{"id":455039,"date":"2026-02-12T00:38:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T00:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/455039\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T00:38:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T00:38:19","slug":"san-jose-sharks-alex-wennberg-has-valuable-role-for-sweden-at-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/455039\/","title":{"rendered":"San Jose Sharks’ Alex Wennberg has valuable role for Sweden at Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United States has Mike Eruzione\u2019s goal<\/a> in Lake Placid and the Miracle on Ice in 1980. Canada has Sidney Crosby\u2019s Golden Goal<\/a> in Vancouver in 2010.<\/p>\n

Sweden has its own indelible Olympic hockey memory,<\/a> and even though it was 20 years ago, San Jose Sharks center Alex Wennberg<\/a> remembers it by heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal (Nicklas) Lindstrom scores with the drop passes from (Peter) Forsberg and (Mats) Sundin, that\u2019s three of the biggest icons we have in Sweden who connect on a goal,\u201d Wennberg said, describing the moment<\/a> that helped lift Sweden to a 3-2 win over the Finland in the 2006 Gold Medal game in Turin, Italy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are just so many memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two decades later, and now in Milan, the Stockholm-born Wennberg is getting his first opportunity<\/a> to represent his country at the Winter Games, and at 31, he knows this is probably his last chance<\/a> to win Olympic gold.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why it has a special meaning,\u201d Wennberg said last month.<\/p>\n

Wennberg, who has been the Sharks\u2019 second-line center for most of the season, is having a bounce-back offensive year<\/a> with 37 points, already two more than last season, in 55 games. But similar to his role on a young Sharks team that features Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, Wennberg is not necessarily being asked to be the main offensive driver on Sweden\u2019s skilled roster.<\/a><\/p>\n

Instead, he made the Swedish team for his ability to contribute in other ways: killing penalties, winning faceoffs, and occasionally matching up against other countries\u2019 top lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just a 200-foot player,\u201d Sharks defenseman John Klingberg said of Wennberg. \u201cGood off the puck, with the puck, really poised, always in the right spot. If he wanted to, I feel like he could put up a lot more points. I just think he makes whoever he plays with better.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Sweden\u2019s tournament-opening 5-2 win over Italy<\/a> on Wednesday, Wennberg centered the fourth line with Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Pontus Holmberg on the wings.<\/p>\n

\"MILAN,MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 11: (EDITOR’S NOTE: Image was captured using a remote camera positioned above the field of play.) Matt Bradley #13 of Team Italy and Alexander Wennberg #10 of Team Sweden face off in the first period during the Men’s Preliminary Group B match between Sweden and Italy on day five of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 11, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Bruce Bennett\/Getty Images)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c(Wennberg) adds a lot,\u201d Landeskog told Bay Area News Group earlier this month. \u201cYou look at the season he\u2019s having with the Sharks, I feel like he\u2019s involved in every single play, and if he\u2019s not touching the puck, he\u2019s screening the goalie or causing chaos somewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a valuable piece that you can really slot in anywhere: top six, bottom six, important on face-offs, special teams. He can kind of do it all. I\u2019ve known him for a long time and have seen him develop over the years. To have the skill set to be able to play in all situations, it\u2019s not something everybody has.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wennberg\u2019s wife, Felicia, and their two young children are in Milan, as are his parents, Niclas and Katarina. Whatever sport he played while growing up in Stockholm, Wennberg said he was usually coached by one of his parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey always put in the time and effort to help and support me,\u201d Wennberg said. \u201cThey gave me opportunities, let me have fun, and do different kinds of things. There was always hockey and sports, but you\u2019ve also got to live life as well. They kept me humble, kept me the person I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, playing hockey was always Wennberg\u2019s favorite, and it led to a decorated international career.<\/a><\/p>\n

Playing for Sweden, he won a silver medal at the Under-18 World Junior Championship in 2012 and again won silver at the Under-20 World Junior Championship in 2013 and 2014. After establishing himself as a full-time NHL player, he also represented his country at the World Championships in 2016, 2019, and 2025, scoring 22 points in 24 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember that moment,\u201d Wennberg said of first putting on the distinct bright yellow Swedish jersey with three crowns. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of disbelief. It\u2019s everything you fought for all your life, and then you get to accomplish it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still remember those moments. It\u2019s kind of like, \u2018You made it,\u2019 to play for the national team and play in Sweden\u2019s top league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wennberg and Sweden won the bronze medal at last year\u2019s worlds in Stockholm, but a gold medal has been elusive. Now, 20 years after he saw Lidstrom\u2019s winning goal against Finland as an 11-year-old, Wennberg has an opportunity to accomplish the same thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember watching it growing up,\u201d Wennberg said. \u201cThe players that were on that team were superstars, players I idolized. So that\u2019s why it\u2019s just so fun for me to be a part of this, to be able to maybe create the same memories as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The United States has Mike Eruzione\u2019s goal in Lake Placid and the Miracle on Ice in 1980. Canada…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5127],"tags":[2616,2617,5,2614,1180,4,2602,519,168,5306,5305,2618,1780,2615,2619,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-455039","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose-sharks","8":"tag-bay-area","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-inside-sports","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-nhl","14":"tag-olympics","15":"tag-san-jose","16":"tag-san-jose-sharks","17":"tag-sanjose","18":"tag-sanjosesharks","19":"tag-santa-clara-county","20":"tag-sharks","21":"tag-sharks-alert","22":"tag-south-bay","23":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116054888521515572","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}