View Full Version : Team Sweden - expected lines + news
[originally posted 19 Aug in player dev. thread)
Forsberg is only slowly recovering. Last night, he played an exhibition match for MoDo (5-1 win against Västerås). After the game, Forsberg said that he felt 'ice cold and rusty'. He felt a little better after warming up, but fears another setback. He still follows a rehabilitation program made by the Avalanches' doctors. He says that he did not regret playing in the World Championships (it was only a few days) but he did expect to be fully fit now. He don't know whether he will play the first exhibition match vs Slovakia.
Expressen, 19 August 2004, Forppa: "Jag var lite ringrostig" (Foppa: I felt a bit rusty) (http://expressen.se/index.jsp?a=172115)
According to Aftonbladet, Markus Näslund expects to play for MoDo next season. He has already sold his house in Vancouver and his oldest son has started in school in Örnsköldsvik (hometown of MoDo). Right now, Näslund (and Forsberg) is practising with MoDo. The newspaper (not always trustworthy) quotes Näslund for saying that he and his family are planning for a lockout and that he expects that some of Vancouver's best players will play for MoDo next season.
On the World Cup, Näslund says that Sweden's team is one of the best ever, but winning the world cup will be tough. There are many strong teams.
Aftonposten, 19 August 2004, Näslund planerer för spel i MoDo (Näslund planning to play for MoDo) (http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/sport/story/0,2789,520305,00.html)
According to Expressen, Forsberg and Näslund look forward to be reunited for the first time since WC 1993. Even though they are same age, Forsberg had his NHL breakthrough at a much earlier stage than Näslund (as we all know). Forsberg says that 'it will be tremendously fun [to be reunited]. 'Macke' [Näslund's nickname] has developed enormously as a player and is a fantastic forward". Näslund says that to 'play with Peter is a dream. That holds even if you're a goaltender, back or a forward.
Expressen, 19 August 2004, Återförenade efter elva år (Reunited after eleven years) (http://expressen.se/index.jsp?a=172737)
Forsberg and Näslund will even play in the same line, according to Expressen. Yesterday, the newspaper published the lines that Hardy Nilsson and his assisting coaches (Ulf Dahlen and Johan Garpenlöv) will operate with when the training camp starts. The lineups are of course not official, and it is to some extent unclear whether the newspaper is speculating. But here are the lineups:
Forsberg - Näslund (A) - Påhlsson (or Jörgen Jönsson)
Modin - Sundin (C) - Alfredsson
D. Sedin - Zetterberg - H. Sedin
checking line: Axelsson - Marcus Nilsson - Jönsson
The checking line is very preliminary. Ekman, Johansson or Holmström may fight their way in depending on how they perform in the exhibition games.
Defense:
Lidström (A) - Öhlund
Johnsson - Ragnarsson
Tärnström - Norström
Tjärnqvist - Bäckman
According to Expressen, we should expect few changes here. Only problem is that 5 of the backs usually play on the left, so some of them have to change position.
Goaltending remains a big question. Only the next two weeks will tell whether Lundqvist, Salo or Tellqvist will start in the Swedish net.
Expressen, 18 August 2004, Så ska Tre Kronor vinna World Cup (How Tre Kronor will win the World Cup) (http://expressen.se/index.jsp?a=171960)
Aftonposten more or less talks about the same lines as listed above. During the training sessions a fifth line has been made. The paper does not list this line, but it could be a Ekman - Johansson - Holmström line. Also, it looks like Lidström and Johnsson (instead of Öhlund) will form Sweden's super defense pair. Assisting coach, Ulf Dahlen says that a lot of things can be changed during the exhibition games. Påhlsson is very surprised that he has put in the line with Forsberg and Näslund. He expected to be in the checking line.
Swedens lines acc. to Aftonbladet
1. Modin - Sundin - Alfredsson
2. Forsberg - Påhlsson - Näslund
3. Zetterberg- H. Sedin - D. Sedin
4. Axelsson - Jönsson - Nilson
reserves: Holmström, Johansson, Ekman. Don't count these guys out. Holmström is a useful slot player in PP, and Johansson seldom plays a bad national cap).
Lidström - Johnsson (very offensive pair; will probably be first pair in PP)
Norström - Ragnarsson (Most defensive pair; probably first pair in PP killing)
Öhlund - Tjärnqvist (very stable pair which seldom makes any mistake. Öhlund speaks for himself, Tjärnqvist is Hardy Nilssons favorite Dman)
Tärnström - Bäckman (Tärnström is Swedens highest scoring Dman in NHL. He is useful in PP, but the competition will be tough).
