When Erik Karlsson was one of the first six players named to Sweden's 4 Nations Face-Off roster over the summer, not everyone agreed with the decision.
Johan Garpenlov, who was the head coach of Team Sweden from 2019-22, said in a Swedish radio appearance in November that not only would Karlsson not have been one of his first six selections ... he wouldn't be his pick to be on the team at all.
"I would not have selected Erik Karlsson in this 4 Nations squad," Garpenlov said. "His shortcomings in the defensive game are too great in such a short tournament. Every match is so important, you can't afford to make these big mistakes that Erik Karlsson unfortunately makes."
Sweden's current coaching staff evidently disagrees -- Karlsson is set to have a pretty big role in the upcoming tournament. On Tuesday he skated on Sweden's second defense pairing alongside Mattias Ekholm, and quarterbacked a second power-play unit with Rickard Rakell, Elias Pettersson, Jesper Bratt and Filip Forsberg.
Sidney Crosby will be Karlsson's opponent when the tournament kicks off on Wednesday, with Canada and Sweden having an 8 p.m. matchup here in Montreal. Crosby was asked about the debate in Sweden surrounding whether Karlsson should be on the roster, and was dismissive of the notion.
"I think there's always going to be that kind of stuff," Crosby said of the noise. "No matter where you're playing, there's a lot of eyes. I think Karl's been awesome for us, I can only speak for that. I'm not sure what what (Garpenlov) was talking about, or what that was in relation to, but for me and his teammates seeing him play every night, he's been playing some great hockey for us on both sides of the puck."
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
6:19 pm - 02.11.2025MontrealCrosby: Karlsson's 'been awesome'
When Erik Karlsson was one of the first six players named to Sweden's 4 Nations Face-Off roster over the summer, not everyone agreed with the decision.
Johan Garpenlov, who was the head coach of Team Sweden from 2019-22, said in a Swedish radio appearance in November that not only would Karlsson not have been one of his first six selections ... he wouldn't be his pick to be on the team at all.
"I would not have selected Erik Karlsson in this 4 Nations squad," Garpenlov said. "His shortcomings in the defensive game are too great in such a short tournament. Every match is so important, you can't afford to make these big mistakes that Erik Karlsson unfortunately makes."
Sweden's current coaching staff evidently disagrees -- Karlsson is set to have a pretty big role in the upcoming tournament. On Tuesday he skated on Sweden's second defense pairing alongside Mattias Ekholm, and quarterbacked a second power-play unit with Rickard Rakell, Elias Pettersson, Jesper Bratt and Filip Forsberg.
Sidney Crosby will be Karlsson's opponent when the tournament kicks off on Wednesday, with Canada and Sweden having an 8 p.m. matchup here in Montreal. Crosby was asked about the debate in Sweden surrounding whether Karlsson should be on the roster, and was dismissive of the notion.
"I think there's always going to be that kind of stuff," Crosby said of the noise. "No matter where you're playing, there's a lot of eyes. I think Karl's been awesome for us, I can only speak for that. I'm not sure what what (Garpenlov) was talking about, or what that was in relation to, but for me and his teammates seeing him play every night, he's been playing some great hockey for us on both sides of the puck."
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