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Henrik · 03-14-2020, 07:26 AM

Welcome one and all, we'd like to thank you all for coming out today for this press release. Team Sweden are particularly excited this year as the players and coaches feel like this is a squad that can really take it to any team in the tournament. The group consists of many familiar veteran faces that any fan of the WJC along with a fantastic group of upcoming rookies. So without further ado, we are happy to announce to you the S52 WJC team Sweden roster.

Forwards

Henrik Lekberg Osterman - Winger @Thatguy91
One of the most prominent young players to come out of Sweden in the last couple of years, the inclusion of Lekberg Osterman in yet another WJC roster will be a surprise to no one. He has played a key role for the junior international teams for the last couple of years and will be looking to make a push for the gold medal in what may be his last junior tournament. He is coming off of his best season to date, scoring 50 points in 50 games with the Colorado Raptors.

Henrik Lundqvist Jr - Center @FreakinAnime
Another product of the Colorado Raptors, Lundqvist Jr has quickly become one of the most important players on that team and will doubtlessly play a major role in this tournament as well. Lundqvist Jr is what you might call a prototypical Swedish forward. He plays a strong two-way game with a high focus on the details and uses his vision and intellect to outsmart and outplay his opponents defensively rather than relying on brute force. He will be a cornerstone player on a team that is most likely to rely on their strong play in their own end.

Al Kayhall - Winger @mxman991
Kayhall recently transferred from team USA to play for Sweden and as such might not be on the radar for many Swedish fans. Kayhall is an offensive dynamo who is more than capable of playing well in his own end as well, fitting the Swedish system perfectly. He is expected to play on a line with Henrik Lekberg Osterman and Henrik Lundqvist Jr as they also had the chance to play together during the IIHF tournament for team Sweden. This Should really help create a strong chemistry and good on-ice communication for team Swedens first line. Look for Kayhall to be the player that gets those important, high pressure goals for this team this year.

Sven Svenson - Winger @LordBirdman
Svenson played his rookie season in the SMJHL this year, putting up some impressive totals in his limited role on the Colorado Raptors squad, finishing the season with 14 points even strength points (5 goals and 9 assists) and a +- of 6. The 34th OA pick of the S52 SMJHL entry draft will look to continue his dominant play in his first WJC tournament alongside some familiar faces from his season playing in Colorado.

Taylor Johansson - Center @Tayjay
Another rookie from the S52 SMJHL season, Johansson is one of three players from Anaheim on the roster this year. He had a promising first season, playing a depth role for the Outlaws in their recent cup run. He is expected to play a larger role on this team than in the SMJHL and will most likely see some amount of special teams time as well, giving Johansson an excellent opportunity to show is growth and maturity heading into the SHL entry draft.

Rikard Hammarby - Center @jtam
Rikard Hammarby had a rough first season in the SMJHL compared to some of the other rookies on this squad but team Sweden scouts have previously mentioned how much they like his attitude and his style of play and this will be an excellent showcase of what he can bring to a team. He is expected play the same role as he and his fellow rookie and teammate Taylor Johansson did in the SMJHL this season, providing the all-important depth that eventually led Anaheim to such success in the SMJHL, winning them the Four Star cup.

On top of these players, we are also happy to announce that we will be bringing back a core group of veterans to sure up the forward group.

Gylfi Eriksson - Winger @pazuzu15
Marcus Ohlsson - Winger @CleverPin
Niklas Fuhrberg - Winger @Confusion
Bjornoson Bjornosonson - Center @Hyperbolejoe"

Defensemen

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Jr @soulja
Ibra Jr is a name that everyone following the junior hockey scene should be familiar with by now. An excellent playmaker, he uses his big frame, physically and excellent skating to create space for his forwards. Its not at all uncommon to see Ibrahimovic Jr join the rush and creating offensive opportunities for his team. Able to eat up big minutes, he will no doubt be seeing a lot of ice-time during this tournament.

Ulrik Bergstrom @Wiad
Another fantastic playmaking defenseman, Bergstrom has really cemented himself as one of the best two-way dmen in the SMJHL this season, with an impressive stat sheet. He is expected to slot in on Swedens top pairing with Ibrahimovic Jr to start the tournament, playing a crucial part in team Swedens often defensive and counterattacking strategy.

