Sweden Player Ratings: Kempe stands out with aggressive play

One minute into the 4 Nations Face-Off’s opening foray, the Swedes looked all but cooked. Half a period later, things didn’t seem much better, Canada having tallied twice, the crowd raining down cheers upon them, and the host nation’s big dogs already stocking the highlight reel early.

But anyone who’d had a glance at the elite, all-world talent dispersed among the Tre Kronor’s roster could’ve told you it wasn’t going to be so simple for the red-and-white. And in the end, it took an overtime clincher to end the nail-biter, Sweden having picked themselves off the mat halfway through this tilt, before coming back swinging.

Fresh off a tournament-opening thriller that saw Canada outlast Sweden 4-3 in the extra frame — leaving Sweden with one point and Canada with a pair — here’s a closer look at how each member of the Swedish squad fared Wednesday night.

William Nylander: 4 / 10
Perhaps Sweden’s most dynamic forward up front coming into the tournament, and the one who logged the most ice-time Wednesday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs winger provided little offensively, outside of a handful of chances. Nylander did come up with a key stick-lift on Brad Marchand to prevent a grade-A chance from the slot late in the game, but the opening-minute penalty that let Canada get its touches early — and opened the door for the Connor McDavid-Sidney Crosby-Nathan MacKinnon goal that got the crowd on its feet — was egregious.

Mika Zibanejad: 5 / 10
The talented New York Rangers pivot logged the second-most minutes among Sweden’s forwards after Nylander — the pair of linemates were the only two to top 20 minutes on the night — and similarly offered little in the way of an offensive spark over the course of the game, aside from a dangerous one-time chance in overtime that was turned aside.

Rickard Rakell: 8 / 10
Rakell’s quality 2024-25 campaign continued into the first game of this tournament — the Pittsburgh Penguins winger was quietly solid all night, forechecking well, looking calm and collected with the puck on his stick, and coming up with some quality defensive plays, too. He finished the night tied for the second-most shots and hits among Sweden’s forwards.

Adrian Kempe: 10 / 10
Sweden’s best player on the night was the one who put the squad’s second goal on the board. After his coaches and teammates alike came into the tilt harping on the need to be aggressive, Kempe personified that approach best — he was a hound on the puck all night long, and by far Sweden’s best forechecker. He finished with a team-leading five shots, a team-leading four hits, and a beautiful goal sniped home from the slot.

Elias Pettersson: 7 / 10
For all the talk of Pettersson’s tumultuous season, the Vancouver Canucks centreman looked solid in this one, by and large. He could’ve offered more offensively, given the depth of his elite skill set, but Pettersson came up with some key defensive plays to stymie a few chances from the host nation, had a couple looks on net, and forechecked hard for much of the night.

Filip Forsberg: 5 / 10
Another key name for the Swedes who had a lot more to offer than what he showed in this one, Forsberg had a handful of decent sequences, but overall did little to stand out among the pack for the Tre Kronor.

Jesper Bratt: 8 / 10
The highest-scoring Swede in the NHL this season, Bratt started the night somewhat shakily, though to be fair, much of the rest of his squad did, too. He came alive as the game wore on, though, and stepped up with a key play, his creativity and poise on display, to set up the goal that pulled Sweden level late in the third.

Joel Eriksson Ek: 9 / 10
He might not have earned as much chatter as some of his better-known teammates in the lead-up to this tournament opener, but Eriksson Ek was quietly key in this one. The Minnesota Wild pivot came up with plenty of solid defensive plays to disrupt Canada’s attack, took contact to make a smart play on more than one occasion, and continued to forecheck hard all night. Most importantly, he came up with a clutch sequence when his club needed it most — winning an offensive-zone face-off midway through the third period, posting up in front of Canada’s cage, and eventually finishing off a setup from Bratt to score Sweden's tying goal.

Lucas Raymond: 8 / 10
One of the youngest members of the Swedish squad, Raymond enters the tournament as the nation’s second-highest scorer in the NHL this season. He showed the depth of his skill set on Wednesday night, picking up steam as the game went on. In the end, the 22-year-old came up with key contributions on two of Sweden’s goals — winning a crucial battle behind Canada’s net before the puck eventually made its way to the point for Jonas Brodin’s goal, and showing poise late in the game to set up the sequence that saw Bratt and Eriksson Ek combine for the game-tying tally.

