The PyeongChang Olympics were a downer for the Swedes, who shockingly bowed out
in the quarter-finals to underdog Germany. But Denmark could be the opposite.

Kicking off the tournament in Copenhagen with a 75-percent NHL roster brightens
Tre Kronor's hopes of defending the title it won last year in Cologne. But that's not the only good news for blue-and-yellow fans. The Swedes have won IIHF World Championship gold three times in the new millennium (2006, 2013, 2017), and the last two times, late additions played a key role - the Sedin twins in 2013 and Henrik Lundqvist and Nicklas Backstrom in 2017. So the picture could look even rosier for head coach Rikard Gronborg by the playoffs.

Goal

Literally, the three Swedish netminders will stand tall. But practically, this position may not be the team's greatest strength. Anders Nilsson (197 cm) was supposed to battle Jacob Markstrom for the starting job with the Vancouver Canucks this season, but the 28-year-old's play slipped as the season wore on (3.44 GAA and 90.1 save percentage in 27 gams)). Nonetheless, Nilsson should start, as the lone member of the trio with Worlds experience. The veteran of 105 NHL games shone in Sweden's 2014 bronze medal run in Minsk and returned in 2015.

The other alternative is Magnus Hellberg (197 cm), coming off a solid season with Kunlun Red Star (2.39 GAA and .926 save percentage in 51 games) that earned him a spot in the KHL All-Star Game. With four NHL games to his credit with Nashville and the New York Rangers, the 27-year-old Uppsala native has never suited up in IIHF competition at any level before. Ottawa Senators prospect Filip Gustavsson (Lulea), named Best Goalie with Sweden's silver-medalist squad at the 2018 World Juniors, could see some action too.

Defence

Power play production should be no concern with John Klingberg of the Dallas Stars and Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Arizona Coyotes. Klingberg, 25, just had a career NHL season (8-59-67) with Dallas, tied with San Jose's Brent Burns for
second in points behind Washington's John Carlson (68) among defencemen. Klingberg and the smooth-skating 26-year-old Ekman-Larsson both suited up for last year's championship team.

Edmonton assistant captain Adam Larsson will look to reestablish himself in the
shutdown role that served the Oilers so well in 2016-17 before this year's disastrous campaign. Farjestad's Mikael Wikstrand impressed the Swedish brass in his senior IIHF debut in PyeongChang, scoring twice, and will hope to add a medal other than silver (U18 2011, U20 2013) to his collection. Even without a Victor Hedman or Erik Karlsson, this is a solid group. (Rasmus Dahlin, the presumptive #1 overall pick of the Buffalo Sabres in June, will sit out, pleading exhaustion after the World Juniors and Olympics.)

Forward

While Rikard Rakell of the Anaheim Ducks recorded his second straight NHL season with 30 or more goals (34-35-69) at age 24, the focal point will be a skinny 19-year-old puck wizard. Elias Pettersson just led the Vaxjo Lakers to the SHL title and was named playoff MVP. He had the most points in both the regular season (24-32-56), topping Kent Nilsson's 1976 record for a U20 player,
and playoffs (10-9-19) and was named rookie of the year, forward of the year, and regular-season MVP. Can this Canucks super-prospect conclusively prove that
it was a mistake to leave him off the Olympic team? We'll see what kind of magic he weaves alongside the likes of Mikael Backlund (Calgary Flames) and Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings).

Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers), the golden overtime hero of the 2013 World Juniors, is coming off a career-high 27 goals in his sixth NHL season and will aim to carry that pace into his Worlds debut. Gustav Nyquist (Detroit Red Wings) recorded 21 goals, his third NHL season with 20 or more, and his seven goals at his last Worlds (2016 in Russia) tied him for the tournament lead. There's certainly enough skill here, along with robust journeymen, to forge a contender.

Coaching

Losing to Germany in PyeongChang was a black mark for Rikard Gronborg. But the Canadians ended up in the same boat, and the Olympic Athletes very nearly did in that highly unpredictable tournament. So the 49-year-old Huddinge native can
treat the Olympics as a learning experience as he enters his second Worlds as the head coach.

Gronborg has been celebrated for his communication skills and touted as potential NHL material. He spent the first 10 years of his coaching career in North American junior hockey. Expect well-coordinated team play as the Swedes march through the preliminary round under Gronborg and his ex-NHL assistants, Johan Garpenlov and Peter Popovic.

Projected Results

On paper, the Swedes look like the front-runners in Group A in Copenhagen. Although they'll face challenges against the Czechs, Swiss and Russians, they could go through their first seven games undefeated, and they'll get great fan support since their country is right next door. Tre Kronor has only failed in the quarter-finals five times since the IIHF instituted the playoff system in 1992. After that, anything is possible. Sweden last won back-to-back golds in 1991 and 1992.

LUCAS AYKROYD

http://https://www.new-iihf.com/en/events/2018/wm/news/2237/can-sweden-defend-its-gold
--- SBBSecho 3.04-Win32
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