With the World Championship tournament starting this weekend, Freelance writer and Off The Post author Risto Pakarinen has preview of Sweden and their coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson on the IIHF web site.
Coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson was hailed as a hockey genius in 2006 when he took his team to both the Olympic and the World Championship gold. Last season, Tre Kronor finished fourth, and this season, the wins have been far and apart. To be exact, Sweden won only three of its 12 games in the Euro Hockey Tour, and was pounded by Team USA in a pre-WC exhibition game.
That’s why it’s a nervous Team Sweden that’s entering the tournament even if Gustafsson knows how to build a team, and how to make it gel during the first stage of the tournament. However, having 25 NHLers say “nej, tack”, or “no, thanks” to the national team stings.
Who would have thought that Team Sweden enters the tournament with 11 forwards from the Swedish Elite Leage on its roster? The five best Swedish scorers in the NHL - Zetterberg, Alfredsson, Sundin, Sedin, Sedin - were all unavailable. Number Six, Nicklas Backstrom, is centering Team Sweden’s first line.
Visit the IIHF web site to read the rest of Pakarinen’s article, “Tough time for Gustafsson”.
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