Gustav Nyquist: 6 / 10
The Nashville Predators veteran logged the fewest minutes of anyone in a Tre Kronor uniform, and little was expected of him. He did, however, manage a decent chance on net in the third when Sweden was hunting for a tying goal.

Elias Lindholm: 6 / 10
Lindholm similarly got limited opportunity on Wednesday night, logging the fewest minutes of Sweden’s centremen, and the second-fewest among the forwards overall. Still, he did step up with some solid forechecking pressure early in the tilt when the rest of the squad was floundering.

Viktor Arvidsson: 6 / 10
The third member of Sweden’s least-used line, Arvidsson managed a couple quality plays on both ends of the sheet, most notably a quality one-time chance on net midway through the game.

Victor Hedman: 8 / 10
The squad’s veteran captain looked every bit the two-time champion he is — he was calm and collected all game, and did crucial work in calming his group down early when it seemed the Canadians were going to run right over them. Hedman did get burned on Canada’s second goal, pinching and leaving his partner exposed for a two-on-one that finished as a Marchand tally, but the Tampa Bay Lightning vet also set up his club’s first goal of the night a period later and stifled dangerous Canadian chances more than a few times over the course of the evening.

Jonas Brodin: 8 / 10
It was a wobbly one for Brodin to start — the Minnesota Wild defender left much to be desired on Canada’s second goal, as he was caught defending Brayden Point and Marchand on a two-on-one and did little to disrupt either one of them. Still, it was Brodin who breathed some life into Sweden’s night with a straight snipe past Jordan Binnington midway through the second period, and the veteran rearguard picked up his game from there, coming up with some solid plays on both ends of the sheet over the rest of the tilt.

Mattias Ekholm: 7 / 10
The steady Edmonton Oilers veteran was largely solid in this one, doing what he does best to break up chances and chip in with an offensive spark here and there — most notably, a wraparound chance that wound up as one of Sweden’s best looks in overtime. He was beaten on Canada’s first goal of the night, but it’s tough to blame him for not fully nullifying a spinning, no-look, backhand dish from Sidney Crosby, with Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon buzzing nearby, too. 

Erik Karlsson: 9 / 10
The three-time Norris Trophy winner turned back the clock for his countrymen in this one. Starting out as shaky as the rest of his squad in the first period, Karlsson came out in the second and showed out — the Pittsburgh Penguins rearguard was dancing around red jerseys, making smart reads on both ends of the ice, and continually putting his teammates in position to get quality looks on the cage. In the end, he came up with two of the most important plays of the game — a solid defensive sequence that he turned into a setup for Kempe’s goal early in the third, and another quality defensive play a period earlier, breaking up a cross-crease pass from Point to Marchand as they tried to recreate their first-period tally.

Rasmus Dahlin: 7 / 10
It was an up-and-down showing for the young Swedish phenom. There were more than a few instances of Dahlin whiffing on shots and overskating pucks, and there’s certainly more for the young Buffalo Sabres blue-liner to offer offensively, given his immense talent. That aside, he singlehandedly saved a sure goal by pulling the puck off the goal-line in the second period, a crucial play that prevented Canada from running up the score early and perhaps nullifying the comeback that eventually earned Sweden an overtime point, and Dahlin came up with a few more clutch defensive plays after that one, too.

Gustav Forsling: 6 / 10
The reigning Stanley Cup champ was mostly steady, and logged the second-most minutes of any Swedish defender in this one. Still, he was bested on Canada’s third goal of the night — overpowered by Crosby as the Penguins captain cut by him, stopped up, turned and fed Mark Stone for the goal — and nearly gifted Canada another by hopping over the boards on a bad change that forced Raymond and Ekholm into cleanup duty.

Filip Gustavsson: 7 / 10
It was never going to be an easy night for the Swedish netminder tasked with facing down a star-studded Canadian offence in Game 1 of this tournament, and on the opponent’s home turf no less. The penalty that allowed Canada’s big dogs to get on the board with a dazzling tally early didn’t help matters. But it’s tough to lay too much blame on Gustavsson’s shoulders, given the nature of the three regulation goals — a beautiful passing play from three of the best players in the world on the first; a two-on-one for the second; and a dominant play from Crosby on the third. The game winner is a tougher one to swallow — a straight shot from Mitch Marner as he flew into the zone. Still, the Swedish netminder came up with plenty of quality saves to keep his club in it throughout the night, including what was arguably the save of the game — a diving display late in the third that stymied a Marner-McDavid-Devon Toews tic-tac-toe attempt, keeping the game tied and ultimately earning his side a point.