The Swedish men’s Olympic hockey team will play their first game on Wednesday when they face the host nation of Italy at 3:10 p.m. ET.
There’s a lot to like about this Swedish group: Gustav Forsling, Rasmus Dahlin, Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson are a few of their high-end defenders, while scoring wingers like William Nylander, Adrian Kempe and Mika Zibanejad will help generate offense.
But it’s Sweden’s center depth — or lack thereof — that could hurt them in the long run. Joel Eriksson Ek and Elias Lindholm lead the first two lines, but Elias Pettersson, whose production has plummeted in the last few seasons, is their third option down the middle.
Will Sweden’s abundance of skilled defenders and productive options on the wing be enough for them to compete for a medal? Or will the center depth for other nations overwhelm the Nordic nation?
On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discuss the Swedish roster, where its strengths lie and why their center depth is a weakness.
Tyler Yaremchuk: It’s interesting to compare Sweden to Finland, because I view them as opposites. Where Finland lacks skill on the wings, I look at this Swedish group and think, “wow, that’s a ton of skill on the wing.”
But I do have some questions about them down the middle … that center group, going up against some higher-end countries, is going to be a concern.
Carter Hutton: I think for them, the wild card is going to be Elias Pettersson. What do they get out of him? He’s been very underwhelming and it’s been a tough few years. He can be that X-factor on that third line if he brings his game up to a certain level.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…
