Facts: Three Kronor before the WC
April 12 and 13: Double internationals against Denmark (Vojens, Esbjerg).
April 19 and 20: Double internationals against Norway (Östersund).
April 27 and 29: Doubles matches against Finland (Umeå).
May 4-7: Czech Hockey Games – 4/5 Switzerland (in Gothenburg), 6/5 Czech Republic (Brno), 7/5 Finland (Brno).
May 12-28: WC (Tamperfors/Riga). Sweden meets Germany in the opener on May 12 in Tampere.
No Swedish NHL player has reached the dream limit of 100 points since the 2010–11 season.
That time it gave blue and yellow victory in the points league when Daniel Sedin, Vancouver, was noted for 104 points (41 goals+63 assists). Then the twin brother Henrik Sedin had won the scoring league the season before.
Now two Swedes can reach 100 points in the same season.
Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson stands at 95 points (35+60) and San Jose defender Erik Karlsson at 91 (22+69) with eight games remaining.
No back has reached the 100-point mark in 31 years—the last being Brian Leetch, New York Rangers, in 1991-92.
“Neither boo nor be”
Sam Hallam likes to talk about Elias Pettersson’s and Erik Karlsson’s super seasons.
But not about the hope that they will strengthen Tre Kronor in the WC in Tampere and Riga in May.
— I neither hope nor say much. We have a national team calendar with a gathering in April and then the preparations for the World Cup begin where we will present a squad week by week and then to the World Cup. Until something is ready, we will say neither boo nor beg about anything, says Hallam.
But the contact with the NHL players is there all the time. In addition, Josef Boumedienne, on a regular basis in the NHL club Columbus, is included in the national team organization.
— We have tried to build a good relationship throughout the year and we have Josef who is in place over there and running at players here and there. Above all, he has a good grasp of how they perform and how they are in their teams. Then we follow them from here and have contact with both players and agents, and it may not be pure concrete questions, but to check how the situation is, says Hallam.
Only when the regular season is over on April 14 will the questions about WC games become concrete.
Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson, in white, is just five points away from reaching 100 points. Swedish star team?
With just over two weeks left in the NHL’s regular season, it is clear that Sam Hallam can put together a great team for the WC.
Neither Elias Pettersson’s Vancouver nor Erik Karlsson’s San Jose will reach the playoffs. Rasmus Dahlin’s Buffalo is still in contention, but during the playoff stretch.
More Swedish stars than that may become available for the WC.
Erik Karlsson has not played in Tre Kronor since World Cup 2016 and made his last WC in 2012. He was interested in WC games already last year, but suffered an injury at the end of the season.
As for Elias Pettersson, Sam Hallam knows him well since the successful year in Växjö in 2017–18.
“Fantastically skilled”
Hallam is not surprised by the super seasons of 24-year-old Pettersson and 32-year-old Karlsson.
– No one can be surprised, these are two fantastically skilled offensive players.
During his fifth NHL season, Elias Pettersson has stepped up to a new level, the star level. He has scored more than 20 points more than last year.
— Elias had to enter the season where he had trained really well after having injury problems. It can be seen that he is very well prepared and really in harmony. He already scored 66 points in his rookie season, then I think everyone saw that there was more to come, he says.
Erik Karlsson, twice named the NHL’s best defenseman, is having his best scoring season in his career after several injury-riddled years and has already broken the Swedish scoring record for defensemen.
— Purely in terms of points, it is unparalleled. Then Erik plays a game where he follows along a lot and takes a lot of chances in his game. I think that’s interesting, maybe more of us coaches should look at it and see what it would bring and what more you could get out of players if you gave a little more space, without losing the team mentality in it, says Hallam.
TT: Do they manage 100 points?
— I believe and hope so.