Stockholm, Sweden--

I would like to start off by welcoming the historic addition of RW Jimmy Wagner (1841 TPE) to our incredibly talented roster. We are excited to add Wagner to our squad and hope it leads to many medals for our sweet nation.

With the playoffs finishing up soon, we are excited to have the team back together for another IIHF run. The last couple of seasons have not gone the way we wanted, and we look to change that this year. "The IIHF tournament is one of the most important times during the SHL off-season” said co-GM Gunnar Soderberg. “This coming tournament we are happy to have many returning veterans on the team as well as newcomers who will undoubtedly be pushing the pace within the training group. Congrats to all of the athletes. I look forward to watching this group grow together and pushing each other to a higher level. It's an especially exciting time for this team with the addition of Wagner; I'm excited to help this team reach their personal best for this tourney.”

"I’m happy for the selected players and looking forward to having the opportunity to work with this wonderful group when practice gets underway. I’m excited to represent Team Sweden in our quest to earn a gold medal. Team Sweden selects players to represent our country in international competition with the skills, character, experience, and desire to win. We build teams that are versatile and resilient in the short, intense competitions we face. We’re fortunate that this group of elite athletes has volunteered to represent us this summer.” First-Name Last-Name said. This is arguably Team Sweden's deepest group of forwards that we are icing. The timing is excellent, too, as the majority of the players are in their primes. Wagstrom is an exception, but the intelligent playmaker should age gracefully, while HLO and Last-Name should be able to shoulder the load down the middle of the ice. While the forwards are impressive, Sweden's blue line remains its bread and butter. It's arguably the best group of any nation; if this defensive lineup doesn't strike fear into the hearts of opposing forwards, I'm not sure what will. Sweden isn't lacking for offensive firepower either, the roster boasts Krashwagen, Hammerberg, and many other forwards who lead their respective teams in scoring. It's certainly the most complete roster for the tournament we've seen released thus far, and that's not even looking at the goalies. With Jobin holding down the fort in the net for Team Sweden, we just might be the team to beat in a couple of weeks.




We would be remiss not to acknowledge those who didn't make this year's team; we have had the privilege to grow into one of the bigger IIHF teams with a lot of actives which leads to some hard decisions. There were some worthy players who unfortunately did not get the chance to represent King Carl this year; don't worry your time will come!  Last season's results were unacceptable for King Carl and the Swedish National Team; we are hungry to right the wrongs of last season and once again aim for a medal finish. It is Sweden’s time to show that they are a force to be reckoned with & we hope this tournament is the start of something special. We would like to extend all participating nations our best wishes and we can't wait to see you out on the ice. May the best nation win!

Quote:
word count: 750