In two years, the World Cup in Hockey will be organized for the fourth time. Today, NHL.com/sv continues the countdown to the big hockey party with the best of the best. After in turn centers, left forwards and right forwards, today we take on the Swedish full back crew.
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Good defenders have been a staple in Swedish NHL history. Thommie Bergman and Börje Salming opened the way for the Swedish defenders and with their stable efforts in Detroit and Toronto respectively during the 1970s ended once and for all the myth of Swedish players as cowards and weak. Stefan Persson became the first Swedish defender to win the Stanley Cup, an extremely important player in the New York Islanders who won the cup four times in a row from 1980-83.
In more modern times, Nicklas Lidström also won the Stanley Cup four times with the Detroit Red Wings and also received the Norris Trophy, the award for the league’s best defender, seven times between 2001 and 2011. He was followed by the San Jose Sharks Erik Karlsson who won the Norris twice, in 2012 and 2015.
And when NHL.com/sv now selects the defensemen of the future Tre Kronor team in the World Cup of Hockey 2024, of course the third Swedish Norris winner is included in a cast: the Tampa Bay Lightning’s two-time Stanley Cup champion Victor Hedman2018 Norris Trophy winner, is one of the most gifted players on the team.
First, as in the previous articles in this article series, a brief review of the tournament: the World Cup of Hockey will be played in 2024 for the fourth time. In 1996, the USA beat Canada in the best of three finals. In 2004, Canada beat Finland 3-2 in the only final game, and in Toronto 2016, Canada won 2-0 in games over a team made up of players from Europe outside of the major hockey nations of Sweden, Finland, Russia and the Czech Republic.
The World Cup of Hockey replaced the Canada Cup which was played five times. Canada won four, in 1976 against Czechoslovakia (2-0 in games), 1984 against Sweden (2-0), 1987 against the Soviet Union (2-1) and 1991 against the USA (2-0) while the Soviets crushed Canada 8-1 in the only final match in 1981.
And now we look forward to 2024. Here, NHL.com/sv looks into the crystal ball and picks out seven defensemen in the team.
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning.
Double Stanley Cup titles, Norris Trophy in 2018 and in the Norris conversation every year since. The 31-year-old from Ö-vik is today one of the world’s best slopes, perhaps the very best. 85 points, of which 20 goals, in 82 games last season speaks volumes. One of the most given in the team in WCoH.
Video: TOR-TBL, M5: Hedman puts the puck on the power play
Rasmus DahlinBuffalo Sabres.
Dahlin has taken great strides forward in each year of his now four-year NHL existence. Last season, the 22-year-old from Trollhättan made his best effort so far: his 53 points (13+40) in 80 games go a long way in the defenders’ internal statistics. And there’s more to download:
– I have really learned a lot; i have… well i don’t know where to start. But I’ve learned what it takes to be one of the leadership team, to deal with the pressure we have on us and the adversity we face. I have learned to play more minutes in the games and not to get caught up in mistakes I make on the ice. I have grown, quite simply, and matured. I am a completely different person now than when I came here, said Rasmus Dahlin to NHL.com/sv when he summed up the season.
Video: BUF-NYI: Dahlin nets for Sabres
John Klingberg, Dallas Stars.
The 29-year-old from Gothenburg scored 47 points (6+41) during the past season. A very puck- and pass-safe back with strong offensive qualities. Klingberg is a so-called unrestricted free agent (UFA) and although Dallas has declared several times that the club wants to keep him, the parties have not yet managed to reach an agreement.
Video: MTL-DAL: Klingberg equalizes and decides for the Stars
Erik Karlsson, San Jose Sharks.
Karlsson’s production has decreased, but there is still a lot of hockey in the 32-year-old from Landsbro. This year there were ten goals, the best result in five years. In the last four seasons, injuries have held Karlsson back to between 50 and 56 games – but healthy, Erik Karlsson is a given back in Tre Kronor 2024.
Video: EDM-SJS: Karlsson’s 10th of the season
Oliver Ekman Larsson, Vancouver Canucks.
The 30-year-old defenseman from Karlskrona played the first eleven years of his NHL career in Phoenix/Arizona. With the Coyotes, he had a mentor in team captain Shane Doan. There is hardly anything better:
– I learned a lot from Shane Doan, said Ekman Larsson recently. When I was brand new to the league he was always so kind and helpful, it was no problem at all to get into it. He was the same nice guy no matter what, day in and day out.
Ekman Larsson took that attitude with him when he was traded to Vancouver where, as “father” to the younger players in the team, he scored 29 points (5+24) last season. In Tre Kronor’s World Cup edition, Ekman Larsson is a team captain topic:
– I learned from (Shane Doan) not to head for the sky when things are going well and not to fall into a deep valley when things are going bad.
Video: NSH-VAN: Ekman-Larsson equalizes for the Canucks
Rasmus AnderssonCalgary Flames.
Rasmus Andersson goes from strength to strength, and when WCoH is played, the defender from Malmö is 27 years old. It was 50 points (4+46) for Andersson last time, best ever in his career. If Andersson’s development continues at the same pace as it started, he is a given in Three Crowns in the World Cup.
Video: EDM-CGY, M4: Andersson scores from his own zone
Hampus LindholmBoston Bruins.
Hampus Lindholm came to Boston last spring; there were 10 games in the new club after nine years in the Anaheim Ducks. The 28-year-old from Helsinki plans to stay in Boston – Lindholm will not be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) until 2030. During the summer, he will heal a knee that was badly chewed up in a game against Detroit.
– First I will rehabilitate my knee so that I can train during the summer and get ready for next season in Boston. I’m super excited to play here. I look forward to what the next few years can bring, says Hampus Lindholm.
Video: CBJ-BOS: Lindholm plays DeBrusk
With a high probability, they bring with them a place in the World Cup of Hockey.
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