Sweden projected lines for Olympics by NHL.com

The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 men's hockey tournament starts Wednesday.

The tournament, the first with NHL players since the 2014 Sochi Olympics, will feature all 12 teams playing three preliminary games in their respective groups, then all 12 moving on to a single-elimination playoff that will conclude with the gold medal game Feb. 22.

Team Sweden, which is in Group B, will open against Team Italy on Feb. 11 (3:10 p.m. ET; Peacock, USA, CBC Gem, SN, TSN, CBC), then play Team Finland on Feb. 13 and Team Slovakia on Feb. 14.

Though Sweden announced its roster Jan. 2, NHL.com is taking it a step further, taking our shot at what some countries' forward lines, defense pairs and goalie depth chart should look like.

Today, NHL.com senior writers Amalie Benjamin and Tom Gulitti play coach of Team Finland with their projected lines:

Forwards

Jesper Bratt -- Mika Zibanejad -- William Nylander

Filip Forsberg -- Elias Pettersson -- Lucas Raymond

Adrian Kempe -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Rickard Rakell

Gabriel Landeskog -- Elias Lindholm -- Alexander Wennberg

Pontus Holmberg

Marcus Johansson

There’s a big change since we last did the lines for Sweden: Leo Carlsson of the Anaheim Ducks has been replaced on the roster by Johansson of the Minnesota Wild because of a thigh injury. The absence of the superstar-in-the-making on Sweden’s first line makes a difference in our predictions, pushing veteran Zibanejad from third-line wing to first line center, where he will be reunited with Bratt and Nylander, with whom he played at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Returning that entire first line from the 4 Nations provides some continuity that should be welcomed on Team Sweden. Nylander has looked good since returning Jan. 31 after missing two weeks with a groin injury, with four points (one goal, three assists) in his past two games. Lucas Raymond gets second-line duty with Forsberg and Pettersson, who also were paired at the 4 Nations, making for an excellent second line. It’s one of the benefits of the depth that Sweden coach Sam Hallam has with his multitalented forwards. That leaves a strong, veteran third line of Kempe, Eriksson Ek and Rakell, though Landeskog, the Colorado Avalanche captain, could easily jump up to that line as well; he has been out since Jan. 4 with an upper-body injury but said Wednesday he is “pretty confident” he’ll be ready to go for the Olympics. -- Benjamin

Defensemen

Victor Hedman -- Rasmus Dahlin

Gustav Forsling -- Erik Karlsson

Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Rasmus Andersson

Philip Broberg

Hampus Lindholm

There was good news and bad news for Sweden’s defensemen on the injury front leading up to the NHL’s Olympic break. On the positive side, Hedman, the 2017-18 Norris Trophy winner and a six-time finalist for the award given to the NHL’s top defenseman, returned to the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup after recovering from Dec. 15 elbow surgery, as hoped, and is ready to go for the start of the Olympics. Unfortunately, Jonas Brodin of the Wild will miss the tournament after having surgery for a lingering lower-body injury. This position remains a strength for Sweden, though, with Lindholm of the Bruins being selected as Brodin’s replacement. Karlsson and Andersson remain the only right-handed shots in the group, so at least one lefty will have to play on his off side. Dahlin plays regularly on the right side of the Buffalo Sabres’ top pair and should be good fit there alongside Hedman. Playing with Forsling at the 4 Nations Face-Off brought out the best in Karlsson, a three-time Norris winner (2011-12, 2014-15, 2022-23), so keeping that pair together makes sense. Ekman-Larsson and Andersson each can bring some offense to the third pair. Ekman-Larsson also has experience playing on the right side, so he’s another option to do it at Milano Cortina. -- Gulitti

Goalies

Filip Gustavsson

Jacob Markstrom

Jesper Wallstedt

Gustavsson has established himself as the favorite to start Sweden’s Olympic opener against Italy on Feb. 11 with a strong season with the Wild. After a slow start, he is 18-3-5 with a 2.39 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and two shutouts dating to Nov. 1. Wallstedt, a 23-year-old rookie, pushed Gustavsson for playing time in Minnesota by going 8-0-2 with a 1.74 GAA, .944 save percentage and four shutouts in his first 10 starts, but is 6-5-2 with a 3.51 GAA and .891 save percentage dating to Dec. 6. Although Markstrom has been inconsistent this season with the New Jersey Devils (15-13-1, 3.20 GAA, .882 save percentage), he brings valuable experience from 16 seasons in the NHL. -- Gulitti