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WJC: Sweden 2019 Roster Talk

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EbonyRaptor said:
Isn't Boqvist even in consideration? The one game I saw which was Canada/Sweden - I thought Boqvist and Ginning were the two best d-men. They were paired together a lot in that game and I don't think they were scored on.
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For sure he is. My read on the team is that Timothy Liljegren and Erik Brannstrom are locks for the top pairing. Westerlund and Boqvist are pretty safe bets to make the team now too. If Monten doesn’t move Boqvist to his off side (like he did in the one game where he paired him with Westerlund), that would leave two roster spots open at left defence:

Brannstrom-Liljegren
XXXXXXX-Westerlund
XXXXXXX-Boqvist

All of these guys that played at the WJSS are in the running for these last 2 spots:

Lundqvist (1st round pick, 18 years old)
F. Johansson (1st round pick, 18 years old)
Walfridsson (19 years old)
Ginning (18 years old)
S. Johansson (19 years old)

Not to mention the guys who didn’t play at the WJSS, but are also clearly in the running:

Ragnarsson (19 years old)
Sandin (1st round pick, 18 years old)

From a Canadian guy’s POV, Sweden are set to have the best group of defencemen in the tournament barring some strange omissions by the coaching staff. It’s an embarrassment of riches to have on the back end.

The competition for these last two roster spots is going to be fierce, and tbh I am not sure who separated themselves from the pack during this WJSS.
 
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TheGoldenJet said:
For sure he is. My read on the team is that Timothy Liljegren and Erik Brannstrom are locks for the top pairing. Westerlund and Boqvist are pretty safe bets to make the team now too. If Monten doesn’t move Boqvist to his off side (like he did in the one game where he paired him with Westerlund), that would leave two roster spots open at left defence:

Brannstrom-Liljegren
XXXXXXX-Westerlund
XXXXXXX-Boqvist

All of these guys that played at the WJSS are in the running for these last 2 spots:

Lundqvist (1st round pick, 18 years old)
F. Johansson (1st round pick, 18 years old)
Walfridsson (19 years old)
Ginning (18 years old)
S. Johansson (19 years old)

Not to mention the guys who didn’t play at the WJSS, but are also clearly in the running:

Ragnarsson (19 years old)
Sandin (1st round pick, 18 years old)

From a Canadian guy’s POV, Sweden are set to have the best group of defencemen in the tournament barring some strange omissions by the coaching staff. It’s an embarrassment of riches to have on the back end.

The competition for these last two roster spots is going to be fierce, and tbh I am not sure who separated themselves from the pack during this WJSS.
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Yeah for sure Liljegren and Brannstrom will be top pair. I'm glad to hear you think Boqvist will make the team. The one game I got to see was Canada/Sweden and Boqvist and Ginning were paired up most of the game and I thought they were definitely the best Swedish d-men that game, although truth be told the whole Swedish team didn't play very well. Boqvist didn't play the last game against the Finns but Ginning did and looked good again. I'd bet Ginning gets one of those open spots.
 
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EbonyRaptor said:
Yeah for sure Liljegren and Brannstrom will be top pair. I'm glad to hear you think Boqvist will make the team. The one game I got to see was Canada/Sweden and Boqvist and Ginning were paired up most of the game and I thought they were definitely the best Swedish d-men that game, although truth be told the whole Swedish team didn't play very well. Boqvist didn't play the last game against the Finns but Ginning did and looked good again. I'd bet Ginning gets one of those open spots.
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You could be right, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit. Ginning was the Captain of the U18 team, and despite his young age was one of the biggest guys on the ice every night at this tournament. He’s got plenty of tough competition for his spot though, including older guys, and guys who went way ahead of him at the same draft.
 
Åhman
Ek
Lindblom

Brannstrom - Liljegren
Filip Johansson - Boqvist
Ginning - Ragnarsson

Hållander - Olofsson - Elvenes
Zetterlund - Lundeström - Berggren
Fjellström - D.Gustafsson - Bemström
Holtz - Hugg - Raymond
 
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Eye of Ra said:
Åhman
Ek
Lindblom

Brannstrom - Liljegren
Filip Johansson - Boqvist
Ginning - Ragnarsson

Hållander - Olofsson - Elvenes
Zetterlund - Lundeström - Berggren
Fjellström - D.Gustafsson - Bemström
Holtz - Hugg - Raymond
Click to expand...
Our center depth is a joke
 
Johan Södergran has really improved his WJC stock these two games. Powerful, agile skater and very strong on the puck.

Höglander should also be a lock for the bottom 6. He's been an absolute terror for the other teams.
 
