If the list is true, it's not horrible. It's not like picking Hannula over Holmström and Hedström, or Rhodin over Nordström in 2006. It's not like having Weinhandl (hur fan tänkte dom?) or Johansson on the 2010 team either. Having Markström over Enroth is weird, but Lundqvist will be the goalie every game anyway. At least they haven't officially brought along a bunch of SEL'ers
yet with comments like "De har varit så duktiga i Elitserien!". At least they don't peg Franzén on the 4th line when he's our hottest goal scorer and changes it up 10 minutes before elimination.
It could be worse. I think leaving Hedman out last time was worse than picking Kronwall ahead of Klingberg and Kronwall is still better than ****ing Henrik Tallinder (apparently papa mascot is a role on a competitive Swedish hockey team). The team already has Karlsson and OEL, perhaps they think they don't need more offensive D-men. I would personally pick Klingberg on the squad anyway. Also, Klingberg has played alot better on the national team than OEL has.
Apparently,
Lidström, Alfredsson and Sundin have been part of a council that have helped the national team to pick its players for the squad. Apparently Swedish hockey has finally realized they know jack squat about NHL and NHL players. In the article, Lidström praised Klingberg for how surprised he was with his play. He's still not on the roster. Is it experience issues?
I still have hopes this will be the least terrible team assembled in decades and the least amount of mindblowing screwups since I can remember. Too bad it couldn't have happened sooner than when the NHL **** on the Olympics - again - and started this Mickey Mouse version of the Canada Cup instead. What a nightmare.
So now we can only watch the real national team play against "Team Europe" or "U-23 All-Stars", like it's some frigging circus (well, it is, isn't it?). It's almost like I would've wanted Sweden to send a team of comedians instead, with Robert Gustavsson playing goalie and treat this hockey show with sufficient respect. I haven't even decided if I will watch this clown show or not. But, as you're as starved on good international hockey as a hockey fan, as a kid in Sweden in the 80s, waiting for quality cartoons - or anything of value for a child - on TV, I'll probably sit in some dark corner and watch the clown show anyway.
The NHL is the killer of hockey. All this farce because the poor owners can't afford to shut down the league two weeks every 4th year to promote the sport and let the players represent their countries (
for real), while it's perfectly fine to shut down the league for entire seasons because they can't do their job. I'm sure they were astonished when they realized the world doesn't revolve around them and that the winter olympics refused to be played during the summer, on the demand of NHL owners. So they did what they do best, they act like heartless dictators they are and make "amends" (meaning: making more money for themselves) the only way they know how: the Mickey Mouse way.
