Team Sweden has announced its initial 16 man roster for the World Cup of Hockey
The World Cup of Hockey will be taking place in September of 2016. It will feature seven nations and a younger team of North American stars against each other in a friendly exhibition tournament. Sweden will field one of the strongest teams in the tournament. They are expected to be one of the favorites to win the friendly tournament.
Goaltenders
Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)
Jacob Markstrom (Vancouver Canucks)
Sweden elected to name their third goalie at a later date. They have arguably the best goalie in the world over the past decade in Lundqvist so they’ll definitely have a shot at winning the World Cup of Hockey tournament.
Defensemen
Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Arizona Coyotes)
Erik Karlsson (Ottawa Senators)
Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Niklas Kronwall (Detroit Red Wings)
Niklas Hjalmarsson (Chicago Blackhawks)
Anton Stralman (Lightning)
An extremely well balanced group that is led by two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson and two of the most underrated defensemen in hockey (Hedman and Ekman-Larsson). Interesting that John Klingberg got left off but expect him to be added at a later date.
Forwards
Filip Forsberg (Nashville Predators)
Nicklas Backstrom (Washington Capitals)
Alex Steen (St. Louis Blues)
Loui Eriksson (Boston Bruins)
Daniel Sedin (Canucks)
Henrik Sedin (Canucks)
Henrik Zetterberg (Red Wings)
Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche)
No surprises here. Tons of guys are going to be competing for the final forward spots.