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Leufvenius with another solid game. His ES goal makes it 3 points in his first 2 NT games this season. His nose for the net and daunting physical presence would make for a solid addition to the middle 6 at the WJC, and he has small ice experience in the OHL as well.

I am on the fence about Höglander right now. I don't usually favor adding smallish 17 year olds to the bottom 6 of the WJC roster. He is a good young prospect though, and has earned some consideration with his play. I would re-evaluate at the December camp and judge him based on his progression between now and the Christmas break. Wouldn't hurt if he managed to grow a little in the meantime, either.
 
Wings4Life said:
Leufvenius with another solid game. His ES goal makes it 3 points in his first 2 NT games this season. His nose for the net and daunting physical presence would make for a solid addition to the middle 6 at the WJC, and he has small ice experience in the OHL as well.

I am on the fence about Höglander right now. I don't usually favor adding smallish 17 year olds to the bottom 6 of the WJC roster. He is a good young prospect though, and has earned some consideration with his play. I would re-evaluate at the December camp and judge him based on his progression between now and the Christmas break. Wouldn't hurt if he managed to grow a little in the meantime, either.
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Leufvenius has been one of the least impressive players IMO. Looks slow and not very engaged.
 
Höglander won the scoring title in the tournament 3+3 in 3 games. Leufvenius 2+3, S. Johansson 2+2

Johansson named best Defenseman
Eliasson named best Goalie
 
VictorLustig said:
Leufvenius has been one of the least impressive players IMO. Looks slow and not very engaged.
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Leufvenius looked dominant today, another 2 point night. He was always going to the top of the crease, and it seemed like none of the Czech D wanted to get in his way for fear of getting trucked.

Hoglander was dominant as well. Much less physical than Leufvenius, but he’s already the more skilled player despite his young age.
 
TheGoldenJet said:
Leufvenius looked dominant today, another 2 point night. He was always going to the top of the crease, and it seemed like none of the Czech D wanted to get in his way for fear of getting trucked.

Hoglander was dominant as well. Much less physical than Leufvenius, but he’s already the more skilled player despite his young age.
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I don't know your definition of dominant but Leufvenius wasn't noticeable at all until the 3rd period. Had a couple of assists but also a really bad turnover on one of the Czech goals. Way too slow for my liking, won't be effective at all when the competition gets better.

I know the competition wasn't as good but I was actually more impressed with this team than the WJSS team from last month. I can see a whole lot of players from this team make the final WJC roster, especially the forwards. Holmberg, Södergran, Höglander and Petersson would probably make my team if the tournament was played next week. A couple more would be on the bubble.
 
VictorLustig said:
Leufvenius has been one of the least impressive players IMO. Looks slow and not very engaged.
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Maybe should have waited until the end of the third period with that one. Solid multipoint night for Hugo, I am happy for him. Second leading scorer on Team Sweden, he has earned a place with his play.

VictorLustig said:
Way too slow for my liking, won't be effective at all when the competition gets better.
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I think it's the other way around. Leufvenius will be more effective when the checking gets tighter and the games get more physical, and the little skill guys get shoved off the puck. There will be very few, if any, defencemen at the WJC that will be able to physically stop Leufvenius from going to the high percentage areas. Leufvenius scored 5 points in these three games by going to the dirty areas in the high slot and top of the blue paint for dirty playoff type goals.

That is exactly what Sweden will need from its bottom 6 forwards on the small ice against physical North American teams.
 
VictorLustig said:
I know the competition wasn't as good but I was actually more impressed with this team than the WJSS team from last month. I can see a whole lot of players from this team make the final WJC roster, especially the forwards. Holmberg, Södergran, Höglander and Petersson would probably make my team if the tournament was played next week. A couple more would be on the bubble.
Click to expand...

I actually agree with this, a lot of these guys looked sharper than some of the locks in the WJSS. Holmberg, Leufvenius, Hugg, and Södergran deserve heavy consideration, as does Höglander. That said, the WJSS was in the middle of the summer, so naturally some players would not have been in playing shape at that time.
 
VictorLustig said:
I don't know your definition of dominant but Leufvenius wasn't noticeable at all until the 3rd period. Had a couple of assists but also a really bad turnover on one of the Czech goals. Way too slow for my liking, won't be effective at all when the competition gets better.
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I thought Leufvenius looked good against the Czechs. We’ll have to agree to disagree.
 
Elvenes hasn't been returned to Rogle yet and he didn't play the first preseason game. I thought he'd get a preseason game in and go back to the SHL since he's already missed the season opener.
Is there a chance he's looking to play in the AHL this year?

edit: returned to Rogle today
 
Last edited:
Sandin played his first pre-season (NHL) game last night and looked very good. Super impressed.

He was paired with Liljegren and they had some chemistry.
 
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