The center from Arvika is at home in the World Cup where Tre Kronor are playing in French-speaking Fribourg.
On Sunday evening, Tre Kronor took their first victory, 6–2 over Denmark, in their second World Cup match and they face the Czech Republic on Monday evening.
Jacob de la Rose, who had an assist against Denmark, hopes the winning streak continues at BCF Arena in front of his loved ones.
"It's of course extra fun to play a World Cup here in Fribourg. You have family and friends at the matches and you don't get lost in the corridors right away," he says.
“Celebrated as we should”
A couple of weeks ago, he experienced one of the most exciting victories of his career when his Fribourg-Gottéron won its first Swiss title in the club's 89-year history.
Under the leadership of former Frölunda coach Roger Rönnberg, the team with several Swedes - Lucas Wallmark scored the golden goal - went all the way.
Around 80,000 people took part in the victory celebrations in the city, which has just under 40,000 inhabitants in the urban area, but just over 340,000 in the canton.
"It was really cool. It was many years of waiting, it felt good when we won and there was a full house in town for a week after we won. We celebrated as we should," says de la Rose, who won World Championship gold with Tre Kronor in 2018 and has a Swedish Championship gold with Färjestad in 2022.
“Incredibly skilled”
Now the 30-year-old is one of the experienced players in a Tre Kronor that contains both experience and outstanding young talent, such as JVM gold trio Viggo Björck and Ivar Stenberg, 18 years old, and Jack Berglund, 20.
"It's a good mix. It's great that so many young people are getting the chance and they deserve it; they are incredibly skilled and talented. We get a youthful enthusiasm and then it's good to have a few older guys who can help them along the way and give them some tips," he says.
Even though Tre Kronor started by losing to gold favorite Canada, Jacob de la Rose has no doubt that the national team can go all the way to gold in national team captain Sam Hallam's farewell tournament.
"It's a short tournament and we have to come together quickly as a group. I think we're one of the teams that has a chance to win, so that's what we're going for," he says.
Facts: Sweden's World Cup matches
15/5: Canada 3–5.
17/5: Denmark 6–2.
18/5: Czech Republic (20.20).
20/5: Slovenia (20.20).
22/5: Italy (20.20).
23/5: Norway (20.20).
26/5: Slovakia (16.20).
The quarterfinals will be played on the 28th, the semifinals on the 30th and the medal matches on the 31st of May.
