Sweden’s Victor Hedman injured in warmups prior to quarterfinal game
Sweden has a tough matchup against the United States in Wednesday’s quarterfinal game of the men’s hockey tournament at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, and they’ll have to embrace the challenge without their stalwart defenseman and alternate captain.
Victor Hedman, who was among the initial six players named to Sweden’s roster last summer, suffered an injury during the warm-ups ahead of Wednesday’s game. The injury will prevent Hedman from playing in the game, though he has chosen to stay on the bench to support his teammates.
Coach Sam Hallam tells Swedish TV that Victor Hedman is dealing with an injury he suffered in the warm-ups. Probably won't play in this game but still wanted to be with the team on the bench.
It’s currently unclear if Hedman’s injury is serious enough to keep him out of a potential semifinals game on Friday should Sweden defeat the United States on Wednesday.
This is Hedman’s first opportunity to represent his country at the Olympic games. The imperious defenseman has a goal and an assist in four games played in these Olympics so far.
Hedman, 35, is one of the most accomplished and respected defensemen in the world. Since being selected second overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, he has won two Stanley Cup championships, the Norris Trophy in 2018, and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2020. He is also a seven-time All Star.
It’s been a somewhat difficult tournament for Sweden so far. They defeated the host Italians 5-2 in a less-than-dominant opener. In their second preliminary game, they suffered an embarassing 4-1 loss at the hands of their rival Finland.
To their credit, Sweden has rebounded rather well since their loss to the Finns, defeating Slovakia 5-3 in their final preliminary game before beating Latvia 5-1 in their qualifying round game to reach Wednesday’s quarterfinal.
Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond leads Sweden in scoring in these Olympics so far, with a goal and seven assists for eight points in four games played.