After Hockey Canada and USA Hockey announced their preliminary rosters for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship on Monday, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association today announced their initial 24-player roster for the tournament. As always, this year’s iteration of the WJC kicks off on Dec. 26 and will be held in Ottawa.
Coached by Magnus Hävelid for the third year in a row, nine players are returning from the team that went 3-0-1 in group play last season and lost the gold medal game to the United States. Some of last year’s top-end talent, such as Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki, have aged out, but four of their top six scorers from the 2024 tournament are back as Sweden looks for a medal for the third time in the last four years.
The squad’s strong suit will be its defense, headlined by a trio of 2023 first-round picks in Theo Lindstein, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Tom Willander. All were spectacular for Tre Kronor in 2024, and with another year of development and experience under their belt, will be relied upon even more.
Sweden is light on first-rounders up front, only boasting two, but pencil in the youngest player on the team as a third. 18-year-old left-winger Victor Eklund has made the team and is widely projected to be a top-15 selection in the 2025 draft class, following in the footsteps of older brother William Eklund. He has 15 points (8 G, 7 A) in 20 games for Djurgårdens IF this season in HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier professional league.
The Swedes also don’t have a clear-cut starter between the pipes, but that’s due to having three good options rather than a few mediocre ones. Utah’s Melker Thelin is the only returnee from last year’s tournament, and while he’s done well with a 7-1-0 record and .914 SV% in eight HockeyAllvenskan games this season, the Islanders’ Marcus Gidlöf has a .915 SV% and 2.10 GAA in top-level SHL action for Leksands IF and has a solid shot at starting games. The Blue Jackets’ Melvin Strahl has been strong stateside, logging a .911 SV% in 15 appearances for the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms.
The most notable omission is 17-year-old center Anton Frondell, who plays with Eklund with Djurgården and is widely expected to go a few spots ahead of him in next year’s draft. He’s failed to make the offensive impact his counterpart has this season, though, with only a goal and two assists in seven games.
The full roster, which features only a few non-NHL affiliated talents, is here:
F Dennis Altörn (undrafted in 2023, 2024)
F Jack Berglund (Flyers, 2024, 2-51)
F David Edstrom (Predators, 2023, 1-32)*
F Victor Eklund (2025 draft-eligible)
F Linus Eriksson (Panthers, 2024, 2-58)
F Zeb Forsfjäll (Kraken, 2023, 6-180)
F David Granberg (undrafted in 2023, 2024)
F Isac Hedqvist (undrafted in 2023, 2024)
F Felix Nilsson (Predators, 2023, 2-43)
F Otto Stenberg (Blues, 2023, 1-25)
F Herman Träff (Devils, 2024, 3-91)
F Felix Unger Sörum (Hurricanes, 2023, 2-62)
F Anton Wahlberg (Sabres, 2023, 2-39)
F Oskar Vuollet (Hurricanes, 2024, 5-133)
D Rasmus Bergqvist (Canadiens, 2024, 7-224)
D Viggo Gustafsson (Predators, 2024, 3-77)
D Wilhelm Hallquisth (undrafted in 2023, 2024)
D Axel Hurtig (Flames, 2023, 7-208)
D Theo Lindstein (Blues, 2023, 1-29)
D Axel Sandin-Pellikka (Red Wings, 2023, 1-17)
D Tom Willander (Canucks, 2023, 1-11)
G Marcus Gidlöf (Islanders, 2024, 5-147)
G Melvin Strahl (Blue Jackets, 2023, 5-156)
G Melker Thelin (Coyotes/Utah, 2023, 5-134)
*The Golden Knights drafted Edstrom before trading him to the Sharks, who subsequently dealt him to the Predators.