As Frank Seravalli tweeted on Friday morning, “Salt in the wound for #Oilers fans: Philip Broberg makes Team Sweden Olympic roster over Mattias Ekholm.” It’s a somewhat surprising decision, given Ekholm’s history of international play for Sweden. This may be a harsh statement given that the rest will do Ekholm good, but it’s still going to be a disappointment for the Oilers’ d-man.
Broberg is a talented young defenseman. He’s a big part of the plans for the St. Louis Blues and arguably a solid top-four blueliner in the NHL after taking some time to find his rhythm. Ekholm is a veteran of 925 NHL games.
Broberg has earned it. He’s been a true workhorse for the Blues since being taken by the team in an offer sheet from the Oilers. He’s come into his own as a Blue, handling just about any role they ask of him and doing it without issue, all while logging 22–25 minutes a night.
Oilers Mattias Ekholm: NHL Trade Talk
Team Sweden did choose older players, so it’s not necessarily about the team going younger. Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been named to the roster for the Olympic Winter Games and he’s 34 years old.
Full Team Sweden Roster
Goalies: Filip Gustavsson, Jacob Markstrom, Jesper Wallstedt
Defensemen: Rasmus Andersson, Philip Broberg, Jonas Brodin, Rasmus Dahlin, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Gustav Forsling, Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson
Forwards: Jesper Bratt, Leo Carlsson, Joel Eriksson Ek, Filip Forsberg, Pontus Holmberg, Adrian Kempe, Gabriel Landeskog, Elias Lindholm, William Nylander, Elias Pettersson, Rickard Rakell, Lucas Raymond, Alex Wennberg, MIka Zibanejad
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