Swedes continue to arm themselves at the World Championship in Prague, another reinforcement is Adrian Kempe from the Los Angeles Kings

The Swedish national hockey team is really serious about their bid for gold at the World Championship in Prague. The Los Angeles Kings’ offensive ace Adrian Kempe is another big addition. He has had the season of his life this season and we have a lot to look forward to!

Sweden waits an unusually long time for a medal

Sweden dominated the World Cup of Hockey in 2017 and 2018, and the golden hat-trick attack ended a year later with a defeat in the quarter-finals and a subsequent 5th place finish. Since then, the hockey powerhouse hasn’t won a single medal at the World Championships.

The wait for the precious metal is therefore unusually long, something the Tre Kronor team is well aware of. Team Canada is the number one favourite at the World Cup, but Sweden is strong in defence and has introduced another big addition in Adrian Kempe.

Kempe had the year of his life with the Los Angeles Kings, along with team captain Anže Kopitar, as they helped the Kings to the playoffs with the help of Czech goalie David Rittich. However, the Edmonton Oilers were too strong for them.

The Swedish association’s website reported about this big signing. Kempe is no rookie, he already has the 2018 title in his collection and will be playing at the World Championship for the fourth time. This season, he scored 75 points in 77 games for 28 goals and 47 assists.

In the playoffs, he added five more points in five games and was his team’s top scorer with four goals. The Swedes are building their roster mostly from NHL players. William Nylander, for example, was out of the lineup with Toronto over the weekend, but he is coming off an injury and is unlikely to play in Prague.

Defensively, we can find names like Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson, who are multiple Norris Trophy winners for the best defenseman of the season. And the Swedes don’t have a complete roster yet, so there is no question about the next favorite.

In addition, the coach has a complete trio of NHL goaltenders and plenty of other big names like Rasmus Dahlin, André Burakovsky and others.

Sweden will play Group B in Ostrava, where they will face the USA, Poland, Germany, Kazakhstan, Latvia, France and Slovakia. They will therefore most likely face the USA for the group win.

Source: NHL, IIHF