Could Leo Carlsson be a difference-maker for Sweden at the Olympics?
Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson has been one of the breakout stories of this young NHL season. The 2023 No. 2 overall pick has broken out to not only meet the expectations that come with such high draft capital, but exceed them.
After 29 points in 55 games as a rookie and 45 points in 76 contests in year two, Carlsson has made the leap to legitimate top-line center. Through his first 17 games of 2025-26, Carlsson has 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points as he’s helped power the Ducks to an 11-5-1 start.
Carlsson was a depth piece for Team Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this year, but with the Olympics looming in February, it’s fair to wonder if Carlsson will be one of the Swedes’ top stars in Italy.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed where Carlsson could fit in on a roster that will include the likes of William Nylander, Filip Forsberg and Mika Zibanejad.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Going into the 4 Nations Face-Off, their center depth was a question, but the one thing that’s changed since last February is the emergency of Leo Carlsson. And hey, no pressure, a 20-year-kid going into his first Olympics, but like, man this guy is looking like a legit number one center. A lot of pressure to ask of him to be like, “Hey, go toe-to-toe with McDavid and all these other guys and Matthews and Eichel. It’s your job to shut them down.” But he’s the highest scoring Swedish forward in the NHL this year… Carlsson changes the complexion of that forward group quite a bit.
Carter Hutton: He does, a lot. Again I feel like he’s a complete player, too, right? We all want the flash. We want the speed; we want it all, but this is a guy that at his age plays a more well-rounded game than most guys his age. He will fit in, it’s just now you start to think about apples and apples of how you try to match against, where does he match up? I still think teams are going to err on best available players and have them adapt to the role that they need to play.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…