Shakes down to (with my comments):
Sedin-Sedin-L. Eriksson//Actually don't think Loui is that good fit with the Sedins, would have liked to see Steen there. RH shot that goes to the net more, opens up more space. But Loui is very smart and knows the Sedin's, so its a low risk move.
Hedman-Strålman//Very important to have a RH shot on the blueline with the Sedins. They soooo often comes out of that right corner with the puck after circling down low forever with the opponents having collapsed around the net. Its more or less a must for them to have a shooting option on the blueline on the small ice in those situations for them to be really effective.
Overall I like this line as a top unit. The Sedins are ultra-professionals, they may not be at their peak but I really think they will show up for this tournament and be able to carry a heavy load.
F. Forsberg-Bäckström-Hörnqvist//I expect to see FF on the left and PH on the right. Not hard to understand the thinking behind this line. Hörnqvist took a big step last season and was instrumental for the Pens' Cup win in a sense. He will make sure that whatever unit he is on contributes on the ice even if the play don't always work. And I think it reminds to be seen how effective this unit will be.
Ekholm-E. Karlsson//Karlsson on a unit will Bäckström is of course a really obvious goto source for offense. But is it too obvious? Nah, teams will be aware of it and will take away ice from them, but we will still see Bäckis finding EK a lot of times. Besides that, Ekholm is a great shooter too, if you take away EK Bäckis will still have Forsberg on the left and Ekholm on the left point as shooting options, while Hörnqvist is in the face of the goalie.
OTOH, what I do worry the most about with this line is that whatever team we face will 100% focus on getting the puck deep on them instead, while our guys still don't know each other perfectly and tries to be too fancy.
Rakell-Söderberg-Landeskog//I like Rakell and this unit will work very hard. But will it give us what we need? They will provide tight heavy checking and hard work. Grönberg has is without any doubt the best coach ever to ice the best teams for Day 1 of tournaments, but how many times has his team lacked creativity, speed and what not when it really matters? The answer is simple, every single time he has been behind a bench for Tre Kronor. I have a very bad feeling that we will end up sitting there watching a team skating in mud down 2-1 after 30 minutes in an elimination game asking ourselves where Gustav Nyquist is for example.
OEL-Hjalmarsson//OEL is a World-Class defender. But his biggest strength can be labeled as quantity instead of quality. IE, he gives you plays at a very high level night in and night out, week after week, through the entire season. But he is also a D that takes up a lot of space on the ice. OEL is definitely not a 15 minute D so to speak. He should get up towards 22 to play to his strength. Which we for example saw in the OGs where he struggled mighty in a smaller role. Has he matured enough since then?
Hagelin-Kreuger-Silvferberg//A 4th line that definitely should be able to get the job of a traditional 4th line done. Experienced. Definitely some offense hidden on it. And so forth.
Backlund//We obviously don't want to get down a center, which is understandable. Can't fault RG for making sure to have 5 centers on the roster, more or less a must IMO (even if I think Nyqvist is heads and shoulders above MB)...
H. Lindholm//I like Lindholm a lot. Can play both the left and right side. OTOH that could be said about Brodin too. Wouldn't have minded seeing either Lindholm or Brodin in the top 6 starting the tournament in Ekholms spot...
