San Jose Sharks winger William Eklund will likely be amongst 13 forwards chosen for Sweden's participation within the four-nation clash. based on a printed report Monday on this country.

Eklund was asked to hitch the Swedish national team and accepted the offer, based on Expressen. a Swedish national newspaper.

The official 23-player rosters for Sweden and Finland will likely be unveiled Wednesday at 11 a.m. (PST) on ESPN and the NHL Network. The American and Canadian team rosters will likely be announced Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. (PST) on TNT.

Each country's squad – which incorporates three goalkeepers, seven defensemen and 13 forwards – needed to be submitted by Monday. It could be the primary time for Eklund to play for the Swedish men's national team.

Eklund, a 22-year-old Stockholm native, recently confirmed to the Bay Area News Group that he has had discussions with Team Sweden coach Sam Hallam, who was on the bench for Tre Kronor on the last two World Cups.

After Sunday's NHL games, Eklund was fourth amongst all Swedish-born forwards with 22 points, behind only New Jersey's Jesper Bratt (31), Los Angeles' Adrian Kempe (25) and Detroit's Lucas Raymond (24).

Before the Sharks' game against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, Eklund had 13 points in his last 11 games. Eklund has also improved his 200-foot game and develop into one in all the Sharks' most reliable penalty strikers.

Eklund, who was drafted seventh overall by the Sharks in 2021, plays alongside Macklin Celebrini and Fabian Zetterlund at San Jose's helm. But his ability to kill penalties and prevail against experienced teams was seen as Eklund's best hope of being one in all Sweden's 13 forwards on the event, with games played in Boston and Montreal.

Sweden plays Canada on February twelfth and Finland on February fifteenth on the Bell Center in Montreal. They will face the United States on the TD Garden in Boston on February 17 to conclude the round-robin portion of the tournament. The top two teams will play one another in the ultimate on February twentieth in Boston.

Expressen's report didn’t reveal which other players are within the Swedish squad. Zetterlund was also considered a candidate for a squad spot with nine goals and 19 points in 27 games this season.

Players already added to Sweden's roster include defensemen Gustav Forsling of Florida, Victor Hedman of Tampa Bay and former Shark Erik Karlsson of Pittsburgh. The aforementioned forwards were Filip Forsberg of Nashville, William Nylander of Toronto and Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers.

Sharks center Mikael Granlund is anticipated to be one in all the 13 Finnish forwards. He is a veteran of international hockey tournaments and has previously spoken about how much it means to him to represent his country.

Originally published: December 2, 2024 at 5:35 pm PST

The Sharks have their future No. 1 center.

And now additionally they have their future No. 1 defender.

I'm sure the Sharks didn't expect 6-foot-3, 200-pound defenseman Sam Dickinson to be on the board after they chosen No. 11. After all, he was expected to be the third defenseman chosen on Friday – probably in the highest seven.

But when he was ranked eleventh and there have been already 4 defensemen on the roster, the Sharks didn't hesitate to take him.

It's a simple, logical selection that provides incredible value to the Sharks. Dickinson, a left-handed defenseman for the London Knights, was the runner-up within the Memorial Cup and provided the very best power play within the OHL with great passing and fluid skating, scoring 70 points last season.

Because of his extremely powerful shot and connection to London, Dickinson has been in comparison with Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard.

There are definitely worse comparisons. And I can see that on offense, but defensively it underestimates the child. He's shown a powerful sense of the little things that make a huge impact in rush defense, and while he doesn't show much grit within the defensive zone, he definitely has the dimensions to get forward from his spot.

I'm fascinated by how well he can play when he's not on the ice for greater than half-hour per game. He will need to have slowed down in London.

He's not perfect. He seemed a bit confused at times when he was starting his breakout season with the Knights, but after his seventeenth season, it's not such as you're drafting a finished product anyway.

With the signing of Celebrini and Dickinson, the Sharks now have arguably the very best talent pool within the NHL.

However, this team still needs a top-tier right guard. Perhaps that's the case for the team's two first-round picks in 2025.

Since Friday, the Sharks' top defensemen – Shakir Mukhamadullin, Henry Thrun and Luca Cagnoni – are all left-handed, as is Dickinson.

If it is a problem, we'll discover soon enough.

There are few players within the NHL today who can move like Dickinson, let alone be the dimensions of a defender that might give him a bonus once he steps on the ice as an expert.

Is the remainder of his game ready for the NHL?

I can imagine a world where he comes back and dominates the OHL next season.

I may see him playing plenty of minutes next season for the San Jose Barracuda within the AHL. The Sharks are using the identical development model for Dickinson as they did for Mukhamadullin, who played 67 games for the 'Cuda over the past two seasons.

Regardless, the Sharks expect Dickinson to turn into a key player for the franchise within the not too distant future.

And all in all, with Celebrini – a future superstar – and now Dickinson – who you possibly can easily see as an “underrated winner” – it was an incredible day for the Sharks in Las Vegas.

Here's to just a few more of those in the approaching years.