The Swedes won gold in 2006, and should be a force to be reckoned with again this year. They have plenty of star power, a great young goaltender, and can be seen all over the league leaders on the NHL stats pages. Though they have some key injured players who may not be able to play (Kronwall, Franzen), they sport many carry-overs from the victorious squad of four years ago who will be looking to repeat as Olympic champions. 10. Patric Hornqvist ? Nashville Predators In the NFL, he would be known as ?Mr. Irrelevant;? in 2005 he was the last player taken in the draft, 230th overall. He came to North America last year from Sweden and played a third of the year in the NHL (28 games, 7 points) and the rest in the AHL (49 games, 35 points). He isn?t in jeopardy of being sent down this season, potting 23 goals in 56 games, and is a +13. He has pretty good numbers considering he went 11 straight games without a point (November 14th to December 4th) and only has points in 1 of his last 5 games. His scoring touch should be able to help ease the loss of Franzen. 9. Peter Forsberg ? Modo Hockey (SEL) It?s really odd seeing a name that used to be so impactful, so far down on the list. Unfortunately for all parties involved, Forsberg has had constant foot and ankle problems since 2004. After that he never managed to play a full season in the NHL, and is currently somewhat-retired playing for the Swedish Elite League. During his prime in the NHL, he was one of the most skilled players on the planet. He averaged at least a point per game in each of his first 11 seasons in the league, with his best years coming in 1995-96 (30 goals, 86 assists, 116 points) and 2002-03 (29-77-106, +52), the latter of which earned him the Art Ross (most points) and Hard Trophy. The 7-time All-Star accumulated 885 points in 706 games with an outstanding +246 rating. With all of the incredible talent around him, the 2 time Olympic goal medalist (1994, 2006) won?t be forced into too much ice time and can focus on more of a leadership and power play specialist role. 8. Tobias Enstrom ? Atlanta Thrashers Though not built like a defenseman (5?10?, 180lbs), the 8th round pick in the 2003 draft makes a big impact every game. He didn?t come to North America until the 2007-08 season, where he made an immediate impact with 5 goals and 33 assists in 82 games, earning him All-Rookie honours. He played all 82 games again last season, taking a small dip offensively (5 goals, 27 assists), while improving his defensive game significantly (went from -5 to +14). This season, the 25 year old has already established career highs offensively, as he sits with 5 goals, 36 assists and 41 points. In fact, last month he became the franchise leader for points by a defenseman in a career (it was 107, he is sitting at 111) as well as assists by a defenseman in a single season when he tallied number 34; he is still fairly solid defensively at a +7. With the Swedes limited offensively from the blue line, Enstrom will play a large role in Vancouver, especially on the power play. 7. Loui Eriksson ? Dallas Stars Like Enstrom, Eriksson was drafted in 2003 but was scooped up in the 2nd round. The 6?1? winger, according to web reports, provided a glimpse of his future success early in life, making the Under-16 team at age 11. As an AHL rookie with the Iowa Stars in 2005-06 he won the team?s Rookie of the Year after posting 31 goals and 60 points in 78 games. He broke into the NHL during the follow season, and contributed 50 points total in his first 2 seasons. He broke out in a big way last year, with 36 goals (7 of which were on the power play), 27 assists and a +14 in 82 games. This season he is showing a more balanced offensive game, and as a result is on pace to destroy his career high in points (last year?s 63); in 58 games he has 22 goals (6 on the power play, 2 short handed) and 31 assists for 53 points. Eriksson could provide the necessary secondary scoring to offset the loss of Franzen. Sweden has such an incredible amount of talent playing at an extremely high level this year, I couldn?t conceivably have any of these names beside the number 6 . Truth is, with the top 6 players on this team, you could put them in almost any order and make a case for it. Thus, I will just randomly list the top 6 in no particular order, and you can have fun at home ranking them yourselves. Daniel Alfredsson ? Ottawa Senators At 37 years of age, Alfie shows no signs of slowing down his great offensive play. Though he has battled injuries a lot in his career, he has never shown any effects while in the lineup, compiling 968 points in 980 career games. 4 times he has had 80+ points in a season, with his career season being 2005-06 when he had career highs in goals (43), assists (60) and points (103) in only 77 games. Another outstanding stat is his +/-; his rookie season is the only one where he was a minus. The one and only knock on his potential Hall of Fame career, much like fellow country-man Mats Sundin, is his lack of a Stanley Cup. He has had moderate playoff success, though, making it to the Cup final in 2007; the Sens lost to the Ducks but Alfie had 14 goals and 22 points in 20 games. Aside from that year, his playoff numbers aren?t stellar, though, with 80 career playoff points in 101 games. The 5-time All-Star and former Calder Trophy winner had 5 goals and 5 assists in 8 games during the 2006 Olympics, and he will need to play at a high level again in this tournament if his team wants to repeat. Henrik Zetterberg ? Detroit Red Wings ?Hank? is one of four great Swedes in the Red Wings locker room. For some unknown reason, the dynamic center/winger dropped to 210th overall in the 1999 draft before being nabbed by the Wings. He continued playing in Sweden until the 2002-03 season, where he made an immediate impact as a two-way forward with smooth skating and tremendous stick handling abilities. He led all rookies in goals (22) and points (44) and finished second in Calder voting. He broke his leg during his sophomore season and still managed 15 goals, 28 assists and 43 points. After the lockout, he emerged as both a star in the NHL and an assistant captain with the departure of long-time captain Steve Yzerman. He had 39 goals, 85 points, 17 power play goals, and a +29 in his third professional season. He had 68 points in 63 games in 2006-07 before his finest season in 2007-08: 43 goals, 49 assists, 92 points and a +30 rating in 75 games. His strong play continued into the postseason, where he won the Conn Smythe