WJC: 2020 Team Sweden Roster Talk

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Next years team (i might be missing someone obvious).

Raymond - Henriksson - Holtz
Gunler - Costmar - Holmström
Torgersson - Niederbach - Söderblom
Heineman - Eklund - Olausson
Nybeck

Björnfot - Söderström
Broberg - Grans
Wallinder - Johansson

Alnefelt
Wallstedt

I actually think this team looks stronger on paper than this years team at every position except center (center group this year was also pretty weak though). However, I doubt Niederbach and Eklund will actually get to play center, Montén will just find a couple of mediocre defensive players. Raymond and Holtz one year older with some size and wheels in the bottom six. Bigger and stronger defense with 3 returning guys (good chance they all return I think).

What about Lysell? Raymond and Holtz both made the team as 17 year olds this year.

Edit: I see you already addressed it. For a team that sometimes struggles in the knockout rounds with not having the same top end talent at forward, I don’t think you can have enough guys like Lysell that can create a play, but that’s merely my own opinion.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

A shame that the secondary scoring didnt show up for Sweden, a lot of disappointments.

 

[VictorLustig]

A shame that the secondary scoring didnt show up for Sweden, a lot of disappointments.

The kid line and 4th line has been fine in limited minutes. Berggren - Bäck - Pasic is the only line that has been truly disappointing, they haven't had a single good game.

 

[EK47]

The kid line and 4th line has been fine in limited minutes. Berggren - Bäck - Pasic is the only line that has been truly disappointing, they haven't had a single good game.

Why they kept on getting so much TOI is beyond me.

 

[EK47]

Just sticking every good offensive center prospect on the wing to make room for a kinda bad two way player can't be good player development. I wish they would stop that.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Just sticking every good offensive center prospect on the wing to make room for a kinda bad two way player can't be good player development. I wish they would stop that.

It’s because they prop up players like Gustafsson and Back. They are lauded for their size, strength, two way game, face off and penalty killing ability and all of that gets them into big roles. NHL teams are guilty of this, as well. Gustafsson was drafted in the second round and is in the NHL at age 19 to start a 10-15 year career as a fourth line center.

It’s not that these types of players should be discarded by clubs at U16 or U18 for not having top flight offensive skills, but they shouldn’t be given big roles in those teams because they can get by and be effective against a level of player that will have very few professionals. The overwhelming majority of U16 or U18 players do not become professionals. Anyone who ends up a professional should stand out. It’s not a high bar. Teams need to make sure they promote and elevate to big roles the centers who have skill, hockey sense, playmaking, shooting, skating, the types of attributes that will translate to being impact type players once they get to U20 level.

 

[theslatcher]

What best defines how Sweden handles development of centers is Pettersson playing U20, & in the SHL on the wing, and at the WC's as a center during the same season. To then play center, & wreck house in the NHL the next season full-time.

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

Samuel Fagemo won the scoring race with 13 points.

Fagemo & Sandin made the all-star team.

Sandin most points by defenseman (10).

Sandin voted as the top defenseman in the tournament.

 

[VictorLustig]

What best defines how Sweden handles development of centers is Pettersson playing U20, & in the SHL on the wing, and at the WC's as a center during the same season. To then play center, & wreck house in the NHL the next season full-time.

Didn't he play on the wing in his first WC?

 

[theslatcher]

Didn't he play on the wing in his first WC?

Geesh, for some reason I remembered him centering Nyquist & Hörnqvist on the third line 2018. But Hörnqvist joined after he fractured his thumb and only played with him in 2019. And Nyquist didn't play 2019. So all combinations of two of those played together in 2018 & 2019, but never all three together.

Well, scratch that bit, then.

 

[EK47]

Geesh, for some reason I remembered him centering Nyquist & Hörnqvist on the third line 2018. But Hörnqvist joined after he fractured his thumb and only played with him in 2019. And Nyquist didn't play 2019. So all combinations of two of those played together in 2018 & 2019, but never all three together.

Well, scratch that bit, then.

They actually moved him to the wing in the 2019 WHC aswell after a couple of games. You know if you aren't big, physical and a prototypical 2way player you can't play center in Sweden.
On the other hand Hallam used him as a center for maybe 10 games or so scattered across the season, but it really wasn't with enough continuity for him to get going at the position.

