Sweden projected roster for 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off

The 2025 4 NHL Nations Face-Off will be held next February, with teams of NHL players from Finland, Sweden, Canada and the United States competing in a round-robin tournament.

A total of seven games will be played during a nine-day period from Feb. 12-20, along with two practice days, Feb. 10-11, and will be held in two yet-to-be named North American cities, one in Canada and one in the United States.

Though the international tournament is more than a year away, NHL.com wanted to get a jump on what the rosters for each country could look like, using a panel of three staff writers and editors to compile a list of 23 players (20 skaters, three goalies) for each team.

Today, a look at the projected roster for Sweden as picked by Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor for NHL.com; Tom Gulitti, NHL.com staff writer; and Peter Ekholm, independent correspondent for NHL.com/sv:

Forwards

Mikael Backlund, Calgary Flames
Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils
Leo Carlsson, Anaheim Ducks
Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild
Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators
William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights
Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings
Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche
Elias Lindholm, Vancouver Canucks
William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings
Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers

If championship teams are built through the middle, Sweden will have title-worthy center depth led by Pettersson, a front-runner for the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player this season, and Zibanejad, a three-time 30-goal scorer who has totaled at least 74 points four times. And then there's Carlsson, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, who has already shown dynamic skill that only will get better as he gets more experience. A potential top line of Kempe, Pettersson and Nylander would blend top-end playmaking with Kempe (6-foot-2, 200 pounds), the perfect power-forward type to clear space and win battles for two dynamic playmakers. A second line of Zibanejad, flanked by Bratt and Forsberg, would be equally difficult to slow. A third line of Karlsson, Eriksson Ek and Lindholm could be the ideal one to play against the opposition's top forwards. Eriksson Ek has emerged as a top shut-down center, and Lindholm was a finalist for the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward in the NHL in 2021-22. A wild card in the top nine could be Landeskog, who hasn't played since helping the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022 because of a knee injury. He had cartilage replacement surgery May 3, 2023, and began skating Jan. 11. Landeskog is determined to play again, so a tournament in the middle of next season should be more than enough time for him to get up to speed and add leadership to the group. -- Kimelman

Defensemen

Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames
Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins
Adam Larsson, Seattle Kraken
Hampus Lindholm, Boston Bruins

This is an experienced and balanced group that could be the best defensemen unit in the tournament. It includes four left-handed shots (Hedman, Dahlin, Lindholm, Ekholm) and three right-handed shots (Karlsson, Andersson, Larsson). Karlsson (2012, 2015, 2023) and Hedman (2018) each has won the Norris Trophy as the top defenseman in the NHL. There is plenty of puck-moving ability and offensive skill. Dahlin leads NHL defensemen this season with 13 goals. Hedman (50 points; nine goals, 41 assists), Dahlin (38 points) and Karlsson (34 points; seven goals, 27 assists) each is in the top 15 in the NHL among defensemen in points. Dahlin (6-foot-3, 204 pounds; 90 hits), Larsson (6-3, 209; 84 hits) and Ekholm (6-5, 225; 75 hits) bring size and physicality. Lindholm also has size (6-4, 224), is reliable defensively (plus-17 rating) and can contribute offensively (19 points). There is plenty of big-game experience, too. Hedman, Karlsson, Ekholm and Lindholm played for Sweden in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which was the most recent best-on-best tournament. Hedman is a two-time Stanley Cup champion (2020, 2021) and played in the Stanley Cup Final two other times with Tampa Bay (2015, 2022). Ekholm also played in a Cup Final with the Nashville Predators in 2017. -- Gulitti

Goalies

Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild 
Jacob Markstrom, Calgary Flames
Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins

With Ullmark, last season's winner of the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL, and Markstrom, a Vezina finalist in 2022, Sweden could make a case for having the strongest tandem among the four nations. Both are experienced, have guided their teams to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and have international experience: Markstrom won the gold medal with Sweden at the 2013 IIHF World Championship and won a silver (2009) and bronze (2010) at the IIHF World Junior Championship, and Ullmark won a bronze medal at the 2014 Worlds. Gustavsson would make a great third option. The 25-year-old is 13-13-0 with 3.28 goals-against average, .896 save percentage and two shutouts in 29 games this season as the Wild have struggled, but in 2022-23 he had a 2.10 GAA, .931 save percentage and three shutouts in 39 games. He has supplanted Marc-Andre Fleury as the Wild's No. 1 goalie and would be able to gain valuable experience being around Markstrom and Ullmark. -- Ekholm