Sam Hallam returned to Växjö for the first time as captain of the national team.
But he left as an emperor without clothes.
It was completely stripped by the Czech Republic who had already decided after a quarter of time.
Both painful and embarrassing.
This is the naked truth.
Sam Hallam became king during ten seasons at Växjö, when he led the team from first-time newcomers to three SM golds.
It has made him an eternal icon at the club.
Now that he’s back, Vida Arena is sold out, which doesn’t usually happen when Växjö plays SHL hockey at home.
I think Hallam made the big difference.
Results?
Pie, the shock of the opening and a game that was over before it even started.
Just over a quarter of an hour later, Carl Lindbom, making his Tre Kronor debut, took the fourth straight disc from his own pocket.
Färjestad’s popular new signing was forced to leave the penalty area after a nightmare start.
I wouldn’t load Lindbom initially, because he had poor assists on all four goals.
But of course there was no other alternative to wake up the team other than replacing him and sending Linus Soderstrom.
But by then the match was already lost.
Complete decline for Hallam
It was a complete defeat for Sam Hallam’s return to the city where he is an eternal hero.
Now, I wouldn’t call that a major failure or a sporting disaster by any means.
Not many – if any – care about the tournaments called the European Hockey Tour.
In late 2022, the Swedes were dealt an even worse blow against the Czechs, when they won 9-3 in the home tournament at the Czech Hockey Games.
I have to search on Google to find this result, which shows the impact that this type of knockout has in this type of tournament.
The transportation distance could not even be called the seriousness of the toilet near the end of the spring.
There are so many different players and national teams, making it impossible to keep track of who participated and who survived until it’s World Cup time.
I checked last year’s lineup for the Karjala Cup.
There were only four players remaining when it came time for the World Championships in Tampere and Riga.
However, at the time, Sam Hallam had overconfidence in Swedish players coming from Europe and his own playing system.
But when the World Cup ended, Sweden had reached the quarter-finals again, also against Latvia.
I can’t afford another failure
This was the same curtain on Hallam as his predecessor, Johan Garbenlöf, who left the position with a historically poor record.
So I see this national team season as very important for Sam Hallam and Swedish hockey.
It’s as if we can’t afford another failure in the hockey world, as Trey Cronor has dropped to sixth in the world rankings.
Admittedly, the Russians’ ranking was then frozen, as they remained in third place.
But the progress of Germany and the United States of America is not easy, as Switzerland is only five points behind seventh place.
Now the Czech National Hockey Team is even tougher and holds a record 8th place at the moment.
But it seems the upcoming World Cup on home soil in Prague has already had an impact.
It is truly a guaranteed crowd party with sold out houses, with every Czech player wanting to be a part of it.
Perhaps this was partly a result of what we saw this evening in Vaxjo.
V. M. and Prague, I.
That’s when it’s up to Sam Hallam to prove himself after a miserable failure in his first World Cup.
Then I see only one path to success.
Intensifying contact with Swedish NHL stars as trips to North America appear to be more important than each international match on what is known as the European Hockey Tour.
Hallam had ten NHL players in the final World Cup squad, but it was second-tier and none of our superstars were in the best league in the world.
Looking back, I mostly remember that Elias Pettersson was held out due to insurance costs and that William Nylander never came.
The type of player that makes the difference.
Sweden adjusted the numbers to 5-2 in the end, but that is more important academically.
The tournament now continues with matches against Switzerland on Saturday and Finland on Sunday.
Finland beat Switzerland 4-0 in its opening match.