 

[jfc64]

Early "skrivbords" version:

Alexander Holtz - Karl Henriksson - Lucas Raymond (may not be fully as good as we think)
X - Elmer Söderblom - Zion Nybeck (if we have the puck in offensive zone)
Noel Gunler - Oscar Bjerselius - Simon Holmström (real second line but can start from defensive zone)
Oscar Lawner - Albin Sundsvik - Albin Grewe (real fourth line like the SAIK line a few years back)

Tobias Björnfot - Victor Söderström
Philip Broberg - Helge Grans
William Wallinder - Albert Johansson

Hugo Alnefelt
Jesper Wallstedt
Calle Clang

 

[Hybbe]

Henriksson was a positive surprise for me, I think he has qualities beyond just "having chemistry" with Holtz and Raymond. And even though Gustafsson exceeded my expectations as well, I think our center depth ultimately kept us from competing for the gold.

 

[Star Ocean]

There is always a next year right? We say that every year.

 

[Eye of Ra]

There is always a next year right? We say that every year.

u18

 

[Star Ocean]

u18

U18 was nice, but u20 is at another level.

Obviously.

 

[jfc64]

There is always a next year right? We say that every year.

But this time there really IS a next year! Joke aside, we can find comfort in these stats (below) showing that we have quite a few forwards producing in points per game compared to Finland and Russia. And now Elias P, Zibanejad and William Nylander are starting to move.Rakell leading a comfy Los Angeles life..

