Mikael Backlund of the Calgary Flames will replace Henrik Zetterberg on Team Sweden for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
With seven players named to the tournament (plus Pavel Datsyuk), the Detroit Red Wings were projected to be an active team during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Niklas Kronwall bowed out to make it six. Now they are only five, as Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg will miss the World Cup, with Calgary Flames center Mikael Backlund set to replace him.
“Henrik Zetterberg feels that he can’t go 100 percent at the time of the World Cup and has to turn down the spot on our team,” said Team Sweden head coach Rikard Gronborg, via Twitter. “We feel that with Backlund we will get an internationally experienced player that is very versatile and responsible.”
It sounds like Zetterberg has an injury, which is very concerning for a Red Wings team that almost didn’t make the playoffs last season. Kronwall has an injury as well, so the Red Wings might be starting the 2016-17 season a bit shorthanded as far as star power, putting their legendary playoff streak in jeopardy as a result.
Backlund set career highs in 2015-16 with 21 goals, 26 assists, and 47 points. Despite starting mostly in the defensive zone, Backlund registered a plus-minus of +10, winning 47.2 percent of his faceoffs. Over his career, he’s tallied 72 goals and 175 points in 380 career regular season games. Backlund had a goal and two points in 11 games during the 2014-15 postseason for the Flames.
Team Sweden will be very competitive during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. With the best defensemen in the world and Henrik Lundqvist as its goaltender, Sweden will be a very tough team to score on, and stand as one of the favorites to win the tournament.