Gangneung 2017: Sweden team preview
Can the newly promoted Swedish team claim their first medal on the world stage since 2004 at the World Para Ice Hockey Championships? 31 Mar 2017Having been promoted to the A-Pool in 2015, Sweden will be keen to capitalise on the opportunity to advance directly to the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games when they line-up in Gangneung, South Korea.
With a top five finish at the Gangneung 2017 World Para Ice Hockey Championships they could do just that. However they will face teams such as South Korea, who beat the Swedish team to gold at the 2015 Worlds B-Pool to also secure promotion.
The team’s five-time Paralympian Niklas Ingvarsson was named Best Defenceman at that tournament, leading all players at his position with seven goals and 10 points.
At the time he commented that Sweden’s upturn in form was the result of a larger team and many new players. Indeed it was the first time they played with two lines during all their games.
Goran Karlsson and Martin Magnevill will make their major Championships debut in Gangneung whilst 20-year-old forward Axel Filip Silvstrand Olsson will also compete.
The country is looking to end a drought, having not won a medal at a Paralympics or World Championships A-Pool since they took bronze on the world stage in 2004.
As well as star forward Per Kasperi, keep an eye on defender Christian Hedberg who has settled in very well since making his Paralympic debut in 2014.
Rosters
Forwards
No. 7 - Goran Karlsson
No. 8 - Per Kasperi
No. 9 - Martin Magnevill
No 10 - Robin Meng
No. 6 - Peter Nilsson
No. 18 - Peter Ojala
No. 20 - Niklas Rakos
No. 2 - Axel Filip Silvstrand Olsson
Defenders
No. 15 - Christian Hedberg
No. 21 - Marcus Holm
No. 3 - Niklas Ingvarsson
No. 4 - Rasmus Isaksson
No. 11 - Rasmus Lundgren
Goaltenders
No. 84 - Andreas Neuman
No. 5 - Ulf Nilsson
Live coverage and the game schedule of the 2017 World Para Ice Hockey Championships, running from 11-20 April, is available at Gangneung2017.com.
Gangneung 2017 also doubles as the Test Event for the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. All games will be played at the Gangneung Hockey Centre.