1. Yevgeni Malkin (C) Pittsburgh Penguins 29 11 28 39 1.34 28 14
2. Artemi Panarin (LW) New York Rangers 41 22 33 55 1.34 12 17
3. Mikko Rantanen (RW) Colorado Avalanche 26 15 16 31 1.19 4 -3
4. Nikita Kucherov (RW) Tampa Bay Lightning 40 14 31 45 1.13 20 10
5. Mika Zibanejad (C) New York Rangers 28 16 15 31 1.11 6 2
6. Aleksander Barkov (C) Florida Panthers 42 13 32 45 1.07 14 7
7. Elias Pettersson (C) Vancouver Canucks 42 19 25 44 1.05 10 3
8. Patrik Laine (RW/LW) Winnipeg Jets 40 15 25 40 1.00 14 7
9. Yevgeni Kuznetsov (C) Washington Capitals 40 16 24 40 1.00 28 4
10. Vladimir Tarasenko (RW) St. Louis Blues 10 3 7 10 1.00 0 -2
11. Andrei Svechnikov (RW/LW) Carolina Hurricanes 42 18 23 41 0.98 30 13
12. Teuvo Teräväinen (LW/RW) Carolina Hurricanes 42 8 33 41 0.98 8 14
13. Alexander Ovechkin (LW) Washington Capitals 43 24 16 40 0.93 22 -13
14. Nicklas Bäckström (C) Washington Capitals 35 8 24 32 0.91 8 -6
15. William Nylander (RW) Toronto Maple Leafs 43 19 19 38 0.88 8 8
16. Sebastian Aho (C) Carolina Hurricanes 42 23 14 37 0.88 16 10
17. Victor Olofsson (LW/RW) Buffalo Sabres 42 16 19 35 0.83 4 -1
18. Yevgeni Dadonov (RW/LW) Florida Panthers 42 18 16 34 0.81 4 4
19. Filip Forsberg (LW/RW) Nashville Predators 35 14 14 28 0.80 20 -1
20. Erik Haula (C/W) Carolina Hurricanes 23 11 6 17 0.74 8 1
21. William Karlsson (C) Vegas Golden Knights 45 10 23 33 0.73 14 6
22. Elias Lindholm (C/RW) Calgary Flames 44 16 16 32 0.73 18 -11
23. Joonas Donskoi (RW/LW) Colorado Avalanche 42 14 15 29 0.69 16 0
24. Alexander Radulov (RW) Dallas Stars 39 12 15 27 0.69 36 14
25. Rickard Rakell (W/C) Anaheim Ducks 36 10 15 25 0.69 6 2
26. Jakob Silfverberg (RW) Anaheim Ducks 41 15 13 28 0.68 10 -1
27. Gustav Nyquist (RW/LW) Columbus Blue Jackets 42 9 19 28 0.67 12 5
28. Calle Järnkrok (C/W) Nashville Predators 41 12 15 27 0.66 10 2
29. Gabriel Landeskog (LW) Colorado Avalanche 26 10 7 17 0.65 29 -7
30. André Burakovsky (LW/RW) Colorado Avalanche 39 13 12 25 0.64 14 -2
31. Nikita Gusev (LW) New Jersey Devils 38 7 17 24 0.63 12 -8
32. Viktor Arvidsson (LW/RW) Nashville Predators 29 9 9 18 0.62 8 2
33. Oskar Lindblom (LW) Philadelphia Flyers 30 11 7 18 0.60 4 4
34. Patric Hörnqvist (RW) Pittsburgh Penguins 25 9 6 15 0.60 17 6
35. Roope Hintz (C/LW) Dallas Stars 35 14 7 21 0.60 6 4
36. Joel Armia (RW) Montréal Canadiens 35 12 9 21 0.60 10 6
37. Ilya Mikheyev (RW) Toronto Maple Leafs 39 8 15 23 0.59 4 7
38. Marcus Johansson (C/LW) Buffalo Sabres 36 6 15 21 0.58 20 -4
39. Carl Söderberg (C) Arizona Coyotes 44 12 13 25 0.57 10 6
40. Pavel Buchnevich (RW/LW) New York Rangers 41 7 16 23 0.56 12 -3
41. Kasperi Kapanen (RW/LW) Toronto Maple Leafs 43 10 14 24 0.56 6 0
42. Ilya Kovalchuk (LW/RW) totals 17 3 6 9 0.53 12 -10
43. Andreas Johnsson (LW/RW) Toronto Maple Leafs 30 6 10 16 0.53 14 2
44. Nikolai Prokhorkin (C) Los Angeles Kings 23 4 7 11 0.48 4 0
45. Artturi Lehkonen (LW/RW) Montréal Canadiens 42 9 11 20 0.48 18 8
46. Pierre Engvall (LW/RW) Toronto Maple Leafs 21 6 4 10 0.48 2 6
47. Joel Eriksson Ek (C/W) Minnesota Wild 36 3 14 17 0.47 12 2
48. Vladislav Namestnikov (C/W) totals 39 8 10 18 0.46 35 -8
49. Oskar Sundqvist (C) St. Louis Blues 37 10 7 17 0.46 20 3
50. Mikael Backlund (C) Calgary Flames 44 6 14 20 0.45 24 3
51. Lucas Wallmark (C) Carolina Hurricanes 42 8 11 19 0.45 14 -5
52. Jesper Bratt (LW/RW) New Jersey Devils 35 8 7 15 0.43 6 -5
53. Kaapo Kakko (RW) New York Rangers 37 7 9 16 0.43 12 -15
54. Mikko Koivu (C) Minnesota Wild 31 2 11 13 0.42 10 1
55. Denis Guryanov (RW/LW) Dallas Stars 37 9 6 15 0.41 9 2
56. Valeri Nichushkin (RW/LW) Colorado Avalanche 37 7 8 15 0.41 12 14
57. Mikael Granlund (C/RW) Nashville Predators 35 6 8 14 0.40 14 -3
58. Adrian Kempe (C/W) Los Angeles Kings 42 8 9 17 0.40 19 -2
59. Mattias Janmark (C/W) Dallas Stars 36 5 9 14 0.39 4 0
60. Ivan Barbashyov (C/LW) St. Louis Blues 41 5 11 16 0.39 11 1
61. Artyom Anisimov (C) Ottawa Senators 24 7 2 9 0.38 4 -10
62. Alexander Nylander (RW/LW) Chicago Blackhawks 39 5 9 14 0.36 8 -9
63. Jesper Fast (RW) New York Rangers 40 6 8 14 0.35 14 9
64. Alexander Wennberg (C) Columbus Blue Jackets 41 2 12 14 0.34 14 -5
65. Valtteri Filppula (C) Detroit Red Wings 42 3 11 14 0.33 12 -29
66. Johan Larsson (C) Buffalo Sabres 37 4 8 12 0.32 20 8
67. Emil Bemström (RW) Columbus Blue Jackets 28 3 6 9 0.32 2 -2
68. Victor Rask (C) Minnesota Wild 33 4 6 10 0.30 4 8
69. Leo Komarov (W/C) New York Islanders 21 0 6 6 0.29 2 5
70. Vladislav Kamenev (C/LW) Colorado Avalanche 18 1 4 5 0.28 4 2
71. Carl Hagelin (LW) Washington Capitals 32 1 8 9 0.28 6 7
72. Isac Lundeström (C) Anaheim Ducks 11 0 3 3 0.27 0 -2
73. Dmytro Timashov (LW/RW) Toronto Maple Leafs 30 3 5 8 0.27 12 1
74. Valentin Zykov (LW/RW) Vegas Golden Knights 15 1 3 4 0.27 6 -2
75. Jesperi Kotkaniemi (C) Montréal Canadiens 27 5 2 7 0.26 4 -9
76. Alexander Steen (LW/RW) St. Louis Blues 27 0 7 7 0.26 8 8


