Sam Hallam: “They’re starting to look like the World Cup squad”
Tre Kronor presented the team for the Czech Hockey Games.
Then comes the NHL reinforcement in the form of San Jose forward Fabian Zetterlund and a group of players from the SHL’s final teams.
– Now it is beginning to look like the squad for the World Cup with which we will go to Tampere, says the captain of the national team Sam Hallam in a press release.
The Czech Hockey Games kicks off on May 4 and is Tre Kronor’s last stop before the Ice Hockey World Cup.
Federation captain Sam Hallam introduced the team, which will travel to the Czech Republic on Sunday. From the last team in the SHL, the Växjö trio Hardy Hamann Aktel, Joel Persson and Lukas Bengtsson were added. Pär Lindholm and Jonathan Pudas join from Skellefteå. Henrik Tömmernes has also been added from the Swiss League.
“band honed”
In the past, NHL players Alexander Nylander, Rasmus Sandín, Lukas Raymond, Jonathan Berggren, and Jakob Silverberg have accepted the FIFA World Cup, all of whom are in the Czech hockey lineup. So is San Jose Sharks forward Fabian Zetterlund – even though his NHL contract has expired.
– The team was further strengthened with players from the NHL and from the final teams of the SHL, so now it began to resemble the World Cup team with which we are going to Tampere, says Sam Hallam.
It starts in Gothenburg
Sweden opened the Czech hockey games on May 4 with a match against Switzerland in Gothenburg. Then there are two matches in Brno, Czech Republic, against the Czech Republic and Finland before traveling to the World Cup.
This week will be a good test before the FIFA World Cup with a tough encounter and back-to-back matches this weekend, says Sam Hallam.
The players who had to leave the team were Samuel Johansson, Joel Nystrom, Oskar Engsund, Ole Alsing and Adam Olas Mattsson. Andreas Borgma, Oskar Lang, Anton Bengtsson, Markus Selfegaard, and Patrick Karlqvist.
Notably, the uncanny talent Leo Carlsson is still on the team.
