Despite being only 26 years old, the Frölunda star – who recently celebrated an emotional World Championship gold – is already playing her eighth Ice Hockey World Championship.
She has basically been a guaranteed player in the national team, which is why the rejection for the Olympic Games qualifying round in Gävle (which Sweden won) in February came as a bit of a shock from a clear blue sky.
National team captain Ulf Lundberg's motivation was that she needed to improve her physical play.
Then she had to draw on her experiences from two long injury breaks in recent years as help.
I've grown a lot and the two tough injuries have made me very strong mentally. So I didn't let it affect me, she says.
Two tough injuries
Hanna Olsson missed the entire 2021–22 season after tearing her cruciate ligament and almost the entire previous season with a torn muscle in the back of her thigh.
It's been traumatic experiences. A whole muscle tearing off a leg... it sounds crazy when you talk about it. I couldn't sit for six weeks and needed help putting on my socks, she says.
"A bit left"
Despite playing the entire season, she doesn't feel she's fully caught up yet.
I still have a bit left to build up my muscle mass. It's the last little explosive bit that's missing, says Hanna Olsson, who still finished fourth in the SDHL scoring league with 39 points (9+30) and sixth in the playoffs with 9 points (3+6).
The women's national team has been eliminated in three straight quarterfinals against Canada since their return to the A World Championship.
To fight for medals, Sweden needs to win their group in the World Championship and thus avoid one of the powerhouse nations Canada or the USA in the quarterfinal.
The past two years, it's been Germany, ranked lower than Sweden, that has put a spanner in the works and won the group.
Now the Germans are waiting directly.
Last year, it was a 1–0 German win despite Sweden's significant playing advantage.
It was crazy, actually. We couldn't get a handle on their goalkeeper (PWHL player Sandra Abstreiter) and they probably have the same this year. It's going to be a very important match. It's about us getting our group together and everyone really buying into their roles, says Hanna Olsson.
This is the last year the World Championship will be played in the criticized model with seeded groups.
The World Championship will be decided in Czech Ceske Budejovice from April 9 to 20.
Group A: Canada (last year's champions), USA (last year's silver medalists), Finland (last year's bronze medalists), Czech Republic, and Switzerland.
Group B: Germany, Hungary, Japan, Norway, and Sweden.
All five teams from Group A and the top three from Group B will advance to the quarterfinal.
The two bottom teams in Group B will be relegated to the B World Championship.
Sweden's group stage matches:
April 9: Germany (11.00).
April 10: Hungary (15.00).
April 13: Japan (15.00).
April 15: Norway (11.00).
Quarterfinals will be played on April 17, semifinals on April 19, and medal matches on April 20.
SVT will broadcast Sweden's matches as well as the medal matches.
