Photo: Bildbyrån
The Four Nations is less than a month away.
Union captain Sam Hallam now addresses the criticism he has received regarding the squad selection for the tournament. He says, among other things, that he is happy that poked Rickard Rakell is in the shape of his life.
– No, it doesn’t hurt that things are going very well for Rickard, he says to Sportbladet.
Sweden faces Finland, the USA and Canada in the four-team Four Nations tournament, which begins on February 12 and ends with a final between the two best national teams on February 20. Because the tournament is hosted by the NHL, replacing the league’s All Stars weekend this year, the squads are packed with NHL stars.
Sam Hallam defends his decision
Of course, there has been lively discussion about which players have been selected for each team. A player who was poked by the Swedish national team captain Sam Hallam was the Pittsburgh forward Richard Rakell31. After being told he would not make the team, despite performing above expectations for his club so far this year, Rakell has been even better. Something Hallam got a lot of crap for over in North America. The NHL fans have asked themselves how Sweden can dump such an in-form player.
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– No, it doesn’t hurt that things are going very well for Rickard. It’s just fun. He was of course not very happy when we informed him of our decision at the end of November. Maybe it has given him a few percent more and if so we are happy about it. Things can happen and he and others who excelled have now given themselves a good chance to break into the squad if we get injuries, says Hallam to Sportbladet.
Sam Hallam is ready for the Four Nations
The national team captain is satisfied with his squad, despite the fact that some of the players he has selected to represent Tre Kronor have not been able to play this season. Hallam says he is not worried about some showing weaker form at the moment.
– No. Or…both and. Some players have struggled a bit. It could be that the team went poorly, that they had a poor distribution of points and that there were problems with injuries. But I hope you see the Four Nations as a way to break everyday life. You get to come to a completely new team and let go of what has been, and if you had a difficult start, you can perhaps use this tournament as a way to turn the season around, he says.
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Sam Hallam notes that it feels like it’s time to make up with the other national teams now. He is ready and thinks that the right feeling is already in place for the tournament.
– That’s it. When you sneak into the dressing rooms, you notice that there are some Canadians in one corner and Americans in the other and then us, and everyone is talking about the same thing. It is clear that everyone is longing to get there now, he says.
How do you think it will go for Sweden in the Four Nations? Feel free to comment what you think about our chances of winning the tournament.
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