Where do we to become deeper as a team compared with Finland and Russia? - Our top ten fall behind in edge right now but at no. 10 - we getting better by each player. Maybe Russia could match us if it was as common to go to NHL as it is for swedes. And if our top 20-50 forward players stayed home to a larger degree we could stop the pain as is tournaments for national teams in europe. See player by player comparison (after PPG) below.

1. Yevgeni Malkin (C) Pittsburgh Penguins 29 11 28 39 1.34 28 14
3. Mikko Rantanen (RW) Colorado Avalanche 26 15 16 31 1.19 4 -3
5. Mika Zibanejad (C) New York Rangers 28 16 15 31 1.11 6 2

2. Artemi Panarin (LW) New York Rangers 41 22 33 55 1.34 12 17
6. Aleksander Barkov (C) Florida Panthers 42 13 32 45 1.07 14 7
7. Elias Pettersson (C) Vancouver Canucks 42 19 25 44 1.05 10 3

4. Nikita Kucherov (RW) Tampa Bay Lightning 40 14 31 45 1.13 20 10
8. Patrik Laine (RW/LW) Winnipeg Jets 40 15 25 40 1.00 14 7
14. Nicklas Bäckström (C) Washington Capitals 35 8 24 32 0.91 8 -6

9. Yevgeni Kuznetsov (C) Washington Capitals 40 16 24 40 1.00 28 4
12. Teuvo Teräväinen (LW/RW) Carolina Hurricanes 42 8 33 41 0.98 8 14
15. William Nylander (RW) Toronto Maple Leafs 43 19 19 38 0.88 8 8

10. Vladimir Tarasenko (RW) St. Louis Blues 10 3 7 10 1.00 0 -2
16. Sebastian Aho (C) Carolina Hurricanes 42 23 14 37 0.88 16 10
17. Victor Olofsson (LW/RW) Buffalo Sabres 42 16 19 35 0.83 4 -1

11. Andrei Svechnikov (RW/LW) Carolina Hurricanes 42 18 23 41 0.98 30 13
19. Filip Forsberg (LW/RW) Nashville Predators 35 14 14 28 0.80 20 -1
20. Erik Haula (C/W) Carolina Hurricanes 23 11 6 17 0.74 8 1

13. Alexander Ovechkin (LW) Washington Capitals 43 24 16 40 0.93 22 -13
21. William Karlsson (C) Vegas Golden Knights 45 10 23 33 0.73 14 6
23. Joonas Donskoi (RW/LW) Colorado Avalanche 42 14 15 29 0.69 16 0

18. Yevgeni Dadonov (RW/LW) Florida Panthers 42 18 16 34 0.81 4 4
22. Elias Lindholm (C/RW) Calgary Flames 44 16 16 32 0.73 18 -11
35. Roope Hintz (C/LW) Dallas Stars 35 14 7 21 0.60 6 4

24. Alexander Radulov (RW) Dallas Stars 39 12 15 27 0.69 36 14
25. Rickard Rakell (W/C) Anaheim Ducks 36 10 15 25 0.69 6 2
36. Joel Armia (RW) Montréal Canadiens 35 12 9 21 0.60 10 6

26. Jakob Silfverberg (RW) Anaheim Ducks 41 15 13 28 0.68 10 -1
31. Nikita Gusev (LW) New Jersey Devils 38 7 17 24 0.63 12 -8
41. Kasperi Kapanen (RW/LW) Toronto Maple Leafs 43 10 14 24 0.56 6 0

