'Enjoyed The Grind'

STOCKHOLM - Rasmus Andersson's initial reaction to being Sweden's front man, on home ice no less, in his first twirl at the 2025 IIHF World Championship?

'Better check with Backs.'

Andersson, who was handed the captaincy by coach Sam Hallam in the days prior to the tournament, checked in with Flames captain Mikael Backlund - as well as former Calgary keeper Jacob Markstrom - to ensure it'd be cool.

"He told me before our first meeting," Andersson recounted. "My first reaction was I told him, 'Let me just talk to Backs and Marky about it.' I talked to them and they obviously supported me right away, and then I told him, 'Let's go, let's do this.' It became official, I think, two days later.

"A little bit shocked, but the pre-tournament helped a lot.

"You're captain in that, so you kind of knew what you had in store."

Sweden's been on cruise control ever since.

Andersson, who has three points (1G, 2A) and a plus-6 rating while playing 18:49 a night for the homeside, has helped the hosts to a perfect 6-0 start heading into a round-robin finale against MacKenzie Weegar, Ryan Huska, and Team Canada.

The defenceman, who played one of three games with Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, has been the right man for the job, according to the man that supplied the 'C.'

"I think Rasmus, how he handled the 4 Nations... I mean, that was a tough spot," Hallam said. "He was a healthy scratch for two games there. I mean, you can see real quick whether you're there for the best of the team the way you conduct and handle yourself in that situation.

"He was the best possible team guy he could be. And then the game he stepped in, he played really hard. He blocked five or six shots right away, was quick in the corners, engaged in the physical part of the game. He's been very clear all along... 'I want to play, I want to play, I want to play.'

"He's one piece, but it's a big piece of leadership."

The 28-year-old caught up with CalgaryFlames.com correspondent Aaron Vickers at the tournament in Stockholm to chat captaincy, Calgary and the year that was for his plucky Flames:

For you, what does it mean to be captain of Team Sweden, and doing so in your first World Championship?

"Obviously, I was a little shocked when I found out. Y'know... we went to that pre-tournament, right? And I was captain there and we won a few games and me and the coach had a few conversations. He obviously told me that he couldn't tell me right then because we still didn't know who was still coming and all that stuff.

"But it's with, obviously, a lot of pride and a lot of responsibility, especially with it being at home. I think the people that know me know that I'm a vocal guy, loud, loves to talk and that kind of stuff. I'm just trying to be myself. It's obviously helped wearing a letter the last two seasons in Calgary, too. It's helped prepare me in a way for this.

"Having Backs by my side, and Mika (Zibanejad), has been really helpful. (Marcus) Johansson has been a big help for me, too. The older guys have really helped me in a big way. For me, it's just been 'be myself' and not change too much."

How are you better for this? The captaincy, the off-ice stuff, and actually playing in this tournament?

"I think, obviously, my last 15 games in Calgary playing with that injury I played with, I was just caught in survival mode. It was so weird because I had such a good start, and then I had 20 tough games statistically, but I still feel like maybe 10 of those games I played pretty well. Even when I played well, statistically it was just a nightmare.

"I finally came back to producing and playing better and better and then the injury happens, and you're just in survival mode for the last, whatever, 12 games. And it was tough. It was tough playing with that. To come back, my ankle feels better and better, and then just play with the puck again, and try to make plays, hang onto it. Especially in the end there I was like a robot in the system, because I just had to battle each and every night to just survive, it felt like.

"For me, just mentally being here and being surrounded with a lot of good players I grew up playing with or looked up to or that kind of stuff, mentally it's just helping me a lot."

Is Ben used to you in yellow yet?

"No. I came home with this (Team Sweden) shirt once and he's like, 'Where's mine?' I'm like, 'Sorry bud, I don't have one for you.' So, I ordered a couple jerseys for him and my daughter. Hopefully they'll arrive here soon."

What worked so well back in Calgary this season, understanding you didn't get to where you wanted to go?

"I think the team came together in a really, really good way. I think we all loved being at the rink every single day and we really enjoyed the grind together. The West schedule is always a mess and you travel and you're gone a long time from your families and all that kind of stuff. But I think we did a really good job at keeping it loose when we needed to be loose and dialling it in when we needed to be dialled in.

"If you look back at the season, I mean, there's maybe two nights out of 82 we didn't show up. The one is Tampa at home. We were awful. But other than that, I can't find any other games where we didn't show up. Sure, we lost, but we still showed up and and still battled. It's funny. When you talk to a few of the guys in here, they're like, 'You guys were so painful to play against this year,' because of our work ethic.

"As I said, I thought the group came... it's probably one of the best groups I've been around, this year. We all loved being at the rink together. So for that, I think it was really important how close the room was."