournament in February. Young Leijonhielm starred for Sweden’s U18 squad last year, with 16 points in ten games, and will certainly get more chances with the senior squad in the future. Ljungblom, now plying her trade with the Montreal Victoire of the PWHL, scored ten goals in 15 appearances with the national team last season, and is a lock to be included on the 2025 World Championship roster.

In their place, fans will get to see grizzled SDE vet Lisa Johansson, and an exciting pair of Linköping scorers in Lova Blom and Sara Hjalmarsson. Johansson brings the smarts and the motor, Blom the speed and finesse, and Hjalmarsson the size and tenacity that make her one of the league’s true power forwards.

The December stop of the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour takes place December 11-15 in Tampere, Finland.