27. Gustav Nyquist (RW/LW) Columbus Blue Jackets 42 9 19 28 0.67 12 5
45. Artturi Lehkonen (LW/RW) Montréal Canadiens 42 9 11 20 0.48 18 8
37. Ilya Mikheyev (RW) Toronto Maple Leafs 39 8 15 23 0.59 4 7

28. Calle Järnkrok (C/W) Nashville Predators 41 12 15 27 0.66 10 2
40. Pavel Buchnevich (RW/LW) New York Rangers 41 7 16 23 0.56 12 -3
53. Kaapo Kakko (RW) New York Rangers 37 7 9 16 0.43 12 -15

29. Gabriel Landeskog (LW) Colorado Avalanche 26 10 7 17 0.65 29 -7
42. Ilya Kovalchuk (LW/RW) totals 17 3 6 9 0.53 12 -10
54. Mikko Koivu (C) Minnesota Wild 31 2 11 13 0.42 10 1

30. André Burakovsky (LW/RW) Colorado Avalanche 39 13 12 25 0.64 14 -2
44. Nikolai Prokhorkin (C) Los Angeles Kings 23 4 7 11 0.48 4 0
57. Mikael Granlund (C/RW) Nashville Predators 35 6 8 14 0.40 14 -3

32. Viktor Arvidsson (LW/RW) Nashville Predators 29 9 9 18 0.62 8 2
48. Vladislav Namestnikov (C/W) totals 39 8 10 18 0.46 35 -8
65. Valtteri Filppula (C) Detroit Red Wings 42 3 11 14 0.33 12 -29

33. Oskar Lindblom (LW) Philadelphia Flyers 30 11 7 18 0.60 4 4
55. Denis Guryanov (RW/LW) Dallas Stars 37 9 6 15 0.41 9 2
69. Leo Komarov (W/C) New York Islanders 21 0 6 6 0.29 2 5

34. Patric Hörnqvist (RW) Pittsburgh Penguins 25 9 6 15 0.60 17 6
56. Valeri Nichushkin (RW/LW) Colorado Avalanche 37 7 8 15 0.41 12 14
75. Jesperi Kotkaniemi (C) Montréal Canadiens 27 5 2 7 0.26 4 -9

38. Marcus Johansson (C/LW) Buffalo Sabres 36 6 15 21 0.58 20 -4
39. Carl Söderberg (C) Arizona Coyotes 44 12 13 25 0.57 10 6
43. Andreas Johnsson (LW/RW) Toronto Maple Leafs 30 6 10 16 0.53 14 2
46. Pierre Engvall (LW/RW) Toronto Maple Leafs 21 6 4 10 0.48 2 6
47. Joel Eriksson Ek (C/W) Minnesota Wild 36 3 14 17 0.47 12 2
49. Oskar Sundqvist (C) St. Louis Blues 37 10 7 17 0.46 20 3
50. Mikael Backlund (C) Calgary Flames 44 6 14 20 0.45 24 3
51. Lucas Wallmark (C) Carolina Hurricanes 42 8 11 19 0.45 14 -5
52. Jesper Bratt (LW/RW) New Jersey Devils 35 8 7 15 0.43 6 -5
58. Adrian Kempe (C/W) Los Angeles Kings 42 8 9 17 0.40 19 -2
59. Mattias Janmark (C/W) Dallas Stars 36 5 9 14 0.39 4 0
60. Ivan Barbashyov (C/LW) St. Louis Blues 41 5 11 16 0.39 11 1
61. Artyom Anisimov (C) Ottawa Senators 24 7 2 9 0.38 4 -10
62. Alexander Nylander (RW/LW) Chicago Blackhawks 39 5 9 14 0.36 8 -9
63. Jesper Fast (RW) New York Rangers 40 6 8 14 0.35 14 9
64. Alexander Wennberg (C) Columbus Blue Jackets 41 2 12 14 0.34 14 -5
66. Johan Larsson (C) Buffalo Sabres 37 4 8 12 0.32 20 8
67. Emil Bemström (RW) Columbus Blue Jackets 28 3 6 9 0.32 2 -2
68. Victor Rask (C) Minnesota Wild 33 4 6 10 0.30 4 8
70. Vladislav Kamenev (C/LW) Colorado Avalanche 18 1 4 5 0.28 4 2
71. Carl Hagelin (LW) Washington Capitals 32 1 8 9 0.28 6 7
72. Isac Lundeström (C) Anaheim Ducks 11 0 3 3 0.27 0 -2
73. Dmytro Timashov (LW/RW) Toronto Maple Leafs 30 3 5 8 0.27 12 1
74. Valentin Zykov (LW/RW) Vegas Golden Knights 15 1 3 4 0.27 6 -2
76. Alexander Steen (LW/RW) St. Louis Blues 27 0 7 7 0.26 8 8


