Mar 29, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Pontus Holmberg (29) warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena

Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

A former Toronto Maple Leafs forward is grabbing attention and surprise after a major honor.

Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Pontus Holmberg was named to Sweden’s Olympic roster for the 2026 Olympics, officially announced earlier today as one of the 25 players named to the team.

Holmberg makes the Swedish team that includes current Leaf William Nylander alongside stars in Elias Pettersson, Rasmus Dahlin, and Victor Hedman.

Holmberg, a sixth round draft pick of the Leafs in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, spent three seasons with Toronto before signing as a free agent in the offseason with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

This season for Tampa Bay, Holmberg has six goals and 12 points in 33 games for the Lightning as a bottom-six forward, making his inclusion on the Swedish roster somewhat of a surprise to some.

Pontus Holmberg’s addition to Team Sweden comes as a surprise

The addition of Pontus Holmberg to Sweden’s Olympics team has surprised some as his addition was an unexpected one, including some surprise from Leafs fans seeing their former player make the team.

Multiple offensive forwards were omissions from the Swedish roster, including some key point producers in William Eklund and Marcus Johansson, as well as defensively reliable forwards such as Mikael Backlund.

Holmberg is less offensively minded than the rest of the Swedish roster, but is one of their best defensive players and a strong faceoff taker who has versatility at both center and on the wing.

Likely to be a 13th or 14th forward for the Swedes, Holmberg might not see much action at the Olympics, but would be able to insert himself anywhere in the lineup in the case of injury.

A player like Eklund being a snub isn’t unique to Sweden, with Canada and the United States having left off talented players such as Connor Bedard, Jason Robertson, & Adam Fox as some of the league’s best players who won’t be in Milan.

Not certain to play, there’s a clear role that Pontus Holmberg fills on the Swedish Olympic team, if he makes an appearance, but he’s the safe, reliable call-up Sweden places clear trust in despite not being offensively gifted, as he’s been throughout his NHL career.

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