Mattias Ekholm will be one of the key players for a young Tre Kronor team in the Ice Hockey World Championship in Fribourg, Switzerland.
It's a bit surprising since the experienced Edmonton defender, who was part of the 2018 World Cup gold-medal team, has had differences of opinion with national team captain Sam Hallam over the past two seasons.
After the last match in the Four Nations in February 2025, Ekholm was openly critical of the lack of playing time.
When he was not selected for the Milan Olympics in February, he spoke about his disappointment in the Canadian media.
I think that sometimes we are a little afraid of conflict in Sweden. It's good to be disappointed, it just means that you care. They left players out of the team and we all know that it's tough competition. Then it's not wrong to think differently sometimes, that doesn't mean I should sit around and be sullen. I love representing Tre Kronor and hope we can do something good here, says Ekholm.
“No weirdness”
Have you and Sam Hallam spoken?
"No, I wouldn't say that, it wasn't necessary. We had a conversation after the Four Nations and before the Olympic qualifiers, so it's nothing strange," he says.
Sam Hallam on the relationship with Mattias Ekholm:
I think there is a great interest in building up some kind of schism. For a player to be disappointed about not making it to the Olympics is probably the most natural thing in the world. It was a tough decision to make.
Mattias Ekholm has played in the Stanley Cup final with Edmonton in both 2024 and 2025 - losing to Florida both years - but this season Edmonton's star team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Anaheim, thus opening the door to the World Cup.
I still had a break during the Olympics, so I felt like I had a lot left in my tank, he says.
“Future superstars”
Playing in the World Cup in a young team with several top prospects is an incentive in itself.
It's great fun, there are so many of them here too and they are future Swedish superstars. It will be fun to get to know them and I have seen in training that they are already at a high level.
Now star-studded Canada, led by Sidney Crosby, face them in the opener.
"They have a strong team on paper. It will be a tough game, and we go in with a lot of confidence in ourselves and know that there may be some nerves in the first game. It will be fun to see how far we can go as a group," says Ekholm.
