Erik Karlsson (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Team Sweden will have the most Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2026 Winter Olympics next month in Milan and Cortina, Italy. Defenseman Erik Karlsson and forward Rickard Rakell were named to the team on Friday.
No other team in the tournament has two Penguins.
Karlsson, 35, a future Hall of Famer who reached 900 career points Thursday in the Penguins’ win over Detroit, was not among the first six players named to Team Sweden in June. He made it clear during training camp that he was using that as motivation for this season.
He has three goals, 30 points in 39 games this season.
A three-time Norris Trophy winner, Karlsson will be participating in his second Olympics. He and Sweden won the silver medal in 2014.
“It’s a huge honor. It’s great. I’m very happy, excited, and I’ve been looking forward to it,” Karlsson said after practice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
“I missed two of them” when the NHL opted out. … “Just happy that it’s back on and, hopefully, it stays this way for the younger generation and we don’t (have) to miss another one because it’s a very special thing to be a part of.”
Rakell, 32, is coming off a 35-goal season in 2024-25. This season he missed time because of wrist surgery. He has four goals, 13 points in 19 games. This will be his first Olympics.
“It’s a dream come true for me,” Rakell said. “I couldn’t be more excited.”
The full Team Sweden roster:
Forwards — Jesper Bratt, New Jersey; Leo Carlsson, Anaheim; Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota; Filip Forsberg, Nashville; Pontus Holmberg, Tampa Bay; Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles; Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado; Elias Lindholm, Boston; William Nylander, Toronto; Elias Pettersson, Vancouver; Rickard Rakell, Pittsburgh; Lucas Raymond, Detroit; Alexander Wennberg, San Jose; Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers.
Defensemen — Rasmus Andersson, Calgary; Philip Broberg, St. Louis; Jonas Brodin, Minnesota; Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Toronto; Gustav Forsling, Florida; Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay; Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh.
Goaltenders — Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota; Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey; Jesper Wallstedt, Minnesota.
Tags: erik karlsson Pittsburgh Penguins Rickard Rakell Shelly Anderson
Categorized: Olympics