Men's hockey teams at the Olympics are getting prepared for their first day of competition. Team Sweden is getting settled in with their roommates at the Olympic Village and running its first practices in anticipation of its opening contest. One of the major players on the team is William Nylander, who recently returned to play from an injury.
Now, Nylander was not on the ice for the team's latest practice, according to Mark Masters of TSN.
This sparked some concerns for the Swedish fans, as Nylander is expected to play on the top line with Joel Eriksson Ek and Adrian Kempe when Sweden takes to the ice on Wednesday. Sweden coach Sam Hallam did put some of those concerns to rest.
“It a maintenance thing. He’s done two full practices with us & felt after yesterday a bit sore so just give him an extra day. We’ll see for tomorrow if he’s ready to go or it’s going to be a pretty late decision,” Hallam said after practice.
Nylander is a major aspect of the offensive attack for Sweden. He had just two assists in the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025, but when Sweden won the World Championships in 2017, it was his seven goals and seven assists that led the way. Hallam's focus is on the big picture, not just the first game.
“I’m not overly concerned at all. He’s been looking really sharp and good on the ice for two days. Felt that we give him (off) today. I mean, it’s short-term, but we’re still in the beginning of it and bigger games coming up, so let’s keep our priorities and focus there,” Hallam added per Arun Srinivasan of The Leafs Nation.
Team Sweden is expected to be in contention to take home gold. They will face Italy in their opening game on Wednesday, before games against Finland on Friday and Slovakia on Saturday to round out the group stage of the event.
