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There is a probability that Team Sweden could end up winning the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics with the talent of their roster. One position that they are stacked in is the goalie spot. They have the Minnesota Wild duo of Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt along with New Jersey Devils' Jacob Markstrom to choose from. While a lot of teams are just picking one to play long shifts, the 2006 Olympics gold medalists made an interesting choice.
Being cryptic at the Olympics is Sweden's strategy
A couple of hours before their opener against Italy at Milano Cortina, Coach Hallam has still refused to name which among Wallstedt, Markstrom or Gustavsson are getting the primary spot at goalie. While many think this puts into question the types of schematics that Sweden would employ, the head coach says otherwise. It might precisely be the secrecy of their rotation that could be the underlying reason for why they go deep in the Olympics.
Hallam confirmed that they have a plan but it's very dependent on multiple variables, via Bill Price of NHL.com.
“We have a plan. We play today, then we have a practice tomorrow before playing Finland, so we could see the same goalie tonight and against Finland, and since we’re playing a second game in two days, it could be a good opportunity to make a change in front of the net, but we have a plan. However, something could happen as soon as we arrive tonight that would disrupt our plans, or someone could wake up with a sore throat," the Team Sweden head coach said.
Sweden fans do have a clear choice, when asked. Without a doubt, the Wild duo has been doing better throughout the NHL season. Gustavsson, to be exact, has one of the best odds to win the Vezina trophy through his 90.7% save percentage. However, Markstrom and Wallstedt are also not slouches at goal. The Devils goalie has an 88.7% save percentage and is the clear veteran among the three. Wallstedt, on the other hand, has the higher save percentage which clocks in at 91.3%.
This is a wealth of a talent in the position that is unrivaled, so making the choice would definitely be difficult. But, Hallam made one thing clear about the Sweden goalie rotation.
"If we can send two goalkeepers into the fray in the round-robin tournament, we will, but I will not seek to play all three goalkeepers," he added.
So, one will inevitably left out compared to the other two. There's only one way to find out and that's through seeing it against Italy for their Olympics opener.
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