Last February, Kings forward Adrian Kempe got his first taste of best-on-best international hockey. He described his first game in that setting, against Team Canada, as “like a playoff game, but even more intense, with even more pace.”
Have to assume that intensity will only rise next week, when Kempe and Team Sweden hits the ice for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The 4 Nations Faceoff was a nice introduction to the international stage for Kempe, who has blossomed into one of the best Swedish players in the NHL. As such, he was selected for the Olympic team over the summer as one of the first six players named by each participating nation. Not that there would have been any guesswork for Kempe regardless, but it was a nice recognition for him as he was named to his first Olympic roster.
"I am super excited, it's a dream come true to compete in the Olympics, for sure," Kempe said of participating. "4 Nations was kind of a tournament where you didn't really know, no one really knew what it was going to be like. Olympics, we have guys that have played before, they have experience. For me, I'm just very excited, proud and just looking forward to it."
Kempe is expected to be a key contributor for Team Sweden.
Along with other Swedish stars such as William Nylander, Filip Forsberg and Lucas Raymond, Sweden enters the tournament as one of the deepest teams up front, especially on the wings. As he does with the Kings, I’d expect Kempe to have a role on special teams as well as a prominent role in 5-on-5 situations.
In terms of where exactly he will play, just about every projection has him somewhere in the Top-9, depending exactly how Sweden chooses to spread out their players and how they try to look for chemistry up front. He's a top-six talent on that team, but it'll be interesting to see how they disperse their firepower up front as they try to build their strongest top-to-bottom lineup throughout the tournament.
The elevation in intensity and pace is something that should play into Kempe’s game. Over the last four seasons, while the Kings have found very little success in the postseason, it certainly hasn’t been because of Kempe. In each of the past four seasons, Kempe is the Kings’ leading scorer in the playoffs. He’s been a point-per-game or better in three of the four seasons and has 29 points (15-14-29) in 24 playoff games in total over those four seasons.
He's been one who has risen to the occasion and he’ll get the chance to do so in front of an even-greater audience here next week, on the international stage. An honor for sure, for a player who is primed to excel.
If there’s a game that sits atop his list, it has to be the Sweden/Finland matchup in the group stage. The two teams are in the same group, meaning they will play in the first round, which is as big a rivalry as there is in the game.
"Big rivalry always, doesn't matter what the teams look like, it doesn't matter if it's a World Championships game and we have 20 NHL players, they have zero, it doesn't matter, it's going to be tight games, physical, lot of heated moments out there, which is fun. Looking forward to another battle here," Kempe said.
Kempe and Team Sweden gets their tournament underway on Wednesday, February 11 against the host nation, Team Italy. They will take on Finland on Friday, February 13, followed by their final game of group play against Team Slovakia on February 14. Sweden is a medal favorite and the favorite from their group to advance with a bye to the quarterfinals. The key game to watch is obviously the rivalry game versus Finland, which should be a battle for sure.
Kempe/Sweden Olympic Schedule
February 11 – Sweden vs. Italy, 12:10 PM Pacific
February 13 – Sweden vs. Finland, 3:10 AM Pacific
February 14 – Sweden vs. Slovakia, 3:10 AM Pacific
After those three games, all 12 participating teams will be seeded based on their point totals in group play. The group winners and the second-placed team with the most points advance directly to the quarterfinals. The teams ranked 5 – 12 will compete in the playoff round, with the winners also advancing to the quarterfinals. Participation for all Kings players will be determined by the performance of their teams in the preliminary round.
The playoff round begins on February 17, followed by the quarterfinals on February 18. The semifinals are all on February 20, followed by the bronze-medal game on February 21 and the gold-medal game on February 22.