Defense:

1. Victor Hedman (D) Tampa Bay Lightning 39 9 30 39 1.00 21 8
2. Erik Karlsson (D) San Jose Sharks 43 4 26 30 0.70 14 -15
3. Rasmus Dahlin (D) Buffalo Sabres 35 2 20 22 0.63 24 -1
4. Alexander Edler (D) Vancouver Canucks 32 4 16 20 0.63 36 4
5. Sami Vatanen (D) New Jersey Devils 37 5 17 22 0.59 18 -5
6. Mattias Ekholm (D) Nashville Predators 40 5 18 23 0.58 26 2
7. Oscar Klefbom (D) Edmonton Oilers 44 4 21 25 0.57 12 -19
8. Ivan Provorov (D) Philadelphia Flyers 42 9 15 24 0.57 16 2
9. John Klingberg (D) Dallas Stars 34 2 16 18 0.53 14 -9
10. Miro Heiskanen (D) Dallas Stars 42 7 15 22 0.52 6 9
11. Mikhail Sergachyov (D) Tampa Bay Lightning 41 6 15 21 0.51 39 2
12. Hampus Lindholm (D) Anaheim Ducks 34 1 16 17 0.50 30 -10
13. Dmitri Orlov (D) Washington Capitals 43 3 17 20 0.47 18 3
14. Rasmus Ristolainen (D) Buffalo Sabres 43 4 15 19 0.44 30 0
15. Erik Gustafsson (D) Chicago Blackhawks 42 5 13 18 0.43 23 -4
16. Jonas Brodin (D) Minnesota Wild 43 1 16 17 0.40 6 10
17. Oliver Ekman Larsson (D) Arizona Coyotes 44 4 13 17 0.39 24 3
18. Anton Strålman (D) Florida Panthers 42 4 12 16 0.38 10 -7
19. Esa Lindell (D) Dallas Stars 42 2 14 16 0.38 6 8
20. Marcus Pettersson (D) Pittsburgh Penguins 42 1 14 15 0.36 17 6
21. Olli Määttä (D) Chicago Blackhawks 38 2 9 11 0.29 8 -2
22. Adam Boqvist (D) Chicago Blackhawks 18 2 3 5 0.28 4 -6
23. Rasmus Andersson (D) Calgary Flames 44 3 9 12 0.27 33 -11
24. Henri Jokiharju (D) Buffalo Sabres 43 4 7 11 0.26 28 1
25. Juuso Riikola (D) Pittsburgh Penguins 20 1 4 5 0.25 2 3
26. Nikita Zaitsev (D) Ottawa Senators 32 0 8 8 0.25 8 -1
27. Carl Gunnarsson (D) St. Louis Blues 17 1 3 4 0.24 10 1
28. Markus Nutivaara (D) Columbus Blue Jackets 10 2 0 2 0.20 2 -1
29. Patrik Nemeth (D) Detroit Red Wings 37 1 6 7 0.19 14 -7
30. Vladislav Gavrikov (D) Columbus Blue Jackets 41 4 3 7 0.17 12 4
31. Dmitri Kulikov (D) Winnipeg Jets 25 1 3 4 0.16 18 2
32. Nikita Zadorov (D) Colorado Avalanche 38 1 4 5 0.13 45 2
33. Adam Larsson (D) Edmonton Oilers 22 0 2 2 0.09 17 -11

We SHOULD look at how many new players (by nation) become regulars in NHL or draw the line at some standard of performance....

 

[RED ARMY EAST]

Would they consider bringing in Finnish coaches?