World Championship Preview: Sweden Ready For Bigger Things

It's been coming since Sweden took Canada to overtime at the 2023 World Championship quarterfinals. The nation has arrived among the world's best, and is ready for bigger challenges. In particular, Sweden has their sights set on a medal, and while their round robin will be challenging, they'll be set up for a favorable quarterfinal game this time around.

Playing in a top loaded group of Canada, Finland, Japan, and Denmark, Sweden should emerge no lower than third in their group unless Japan can surprise the Swedes.

Sweden will not only feature a growing PWHL contingent, one that now includes Maja Nylén-Persson (New York), Sara Hjalmarsson (Toronto), Thea Johansson (Vancouver), Josefin Bouveng (Las Vegas), Lina Ljungblom (Montreal), Anna Kjellbin (Hamilton), and potentially Michelle Löwenhielm, they also feature two of the best NCAA players in Ohio State's Mira Jungåker and Hilda Svensson.

Jungåker may be the best defender in all of NCAA hockey, and is arguably the best defender outside the PWHL in the world. She's a dynamic offensive threat, and can punish opponents physically as well. Svensson is the reigning NCAA Rookie of the Year, and is dominating already.

Even the up and coming players from Sweden that remain in Europe like Hanna Thuvik, Ebba Hedqvist, and Mira Hallin, and young NCAA contributors like Ida Karlsson, Jenna Raunio, and Nicole Hall should be ready for larger roles.

In net, Sweden has depth, and they hope that the continued evolution of Ebba Svensson Träff, who stole the starting job from Emma Söderberg last year carries over.

Overall, Sweden continues to get deeper and stronger, and they remain a nation with waves of reinforcements en route to their national team. They've risen into a group that includes Czechia, Finland, and Switzerland as the next tier behind Canada and USA, and they continue to be the nation actively closing the gap while others look stuck in neutral.

For Sweden to play for a medal, they'll need stellar goaltending from whomever stands in the crease. Svensson Träff appears to have the more consistent track record of late, as Söderberg has been on a roller coaster the past three seasons. Still, Söderberg is the more experienced. 

Mira Hallin got off to a hot start as the SDHL's Player of the Month to open the season, and she could be a key contributor up front, but Sweden's scoring will still rest with Ljungblom, Bouveng, Thea Johansson, and Hilda Svensson. And the veteran punch of Hjalmarsson, Thuvik, and Löwenhielm against top lines from across the globe will be something to watch as well.

Svensson and Jungåker are Sweden's future stars, and in 2026, they'll take over as their current stars as well. At this point, both have transitioned from up and coming, to arrived. Now it's up to them to not just be there as leaders, but to translate that confidence into production, and wins.

Sweden should beat Japan and Denmark in round robin play, and it's possible they beat Finland as well. In fact, given the fact they'll enter sharp having played multiple stops on the Women's Euro Hockey Tour, it's possible Sweden gives Canada a run for their money as the first team to face the perennial powerhouse following Canada's roster refresh that will see the North American juggernaut field a team without superstars like Marie-Philip Poulin, Brianne Jenner, Natalie Spooner, and Sarah Nurse for the first time in more than a decade. 

No one should count out Sweden. If they finish, as expected, in second or third in their group, it will set up a crossover game against either Czechia, or Switzerland in the quarterfinals. Given their recent international success against both nations, it's highly conceivable that Sweden makes their way to the semifinals, and into a medal game.

Goaltenders (3): Ebba Svensson Träff, Emma Söderberg, Ida Boman

Defenders (7): Mira Jungåker, Maja Nylén-Persson, Ida Karlsson, Lova Blom, Josefine Holmgren, Jenna Raunio, Anna Kjellbin 

Forwards (14): Hilda Svensson, Josefin Bouveng, Wilma Sundin, Lisa Johansson, Tilde Grillfors, Sofie Lundin, Sara Hjalmarsson, Hanna Thuvik, Thea Johansson, Ebba Hedqvist, Lina Ljungblom, Mira Hallin, Michelle Löwenhielm, Nicole Hall.