Monthly Archives: May 2025

Hockey News, International

11 NHLers On Swedish Roster At Last Pre-Worlds Tourney

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William Eklund (left) and Alexander Wennberg of the San Jose Sharks. © Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images 

The NHL contingent on the Swedish national team has now risen to 11 as the team approaches its last tune-up before the IIHF World Championship, and that’s the Czech Hockey Games this weekend – the final leg of the 2024-25 Euro Hockey Tour.

In addition to those who played in the NHL this season, the roster this weekend also includes Boston University defenseman Tom Willander, a Vancouver Canucks prospect. It does not include Filip Hållander of Timrå IK, who has been in the team’s camp and recently signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Find the roster below.

“A lot of work remains before the World Championship premiere on May 9 in Stockholm,” said coach Sam Hallam. “Now we are looking forward to having the opportunity to hone our game and come together as a group. It will also be inspiring to work together with (assistant coach) Anders Sörensen and some new players.”

The Swedes play on Thursday night against Switzerland in the Zurich suburb of Kloten, conveniently where the airport is located. The team then flies to Brno, Czechia to face the Czechs on Saturday and Finland on Sunday before heading home to start the Worlds next Friday.

Pastrnak Will Play For Czechs In Worlds, But Not This Weekend In Euro Hockey TourPastrnak Will Play For Czechs In Worlds, But Not This Weekend In Euro Hockey Tour Multiple Czech media outlets reported on Monday that David Pastrňák has finally agreed to play for his home country in this year’s IIHF World Championship. Czech national team GM Jiří Šlégr confirmed the news after the team’s practise.

Goaltenders: Samuel Ersson (Philadelphia Flyers, NHL), Arvid Söderblom (Chicago Blackhawks, NHL), Arvid Holm (Rögle BK).

Defensemen: Rasmus Andersson (Calgary Flames, NHL), Tom Willander (Boston University, NCAA), Adam Larsson (Seattle Kraken, NHL), Gabriel Carlsson (EV Zug, SUI), Marcus Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks, NHL), Tim Heed (HC Ambri-Piotta, SUI), Andreas Borgman (HC Fribourg-Gottéron, SUI), Simon Edvinsson (Detroit Red Wings, NHL).

Forwards: Alexander Wennberg, William Eklund (both San Jose Sharks, NHL), Anton Bengtsson, Felix Nilsson (both Rögle BK, SWE), Isac Lundeström, Leo Carlsson (both Anaheim Ducks, NHL), Max Friberg (Frölunda HC, SWE), Marcus Sörensen (HC Fribourg-Gottéron, SUI), André Petersson (HV 71, SWE), Christoffer Ehn (Linköping HC, SWE), Oscar Lindberg (Skellefteå AIK, SWE), Oskar Steen (Färjestad BK, SWE), Sebastian Hartmann (Timrå IK, SWE), Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers, NHL).

 

USA Names First 18 Players To World Championship RosterUSA Names First 18 Players To World Championship Roster USA Hockey has named the first 18 players to its roster at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, which runs from May 9 to 25 in Stockholm, Sweden and Herning Denmark. The USA plays in Group B in Herning.
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Canadiens: Season Of Progress Comes To An End

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Apr 30, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun (6) scores a goal on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) in the first period in game five of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

This year's objective was for the young Montreal Canadiens to be in the mix and play meaningful hockey in March. That was more than accomplished; in fact, the Habs came one day short of playing meaningful hockey in May, and that’s quite an accomplishment, especially for a team that didn’t get any reinforcements at the trade deadline.

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Montreal was the last team to qualify for the playoffs. However, Martin St-Louis’ men still battled well against the Washington Capitals, especially considering Alexander Ovechkin and co. were the best squad in the Eastern Conference.

Capitalizing On Opportunities

The Habs started game five well; they peppered Logan Thompson with shots but could not find the back of the net. After nine minutes of play, Ovechkin scored on the power play to give the Caps a 1-0 lead, but at that point, shots were 8-2 for Montreal.

In the remaining 11 minutes, the Canadiens only managed one more shot on goal, while Washington found a second lamp lighter to take a 2-0 lead and finish the frame with an 11-9 edge in shots.

Dominating early is a momentum maker unless you capitalize on one of those many shots. Then, they have the opposite effect: They plant the seed of doubt, which eats at you.

It’s Not Over Until It’s Over

Down 3-0 early in the third, the Canadiens didn’t give up. Like they did all year, they worked tirelessly to mount a third-period comeback. Emil Heineman created a spark with his first playoff goal thanks to a nice tip off a puck Joel Armia had put towards the net, and it seemed to send shockwaves through the team’s collective body.

When they finally manage to fix their consistency issue and provide that kind of effort for whole games, the Canadiens will be a force to be reckoned with, especially when more of their young guys graduate to the NHL.

In the end, the Canadiens lost both game five and the series 4-1, but they’ve shown fantastic progress throughout the year, and we’ll have plenty to dissect over the coming months.

It’s not over for the Laval Rocket, though. Pascal Vincent’s men won game one of their series against the Cleveland Monsters 3-2, and they’ll be fun to watch in the coming weeks.

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