as Playoff MVP for the 2008 Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings, notching 27 points in 22 games while playing tough defense on Penguins stars Crosby and Malkin. He was nominated for the Selke Trophy as top defensive forward, and finished as runner-up to his teammate Pavel Datsyuk. Last year he scored 30+ goals (31) for the fourth straight year, and was rewarded with a 12 year/$73 million contract extension, essentially putting him in Detroit red and white for the rest of his career. He started off this season slowly, with 2 goals in his first 12 games, but has picked up his game lately; he currently sits at 16 goals and 46 points in 51 games. This will be Hank?s third Olympics (also playing in 2002 and 2006) and will be able to center either of the sure-to-be-dynamic top two lines. Daniel Sedin ? Vancouver Canucks Daniel was drafted 2nd overall in 1999 by the Canucks, one spot ahead of his brother. They have played inseparably their whole lives. After a 20-goal rookie campaign, he toiled away amidst 30-point seasons for a few years before a 36 assist/54 point season right before the lockout. He jumped to 71 points immediately following the lockout, and a career-best 36 goal/48 assist/84 season in 2006-07. Even though he is known as the scorer of the Sedin brothers, he had a career-best 51 assists the following season last year, with 82 points in total. After last seasons, with doubts about whether him and his brother could reach an agreement with Vancouver, they signed identical 5 year/$30 million deals. At the time, it was seen as a drastic overpayment for two players who couldn?t play with anyone but each other. However, the twins have stepped up their games to a whole new level this year, inching toward ?elite? status, as Daniel has 16 goals, 36 assists and 52 points in only 40 games because of a broken foot. The brothers have enjoyed a lot of success with Alex Burrows this year, who will they find chemistry with in their home rink in Vancouver for the Olympics? Nicklas Backstrom ? Washington Capitals As I write this, the Caps have won 14 straight games, and Backstrom has been a large reason. The young playmaker has excelled beside sniper Alex Ovechkin to help lead the most exciting team since the mid-to-late 90s Red Wings (in my opinion). Backstrom was selected 4th overall in 2006 (behind Erik Johnson, Jordan Staal, Jonathon Toews). He made his NHL debut in 2007-08, playing all 82 games and compiling 55 assists and 69 points; he was the runner-up to Patrick Kane for the Calder Trophy. He reached the top-10 in scoring in only his second season, compiling 22 goals, 66 assists and 88 points, once again playing all 82 games. He didn?t wilt or tire in the playoffs either, with 15 points (12 assists) in 14 games. At this moment, he sits 5th in league scoring with 73 points (in 59 games), and he has already established a career high in goals with 25. His 48 assists (again, in only 59 games!) ranks him 3rd in the league, further increasing his image as the league?s top young playmaker. This will be the first Olympics for the 22 year old, but likely not his last so long as NHL players continue to play in the Winter Games. Henrik Sedin ? Vancouver Canucks There was always a question of whether the Sedin's could play apart from the familiarity of each other. This season we got a glimpse of Henrik without Daniel, as Daniel broke his foot four games into the season. In the following 18, the playmaker turned into a sniper, racking up 10 goals and 8 assists to keep Vancouver afloat. When Daniel returned, Henrik, of course, only got better. In January he had 25 points in 15 games to capture the First Star of the month, as well as sit atop the scoring race for almost the entire month. He currently sits 2nd with 80 points (25 goals, 55 assists) in just 60 games ? only two points shy of his career high 82 last year. This is the third time in the last four seasons he has reached 80 points, and fifth straight with 75+ points. This is also his third straight year leading the team in scoring (if he finishes the season on top for the Canucks). He also holds the Vancouver record for assists in a season with 71 (2006-07). Henrik also brings intangibles such as penalty killing and leadership (he is one of three alternate captains for Vancouver), all of which will be counted on heavily by Sweden if they envision a repeat in a city and rink that Henrik is very familiar with. Nicklas Lidstrom ? Detroit Red Wings When the season began, the 39 year old looked to finally succumb to Father Time. In the first two months of the season, the points were hard to come by, and the minuses were seen much more consistently than we were ever used to seeing. He has carved out a Hall of Fame career, and can make a case for himself as possibly the second best defenseman of all time (no one will ever pass Bobby Orr), but was he finally taking a step back from ?elite? status to ?good?? Looks like just a slow start now. Lidstrom only had 3 points in his first 13 games, but has 14 points in his last 15 as he tries to help the Wings keep their consecutive playoffs streak alive (they have made the playoffs every season since 1990). Lidstrom has been a key cog for 4 Stanley Cup Champion teams (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008), and his stellar play has left him with a full trophy cabinet: 9 Norris Trophy nominations in the last 10 years, 6 Norris Trophies (2001-03, 2006-08), 11 time All-Star, 9 time First Team All-Star, Conn Smythe winner (2002). He is only the 8th defenseman ever to surpass 1,000 career points, and first European-born defenseman; he sits 4th all-time for Detroit with 1,031 points in 1,390 games. Lidstrom is also the second highest scoring Swede of all-time behind Mats Sundin. But it?s not just his offensive game that draws praises worldwide, as his defense is spectacular. Throughout his career he has been known as one of the most fundamentally sound players on the planet. He won?t dish out a bone crunching hit, but he will get you enough to rub you off the puck. He will make sure to be where you want to be so that you can?t get there, and to position his stick in the perfect spots to deflect passes and shots away from troubled areas. This is why, four times in his career he has surpassed a +40 rating, and has a career rating of +429. He should captain Sweden this year, and set an example of solid play for years to come. Nick can be reached at [email protected] and on twitter: http://twitter.com/nickobergan Next up: Russia