Aftonbladet, 21 August, Påhlsson: Jeg blev chockad över kedjorne (Påhlsson: I was chocked about the lines (http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/sport/story/0,2789,521030,00.html)
Hmm...I must say that the lineups look good...and team as whole looks very dangerous from my point of view.
Just a few notes on SVK vs SWE 0-2
• Sweden won its first exhibition game. As expected the team did not play convincing at this stage, but all in all Hardy Nilsson was satisfied with its performance.
• The Sedin-Sedin-Zetterberg line was Sweden's best line. Forsberg did not play and was replaced by Andreas Johansson. As usual Mats Sundin appeared slow and rusty at this stage.
• Tellqvist was solid in the net with a number of great saves. He was overrun a couple of times but rebounded quickly. He is indeed a contender to the first choice goalie. Lundqvist and Salo will get a chance to prove their worth in the next games vs Czech Rep and Finland.
Forsberg is making big improvements. He was very active in last night's training pass and says that he's feeling better and better. It will be decided today whether he will play tomorrow against Finland.
Dick Tärnström has a minor knee injury. He stopped after 10 min last night, and wont play tomorrow.
Goalie 1st choice: Most Swedish observers believe that Salo will be the first choice, simply because he's the most experienced goaltender.
Aftonbladets evaluation of the players performance against Slovakia
(1 to 5 stars):
Goaltenders
Mikael Tellquvist: ***. Did what he was supposed to do, and then some...
First line
Nicklas Lidström: ***. Very active in PP and made no mistakes
Kim Johnsson: ***. made an 'indian' in own zone, but otherwise solid
Fredrik Modin: **. Started out good, but then disappeared
Mats Sundin: ***. Looked a bit rusty in the beginning, but then proved his class. Strong performance in the third period.
Daniel Alfredsson:***. Skated a lot, and hit the post once. Became better and better as the game progressed.
Second line
Mattias Norström: **** Very impressive performance
Markus Ragnarsson:***. Very solid
Andreas Johansson: **. Replaced Forsberg. Can play better than this.
Samuel Påhlsson: **. Worked a lot, but this line did not click tonight
Markus Näslund: ** Very cool when he scored to 2-0. Otherwise anynomous. Need more time
Third line
Matthias Öhlund: ****. Best player alongide Notan (Norström). Made some memorable checkings.
Daniel Tjärnqvist: ***. Needs to score more goals with his shots
Henrik Zetterberg: ****. Best forward. Looks good with the Sedin twins
Henrik Sedin: **. Made two major mistakes in own zone which could have been costly.
Daniel Sedin: ***. Scored to 1-0. That he has become stronger is obvious.
Fourth line
Marcus Nilsson: **. Started good, but quickly disappeared
Jörgen Jönsson: ***. Was a workhorse when Sweden played shorthanded. His offensive play needs to improve.
PJ Axelsson: ** Skated a lot, but didn't achieve much.
Did not play: Backman, Tärnstrom, Ekman, Forsberg, Holmstrom, Salo, Lundqvist.
(this post has been slightly revised from its first ed.)
Forsberg has been cleared to play against Finland tomorrow night. The decision was taken after today's practise. Forsberg's abdominal injury has of course not completely healed, but he has made great progress in the past few days. He has been adviced to take it easy, so don't expect him to play more than max. 15 minutes.
svt.se, 24 August, Magmuskeln inget hinder för Forsberg (http://svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=6884&a=246252)
Web tv from Sweden's camp in Globen. Click 'Forsberg ser bättre ut':
http://www.aftonbladet.se/ettor/webb/543_normal.html
P.S. the guy interviewed is only a journalist from Aftonbladet. He follows the training passes every day. Apart from saying that Forsberg is looking better and better, he says that
• 1) Sweden is practising a lot of powerplay since this is a key to World Cup succes. More interestingly, the coaches are trying to see how this super PP line works: Forsberg - Sundin - Näslund - Lidström - Holmström. On paper arguably the best PP line Sweden has ever had, but lets see how it works in the flesh.
2) the goalies are coached very hard since this is another key to success. In such a short tournament, a hot goalie can carry a team very long way.
Today, Sweden practised some new line combinations:
Sundin - Axelsson - Alfredsson
Forsberg - Näslund - Jönsson
Zetterberg - Sedin - Sedin
Homström - Påhlsson - Nilsson
(Ekman, Johansson, Modin)
Lidström & Bäckman
Norström & Ragnarsson
Öhlund & Tjärnqvist
did not participate due to injuries: Tärnström, Johnson.
Let's see whether they will used in the game tomorrow night.
