In recent years, Sweden has emerged as a hockey power. They pushed our Canadians to brink at the World Jrs. in 2008, coming back from a two-goal deficit in the gold-medal game to force overtime before being defeated 3-2. They're back in 2009 and face Team Canada again with the chance to finish what they started last year.
There's been a lot written about our opposition in the blog today. So let's make it clear, we're still Canadians here, cheering against Tre Kronor tonight. Win or lose though, you have to respect how far Sweden has come because it hasn't happened by accident. It's a fascinating rebuilding story Tony Ambrogio has been looking into at the tournament. He did a write-up and sent it to me earlier this afternoon to post in the blog:
There was a time not too long ago when it looked like Sweden would be relegated to the second division at the World Junior hockey level. Not since 1981 has Sweden won world junior gold.
Six years ago the Swedish junior program was a mess as the teams were not winning medals and there were few prospects being developed.
Thommie Bergman, who in 1972 was the first Swede to play regularly in the NHL, had this to say in 2003 about where Swedish hockey was going.
"It is sad, but the Swedish juniors are not competitive anymore. The players simply don't have the ability to compete at the highest level and the junior national team is behind Slovakia and Switzerland, not to mention the top four. If nothing happens it could be a matter of time before the U20 is relegated (to the B division)."
Bergman's comments hit home. This decade was a tough one for the Swedes, until they won silver last year.
Since the start of the new millenium, Sweden's finishes at the WJHC have been underwhelming, however, after hitting rock bottom in 2003 they've improved each year since:
2000 - 5th
2001 - 4th
2002 - 6th
2003 - 8th
2004 - 7th
2005 - 6th
2006 - 5th
2007 - 4th
2008 - 2nd
So why the turnaround? Well Sweden followed the Canadian model and had an "inquiry," taking a look at what was wrong with youth hockey in their country. You remember Canada's commission on hockey many years ago? Sweden did the same thing in 2003.
From that commission two proposals came forward:
1. To develop more players for the top Swedish pro league.
2. To consistently have national teams compete for medals at the world junior hockey championships and at the under-18 event.
So how have they done it? How have they developed so many top-end players eligible for this year's NHL draft? A draft that could see defenceman Victor Hedman go first overall, where forward Magnus Svensson Paajarvi could go in the top 10, and where as many as four Swedes could be first-round choices.
According to Tommy Boustedt, who in 2002 became the director of youth development for the Swedish Ice Hockey Association, there are four areas that junior hockey in Sweden is better today than in the dark days earlier this decade.
Attitude - "We have too long had a mentality of it's great to participate and it's nice to win," Boustedt told IceTimes, a magazine published by the IIHF. "We have tried to get away from the Swedish mentality which is so prevalent in our society. We have taught our players to love to compete and to win."
Goaltending - "The concept of goaltending coaches was vastly neglected years ago. Now we want all goalies on all levels to have their own coaches. We see the results; our level of goaltending has improved dramatically."
Physical game - "We don't back down anymore. The chicken Swede is dead," Boustedt said.
Scoring - "We have been working very hard on practising offensive-zone positioning, driving to the net, jumping on rebounds, all things that make you score."
There has been a change in the way the Swedes think about hockey. In years past, Sweden played a "trap" system. Swedish head coach Par Marts says his team hasn't played the trap once this year's tournament. He and his staff encourage offensive creative hockey and skill.
Marts told the media his team was here to win gold. Tonight, they have a chance to make it happen.