Swede Dreams: Tre Kronor’s Juniors Shoot for 2007 Gold

Originally published in Prospects Hockey in 2006

By Lucas Aykroyd

Canada clearly ruled the hockey world from 2002 to 2005, holding every major title early in the latter year (Olympics, World Cup, World Championship, and World Juniors). However, it’s equally clear that 2006 belonged to Sweden. Even though Brent Sutter’s Canadian World Junior team earned gold in front of ecstatic Vancouver crowds, the senior-level Swedes stole the headlines by first edging Finland for the Olympic crown in Turin, Italy and then blanking the Czech Republic in the deciding game of the World Championship in Riga, Latvia just under three months later.

Now, although there’s no future World Cup scheduled, Sweden is hoping to monopolize the three major men’s IIHF titles just like Canada did, by winning another gold medal at the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship. The tournament will take place in the central Swedish cities of Leksand and Mora, and the pressure is on to deliver on home ice.

Or is it? You can look at that issue two ways.

First, in pure hockey terms, it’s amazing and disgraceful that Scandinavia’s largest nation hasn’t captured a medal at the World Juniors since 1996 (silver) and hasn’t won gold since 1981. Everyone knows how good the Swedes are. Their top NHL players are among the game’s absolute elite, from Mats Sundin (Toronto) and Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa) to Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit) and Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers).

Tre Kronor just hasn’t been able to get it together in international junior competition, which has sometimes been ascribed to over-reliance on programmatic defensive systems. “Depth is a problem, and there are no goaltenders at the level that Finland produces, for instance,” adds Swedish hockey writer Peter Westermark. “In previous years when Sweden hosted the World Juniors, there have been big lines, like the 1993 combo of Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund, and Niklas Sundstrom, or the 2000 unit with the Sedin twins. But Sweden still didn’t win those tournaments.”

From another point of view, though, this year’s U20 Swedish squad won’t face too much pressure and scrutiny. It might be hard for Canadian fans to understand, considering the excitement from Vancouver to Halifax when TSN televises Canada’s WJC action, but in Sweden, even elite junior hockey doesn’t get that kind of attention. The general attitude is something like, “These are just kids: let us know when they graduate to the big leagues.” There is no domestic TV coverage of the World Juniors, and only a few articles appear in the mainstream press. The Swedish Elite League, like the NHL, doesn’t suspend play while the tournament’s on, so many puck aficionados there stay focused on the latest exploits of clubs like Djurgarden and Farjestad.

Yet regardless of who’s watching, the Swedes still have a job to do under hard-driving head coach Torgny Bendelin. Led by returning stars like Nicklas Backstrom (Washington’s #4 overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft) and Freddie Pettersson (an Edmonton prospect who finished third in Calgary Hitmen scoring last year), they’ll try to weather stiff challenges from nations like Canada, the USA, and Russia.

There just won’t be even as much star power as on Sweden’s last two silver medal-winning entries, when Kenny Jonsson and Niklas Sundstrom (1994) and Mattias Ohlund and Johan Davidsson (1996) were named tournament all-stars.

In goal, Jhonas Enroth of Sodertalje could carry the load, but the diminutive 18-year-old’s acrobatic performance may be undercut by his lack of previous World Junior experience. On a similar note, none of the seven defensemen from last year’s team will be returnees.

Beyond the Forsberg-like toughness and playmaking of Nicklas Backstrom, there’ll be a workmanlike group of forwards that must buy into Bendelin’s game plan to have any chance of success. Viktor Sjodin, a hard-hitting product of the Vasteras junior program, is a typical example of a guy who could get into that mix if he steps up in his rookie WHL season with the Portland Winter Hawks.

The physical 18-year-old winger is a 2006 seventh-round pick of the Nashville Predators, and his personal approach toward cracking the World Junior roster mirrors that of many Swedish U20 hopefuls: “I just have to play my game and do it better than I did in Sweden last year. I want to get better in all areas and score some points too. That way I might get a chance for the tryouts in December.”

Tre Kronor has finished one place higher at each of the last three WJC tournaments, although peaking at fifth in 2006 is nothing to brag about. What game plan will Bendelin inculcate this year? “I think we’re trying to play more and more physically in Swedish hockey, a bit closer to the North American style,” says Sjodin. “But we still want to keep the skill level high with the stickhandling and stuff. It’ll be a complete game.”

But will it be as complete as the 1981 team’s golden performance? That’s dubious. Incredibly, this was so long ago that Sweden’s triumph came in a country that no longer exists (West Germany), and its only squandered point in five games came in a 3-3 tie with another now-defunct nation (Czechoslovakia).

IIHF Media Relations Manager Szymon Szemberg, a Gothenburg native, shares his memories of that roster: “The funny thing is that goalie Lars Eriksson and defenseman Hakan Nordin, the best players on the ’81 team, never went on to become major stars, only solid regulars. Nordin’s defense partner, Roger Hagglund, had endless potential, but he never could decide whether he was a defenseman or forward, and that ruined his career. He thought he was Bobby Orr. The Sundstrom brothers, Patrik and Peter, went on to good NHL careers, especially Patrik. Michael Thelven, Peter Andersson, and Jan Erixon were all respectable performers, while Jens Ohling was a giant in the Swedish Elite League with Djurgarden. Overall, about 10 players went on to have good pro careers in the NHL or Europe, and that’s not bad for a single junior class.”

For many members of the 2007 Swedish U20 class, however, this may be their one shot at glory. If they can dethrone Canada, the Three Crowns will shine as brightly as they ever have in international hockey.

Tre Kronor’s Troubles

Since the 1990’s, Sweden has never been better than a bridesmaid at the World Juniors. Here’s a run-down of recent results:

1990: Fifth
1991: Sixth
1992: Silver
1993: Silver
1994: Silver
1995: Bronze
1996: Silver
1997: Eighth
1998: Sixth
1999: Fourth
2000: Fifth
2001: Fourth
2002: Sixth
2003: Eighth
2004: Seventh
2005: Sixth
2006: Fifth