Sweden unveiled its roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 on Friday, naming a group that will try to bring the country its first gold medal since 2006 in Turin.
It's similar to the group that played in the 4 Nations Face-Off roster, with some changes. At forward, Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche, Pontus Holmberg of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Alexander Wennberg of the San Jose Sharks join the group. Viktor Arvidsson (Boston Bruins) and Gustav Nyquist (Winnipeg Jets) who played at 4 Nations, did not make the team.
"Two strong skaters and useful players, able to play both as centers and as forwards: both tactically very smart players," Sweden coach Sam Hallam said of Holmberg and Wenberg. "I know Pontus very well, he is a little bit of a pot-bellied pig when it comes to his physical game. He did well in Toronto, but he has taken wide strides in Tampa's checking game, he really shows how strong he is: it's incredibly difficult to face him. And Alexander Wennberg is a player who puts his feet right all the time. He knows what to do and he's a very useful player; Alex made a good impression in the Worlds in Stockholm last year."
On defense, Philip Broberg of the St. Louis Blues and Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Toronto Maple Leafs join the team, with Mattias Ekholm of the Edmonton Oilers off the team from 4 Nations.
Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman was named to the preliminary roster but is currently sidelined because of elbow surgery. He is expected to be return for the Olympics.
"There are two ways to go: firstly, someone from the existing squad can take his place and his role, and secondly, we replace him from outside," Hallam said. "In that case, there are a few names. We are following Victor closely and it feels safe to know that he is doing everything he can to get to play in Milan. He is a very important part of our team."
In goal, Jesper Wallstedt of the Minnesota Wild joins the team with Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators off the team from 4 Nations.
”Jesper has sailed up very quickly this year, and he just continues to play well," Hallam said. "It feels good to have this goalie tandem from Minnesota (also Filip Gustavsson): they know each other's routines and can support each other like they do in Minnesota.
”And don’t forget [Jacob Markstrom]; he is that kind of a goalie who can straight go in and win any game. All the good goalies is a strength in Swedish hockey right now, and it proves that we are doing the right thing back home."
This is the first group of NHL players to represent Sweden at the Olympics since 2014, when NHL players most recently participated.
"It's obviously a huge honor. It's great," said Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson, who won silver with Sweden at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. "Very happy. Excited. And been looking forward to it for a long time now."
The tournament will feature all 12 teams playing three preliminary games in their respective groups.
The three group winners and the best second-place team will get a bye into the quarterfinals; the other eight teams will play single-elimination games to determine the other four quarterfinalists. The gold medal game will be held on Feb. 22.
Team Sweden, which is in Group B, will open against Team Italy on Feb. 11, then play Team Finland on Feb. 13 and Team Slovakia on Feb. 14.
Here is the Team Sweden roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 (in alphabetical order) and a breakdown by NHL.com of each position group:
