Via Aftonbladet’s Mattias Karlsson, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association named its preliminary World Junior Championship team this morning, naming 34 players to what will eventually be a 25-man roster.
Red Wings prospects Lucas Raymond (Frolunda), Albert Johansson (Farjestad), William Wallinder (MODO), Albin Grewe (Djurgarden), Theodor Niederbach (Frolunda) and Elmer Soderblom (Frolunda) [edit: and Gustav Berglund (Vasteras) /end edit] were all named to the team.
The team will gather in Sundsvall on December 7th to begin their training camp, and they head to Edmonton to enter the Canadian “bubble” on December 14th. The World Junior Championship begins on December 25th.
Update: Soderblom, who’s been bothered by a foot injury, tells Rakapuckar.com’s Henrik Leman that he’s going to be good to go for the WJC camp.
Update #2: Via Kukla’s Korner, here’s NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale on the Swedish team:
Lucas Raymond, selected by the Detroit Red Wings with the No. 4 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, is one of six first-round NHL draft picks named to the Sweden National Junior Team preliminary roster for the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
The tournament is scheduled to be held Dec. 25-Jan. 5 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, with no fans in the building and in a secure zone similar to what the NHL used for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Teams are scheduled to arrive in Edmonton on Dec. 13.
Sweden’s camp, which includes 34 players, will take place in a secure zone in Sundsvall, Sweden, from Dec. 6-13. Nine players will be released before the team travels to Edmonton on Dec. 13. Sweden will play two exhibition games, against Canada on Dec. 21 and Switzerland on Dec. 22.
Raymond (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) has scored 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 21 games this season with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League. The 18-year-old right-handed shot scored four points (two goals, two assists) in seven games to help Sweden to a third-place finish at the 2020 World Junior Championship.
