The runner-ups from last year’s World Junior Championship (WJC) are back and ready to change the narrative this time. After coming up short in a blowout in the 2024 finals against the United States, Sweden looks to continue their impressive history of international play and bring home another medal. Taking home a medal three times in the past five years, Sweden, unfortunately, has yet to win the tournament since 2012 and looks to do so this year with some new faces in their roster.
Here is the projected roster of forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders who could make the final cut for the 2025 tournament. Let’s examine which players may return and who might make their first appearance representing the blue and yellow in Ottawa.
Team Sweden’s Forwards
This is what their forward lineup should look like heading into this tournament, with a lot of well-known prospects returning:
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Otto Stenberg | David Edstrom | Felix Unger Sorum |
| Anton Wahlberg | Zeb Forsfjall | Felix Nilsson |
| Oskar Vuollet | Anton Frondell | Victor Eklund |
| Jack Berglund | Linus Eriksson | Herman Traff |
| Hugo Pettersson |
Sweden has plenty of familiar faces returning to help lead the offence up top. The top line is crucial; they have much experience and chemistry together. Otto Stenberg, David Edstrom, and Felix Unger Sorum are highly familiar with each other, and they will likely be relied upon heavily for scoring. Edstrom is now a part of the Nashville Predators organization after initially being drafted by the Golden Knights before being a large part of the San Jose Sharks Thomas Hertl and later being dealt again this past summer as part of the Yaroslav Askarov trade with the Nashville Predators. In Sweden, he has three goals and nine assists for 12 points for Frolunda HC. He is an effective puck distributor, both in the offensive zone and during breakouts. He supports his defensemen down low, reads passing lanes, and covers space while carefully managing puck battles.
Additionally, it’s important to mention that fellow Nashville prospect Felix Nilsson is having a solid start in the Sweden Hockey League (SHL) with one goal and nine assists for 10 points in 15 games. He will be an essential piece with Anton Wahlberg and Zeb Forsfjall. 2023 second-rounder Wahlberg has had a solid start to his season with the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans, with four goals and four assists for eight points.
Their top six will be without some key contributors from the 2024 tournament, most notably Jonathan Lekkerimaki, who led the team in scoring with seven goals and three assists for 10 points. Noah Ostlund was second in team scoring with three goals and seven assists for 10 points and will also be a vital piece missing from this roster.
Related: 2025 World Junior Championship Guide
This is where some of the new additions to the roster show up in the third line. Oskar Vuuollet, Anton Frondell, and Victor Eklund could make for an exciting third-line trio with their offence and defensive capabilities. Vuollet constantly scans and anticipates the flow of play around him, whether knowing when to support a teammate or identifying an opening as a shooter and perfectly timing his entry into that space.
Frondell and Eklund highlight this line as the key players to watch for the upcoming 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Frondell is considered by many to be a top five-to-10 pick and notably the second-best center prospect in the draft behind United States’ James Hagen. Victor Eklund, brother of San Jose Shark William Ekland, is projected to be a top 10-15 pick and one of the best wingers behind Canadians Roger McQueen and Malcolm Spence.
Their bottom line consists of Jack Berglund, Linus Eriksson and Herman Traff. They can be a very physical grinding line that produces very well. With the puck, Berglund is both decisive and patient, able to move the puck quickly or wait for plays to develop before making a decision. Eriksson is adept at recognizing the correct patterns to follow, utilizing his strong physical presence to excel along the boards. He effectively initiates contact to create separation during puck retrievals. Traff forechecks with speed and intensity, consistently hitting opponents and working hard to regain possession. He aggressively drives the puck to the net whenever possible, relying on his size, strength, and mobility in challenging situations.
Team Sweden’s Defense
Sweden is always known for one major thing: their defense, both in team performance and culture. There is no major difference between this year’s defensive pairings and last year’s. Here’s how it should shape up in this year’s tournament:
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
| Theo Lindstein | Axel Sandin Pellikka |
| Noel Fransen | Tom Willander |
| Leo Sahlin Wallenius | Wilhelm Hallquisth |
| Axel Landen |
Sweden has several key returnees from its 2024 silver-medal team on defence. Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Theo Lindstein, and Tom Willander are expected to provide one of the best top-four defensive lineups at this tournament. Sweden’s defensive capabilities, which help lead to offence, will continue to shine this year, with notable players returning for another year.
Lindstein led all defensemen in scoring at last year’s event. He is safe, calm, and skilled with his stick. He makes simple, sound decisions and employs some deception to create openings when necessary. He maintains a good gap and approaches the boards with aggression. He joins the attack and plays solidly with the puck. Sandin-Pellikka is off to a strong start in the SHL, with six goals and 12 assists for 18 points, leading Skelleftea AIK in points and assists. He has strong puck skills, excellent playmaking abilities, a powerful shot, and the ability to navigate the offensive blue line effectively. These qualities make him a legitimate scoring threat when he has the puck. Additionally, he excels at quickly assessing options and making plays while rushing down the ice.
Willander, the 11th pick in the 2023 draft, offers a two-way game that should allow him to play significant minutes in this tournament. He consistently engages in defensive play, utilizing his dynamic posture and agile footwork to steer attackers away from the center and disrupt plays along the boards. Coupled with his strength and physical prowess, he relentlessly competes for every puck, making him a formidable opponent. Fransén is an offensive defenseman who utilizes his strong skating ability to generate offence during rushes and from the point. His mobility allows him to connect plays effectively from the defensive zone to the offensive zone as he quickly passes, repositions, and attacks gaps. He would pair well with Willander’s two-way game.
Leo Sahlin Wallenius, a second-round pick in the 2024 draft, is a sound puck distributor and an effective in-zone defender. His defensive skating allows him to match opponents’ speed in open space easily, contain them effectively, and make stops along the boards. His constant scanning of the ice enables him to disrupt potential scoring opportunities as they develop. Paired with Wilhelm Hallquisth, they can be another solid two-way pairing on an already deep defensive score that can produce offensively and defend easily.
Team Sweden’s Goaltenders
Sweden takes a hit as their starter last year is not playing this year, but they do have some exciting players who can step up. Here how it could look in 2025:
| Goaltenders |
| Melker Thelin |
| Marcus Gidlof |
| Melvin Strahl |
Sweden’s goaltender situation changes up a bit with some new faces. Hugo Havelid won’t be attending this year, which is a massive subtraction to the team as he finished with a. 915 save percentage (SV%) and 1.77 goals against average (GAA). Still, Sweden will have more-than-capable netminders for this tournament.
The starter should be Melker Thelin, a fifth-round pick in the 2023 draft who was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes, now the Utah Hockey Club. With IF Bjorkloven in the HockeyAllsvenskan league in Sweden, he has a 6-1-0 record, a .909 SV%, and a 2.25 GAA.
As for backup, it’s going to be Marcus Gidlof, a fifth-round pick of the 2024 draft; Gidlöf’s post-integration skills are impressive, and he is notably more reactive in the reverse-VH position than many goaltenders who are under six feet tall. This technique makes him a formidable presence for shooters. He transitions effectively to the top of the crease when pucks are played from behind the net, leaving shooters with very few options. Currently splitting time with Leksands IFJ20 and Leksands IF in the SHL, he has a combined record of 11-1-0.
Sweden has always been a challenging team to compete against in this tournament. Although their forward group may be weaker than teams like Canada and the United States, their defence and goaltending are consistently among the best. They are a well-coached team with a solid offensive and defensive system deeply ingrained in their culture, no matter who they put into their lineup. Look for Sweden to compete for a medal this upcoming year.
