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After playing in six prep games against teams from Latvia, Germany and Slovakia Oilers' prospect Anton Lander was cut from Sweden's World Championship team. Lander, draft 40th overall in 2009, scored a goal and added five assists in the warm-up tour, but Swedish coach Pär Mårts left Lander off of the final roster, a decision that didn't surprise Lander, though for a man who enjoys playing for his country so much, it's certainly got to come as a disappointment.
Lander created a bit of a stir in Sweden and in prospect circles in Edmonton when he was named Captain of Team Sweden for a match against Germany two weeks ago, a decision that came as a shock to Lander. However, Lander's leadership wasn't enough to find him a role on the team, even with so many Swedish stars still competing in the NHL playoffs.
Edmonton fans will, however see a couple of familiar names skating for Sweden - Magnus Pääjärvi and ex-Oiler Robert Nilsson were named to the final group of forwards and Viktor Fasth, the goaltender rumored to be one of Edmonton off-season free agent targets, was also named to the team. Linus Omark was a shoe-in for the roster, but Omark is in Oklahoma City, attempting to dig the Barons out of their 0-2 hole against the Hamilton Bulldogs.
Tre Kronor's final roster:
Forwards:
Jonas Andersson, Dick Axelsson, Mikael Backlund, Patrik Berglund, Jimmie Ericsson, Loui Eriksson, Robert Nilsson, Niklas Persson, Magnus Pääjärvi, Jakob Silfverberg, Mattias Sjögren, Mattias Tedenby, Martin Thörnberg, Rickard Wallin, Tom Wandell
Defensemen:
Mattias Ekholm, Tim Erixon, Daniel Fernholm, Nicklas Grossman, Carl Gunnarsson, Staffan Kronwall, David Petrasek, David Rundblad
Goaltenders:
Erik Ersberg, Viktor Fasth, Anders Nilsson
Calgary Flames fans should be over-joyed at the news that Tim Erixon, one of the few first round picks Darryl Sutter actually made, was named to the team. Erixon, drafted 23rd overall in 2009, was a teammate of Adam Larsson's this season for Skelleftea HC.
Sundsvalls Tidning writer Andreas Ignell also noted that Lander still has yet to make up his mind about his 2011-2012 season, and whether he will play in North America or stay with Timrå is still up in the air. Steve Tambellini has until June 1st to sign Lander to an entry-level contract or relinquish his rights. Lander could sign an ELC and head back to Timrå to compete in the Eliteserien season next year.