<
>

Henrik Lundqvist, Sedins among those joining Team Sweden

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. - Henrik Lundqvist, Daniel Sedin, Loui Eriksson, Niklas Backstrom and Erik Karlsson are among the returning players from the 2014 Winter Olympics who will represent Team Sweden at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto.

Eleven members return from Sweden's silver-medal team in Sochi.

Henrik Sedin, who missed the Olympics with injury, returns to lineup. A few newcomers include Nashville's Filip Forsberg, along with Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman. Goalie Jacob Markstrom of the Vancouver Canucks will serve as backup for Lundqvist.

A big omission from the first 16 roster spots is defenseman John Klingberg. The 23-year-old blueliner is having another solid season for the Dallas Stars with 10 goals and 43 assists for 53 points, including a plus-11 rating in 65 games. It's also a bit of a surprise that veteran defenseman Niklas Kronwall earned a spot over Klingberg at this stage of the process.

Goaltender Robin Lehner was also left off the initial list, and even though he thought he would earn a spot, he could still be added.

"Yeah, I thought so," he said. "It's their decision. I'm here working with my team, my team's future and my own career. I'll just keep working at it."

Boston Bruins backup Jonas Gustavsson could also serve as the third goalie.

Here's is the preliminary roster:

Forwards: Backstrom, Eriksson, Forsberg, Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado), D. Sedin, H. Sedin, Alexander Steen (St. Louis) and Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit)

Defense: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Arizona), Hedman, Niklas Hjalmarsson (Chicago), Karlsson, Kronwall, Stralman

Goalies: Lundqvist and Markstrom