Sweden projected roster for 2026 Winter Olympics by NHL.com

With the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 less than a year away, NHL.com is predicting the Olympic rosters. Today, senior writer Amalie Benjamin makes hers for Team Sweden.

The 12 countries that will play at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 have announced the first six players of their respective rosters.

The men's tournament will start with preliminary games Feb. 11, with the gold-medal game scheduled for Feb. 22. The remainder of the rosters will be announced later this year.

This is the first time NHL players will participate in the Winter Olympics since Sochi in 2014.

Six players (marked by an asterisk) were named to the roster June 16 by their hockey federations. In the Olympics, each team carries 25 players and traditionally has 14 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies.

Here is the Sweden projected roster (listed alphabetically by position):

Forwards (14)

Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils
Leo Carlsson, Anaheim Ducks
William Eklund, San Jose Sharks
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, Boston Bruins
William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs*
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings*
Fabian Zetterlund, Ottawa Senators
Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers

There's already a big surprise on this list, Landeskog. The Avalanche captain missed three seasons with a knee injury after winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, coming back only for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, where he had four points (one goal, three assists) in five games of the Western Conference First Round. It was a remarkable return. The fact that Landeskog was named in the initial six shows not only the respect he garners from the Swedish Federation, but also the faith that he will be a part of their Olympic team. From there, many are repeats from the team at the 4 Nations Face-Off, with Karlsson back after he missed the tournament because of injury. One of the biggest changes is replacing Gustav Nyquist with Eklund, an up-and-coming 22-year-old who was eighth in the NHL among Sweden-born forwards with 58 points (17 goals, 41 assists).

Defensemen (8)

Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames
Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild
Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres*
Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers
Gustav Forsling, Florida Panthers
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning*
Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins
Hampus Lindholm, Boston Bruins

Here is where Sweden shines. They have so many options, so much experience and so many leaders, including two players who have a combined four Norris Trophy wins: Hedman (2018) and Karlsson (2012, 2015, 2023). The big addition is Lindholm, whose fractured patella sustained Nov. 12 was an underrated reason why the Bruins missed the playoffs. It also cost Lindholm 4 Nations and the rest of the regular season, but he's expected to be ready for the start of next season and is a slam-dunk part of this group. The biggest question here was keeping Karlsson. He performed well at 4 Nations, so the 35-year-old gets a chance to compete for an Olympic medal. Leaving players like Philip Broberg of the St. Louis Blues off this roster was a tough call and he could end up on the final roster. Ultimately, this is a team that blends stellar defensive defenseman with those who have offensive pop to form a well-rounded and extremely deep group.

Goalies (3)

Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild
Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils
Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators

Sweden was dealt a pair of blows before 4 Nations when Markstrom and Ullmark sustained significant injuries. Markstrom's was an MCL sprain that kept him out until March 2; Ullmark's was a back injury that sidelined him from Dec. 22 to Feb. 4, returning just in time for the tournament. Having those two back and healthy significantly improves the depth and talent in goal, though Samuel Ersson of the Philadelphia Flyers performed well at 4 Nations and just missed the cut. These are the three goalies Sweden initially wanted for 4 Nations and it's a more than solid group. Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy with the Bruins in 2023 and was key to the Senators' 2024-25 playoff run. Gustavsson also had an excellent season, going 31-19-6 with a 2.56 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and five shutouts.