More on Forsberg's injury
According to Aftonbladet, Forsberg made his own decision that he is ready to play. His abdominal injury is not 100% healed, but Forsberg reckons that he will not get worse if he plays. He feels that now is the right time to start playing; otherwise he might not be in shape when the World Cup starts. Yesterday, Forsberg had a brief talk with the team's physician, Lennart Hovelius. The decision was made quickly: "Let's go. At one point you need to get started and the game versus Finland is the right time", Forsberg said. "It would be stupid if I took any chances. No, I feel this is the right time. Everything has worked out fine at the last training sessions". Lennart Hovelius admits that he doesn't completely know the status of Forsberg's injury, but that he trust Foppa's judgement. "It would have been best if Forsberg rested for the rest of the season (!), but at one point you need to start, and it feels like he (Forsberg) is ready".
source: Aftonbladet, 25 August,'Nu kör vi' (Let's go) (http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/sport/story/0,2789,523236,00.html)
Expected lines tonight
Alfredsson - Sundin - Axelsson / Johnsson - Lidström
Näslund - Jönsson - Forsberg / Norström - Ragnarsson
D. Sedin - H. Sedin - Zetterberg / Öhlund - Tjärnqvist
Nilson - Påhlsson - Holmström
Still no wording on who will start in the net. It will either be Lundqvst or Salo
Healthy scratches: Bäckman, Johansson, Ekman, Modin
injury: Tärnström
source: Metro-Express, Stockholm, 25 August, "Foppa" ska sänka Finland
The game will be broadcasted live on TV3 Sweden, and Viasat 1 in Norway and Denmark.
I forgot to add the two PP formations:
Sundin - Holmström - Forsberg- Näslund - Lidström
Alfredsson - D. Sedin - Zetterberg - H. Sedin - Johnsson
Sundin and Alfredsson assume the roles of playmakers. Johnsson may be replaced by Tärnström or Öhlund.
With these PP formations, don't expect Sweden to make much use of shots from the blue line. Instead there will be lots of action in front of the net. In PP1, Forsberg will have the Gretzky role behind the net or parallel with the net, and attempt to grab the loose pucks. Holmström will do the infighting, and Näslund is expected to put away the passes from Sundin and Forsberg.
The goalie question: Still anyone's guess. Lundqvist is clearly the most ambitious among the three. Yesterday, he worked very hard and stayed long after Salo had left the ice.
Source: Expressen, 25 august, Inget flams, ingen glidning och full uppmärksamhet (http://expressen.se/expressen/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=175654)
with illustrations of how the PPs work.
......
With these PP formations, don't expect Sweden to make much use of shots from the blue line. Instead there will be lots of action in front of the net. In PP1, Forsberg will have the Gretzky role behind the net or parallel with the net, and attempt to grab the loose pucks. Holmström will do the infighting, and Näslund is expected to put away the passes from Sundin and Forsberg.....
With that formation, who is going to quaterback the powerplay next to Lidström? Has Sundin played on the point before (sorry, I try to avoid Leafs' games :cool: )
With that formation, who is going to quaterback the powerplay next to Lidström? Has Sundin played on the point before (sorry, I try to avoid Leafs' games :cool: )
In principle, Näslund (H. Sedin in PP2) plays this role, but the PP formations are flexible. In reality the roles alternates between Näslund and Sundin (H. Sedin and Alfredsson).
Sweden had 3 PPs in the 2nd period, and they work the way I've described. Sweden totally dominanted the 2nd period, but Kiprusoff is hot. Still FIN 1, SWE 0.
Forsberg will miss the next exhib match vs Czech Rep. Forsberg has a sore right foot (permanent problem) and needs a pair of tailormade skates. Tomorrow, Forsberg travels to Ottawa to get them made by a specialist.
Source: Expressen, Aftonposten.
Tellqvist first choice
Acc. to Expressen, Hardy Nilsson has made his decision. Tellqvist will be Sweden's first goalie in World Cup, while Lundqvist will have to watch the games undressed (if you know what I mean :smart: ).
Expressen, 27 August, ”Tellan” petar Salo i World Cup (http://expressen.se/expressen/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=176864)
Expressen, 27 August, Lundqvist får se World Cup från läktaren (http://expressen.se/expressen/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=176866)
Forsberg in Canada
Forsberg landed in Montreal last night (CET) and went straight to Bauer's skate factory to get a foot print made for his tailor made skates. He will return to Sweden shortly with the new skates.
Expressen, 27 August, I natt började tillverkningen av specialskridskon (http://expressen.se/expressen/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=176819)
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