Noah Nystrom @LightningDragon
Nystrom is coming off a strong defensive season for the Knights in the SMJHL, complementing what is more than likely the best defensive core in the WJC. He is yet another example of the modern Swedish defenseman, combining excellent skating, intellect and vision on the ice along with his fantastic passing game. On top of these factors, Nystrom plays a disciplined but physical game and is able to provide that X-factor that many experts claim that Europeans lack.

Sven Yxskaft @kenvald
Perhaps the best name in Swedish hockey in recent years, Yxskaft is coming off yet another impressive offensive season as a defenseman in the SMJHL. With the unfortunate lack of forwards available to Sweden this year, the team has asked Sven to play the tournament as a forward. Exactly how this experiment will unfold remains to be seen but Yxskafts excellent skating, two-way play and his deadly shot makes him one of THE players to watch in the coming weeks.

Magnus Liljestrom @roastpuff
Perhaps the most impressive rookie on this squad this year, Magnus Liljestrom broke into the SMJHL with a bang. His game translated almost perfectly to the North American ice and you would have to excuse the casual SMJHL fan for mistaking him for a veteran in the league because he looked perfectly comfortable right out of the gate. He is likely slotting in on the second pairing with Nystrom.

Erik Johansson @woelker11
Johansson is a bit of an enigma as far as his style of play goes. Whereas Swedish defenseman generally rely on their skating, positioning, stick checking and vision when it comes to defensive play in their own end, Johansson does the opposite. He thrives in the most challenging areas of the rink and loves stepping up and bringing physicality to the game. He is exactly the kind of heart and soul player that you want on your squad in these short and intensive tournaments.

Yompy Stearf @ham
For a rookie, Stearf played some huge minutes last season. He averaged over 18 minutes a game and played excellent defensively, something that is rather uncommon for rookies coming into the league (especially Europeans, as they usually need time to adjust to the different rink size). Stearf will be relied upon to sure up the bottom pairing for Sweden with fellow rookie Johansson.

Joseph Fantoberg @Fantobens
Fantoberg came into the league rather late, only having the opportunity to play 8 games in the SMJHL regular season. Due to the lack of forwards previously mentioned, Fantoberg will be playing this tournament as a forward as he showed some impressive offensive instinct in his limited amount of time in the SMJHL this year.

Goalies

Jerry Huuveri @Jerppu
Coming into this tournament, there was a bit of a goalie panic for team Sweden as they had no eligible goalies available to play. Luckily, the Finnish goalie Jerry Huuveri was available (his father is Swedish and he possesses dual citizenship) and after some short conversations with between the SJL and SIF (the ice hockey federations for both respective nations) the management from team Sweden reached out to Huuveri about the potential of representing Sweden in the coming WJC. Huuveri graciously accepted the offer and so he will be the netminder for team Sweden, for this tournament only. Huuveri is currently the backup goalie for the Colorado Raptors so he should have no issues fitting in to the locker room as he is the 4th member of Colorado on this roster this year. Huuveri is an butterfly goalie, capable of great bursts of speed which has made him a fan favourite in Colorado this year as his acrobatic style provides a great level of showmanship and we expect that he will quickly become a fan favourite amongst Swedish fans.

Team Leadership

With such a mix of veterans and rookies on this team, leadership was no easy thing for management to decide on which is why we decided on a core group of 4 guys was probably our best option. We wanted the leadership group to reflect the team as much as possible as well as give younger guys the chance to wear the C and so with that said, here are your S52 WJC Team Sweden captains.

Captain - Henrik Lundqvist Jr @FreakinAnime

Assistant Captain - Sven Yxskaft @kenvald

Assistant Captain - Sven Svenson @LordBirdman

Assistant Captain - Magnus Liljegren @roastpuff

We want to sincerely congratulate all the players on our roster as well as the four members of our leadership group. We believe that this group is one of the best that Sweden has been able to muster for quite a few years so our hopes for a top 3 finish are very high. Thanks for coming everyone, we look forward to what promises to be a very exciting WJC!

Ready to be graded
1728 words
Sorry for any glaring mistakes, English isn't my first language.