Swedish 4 Nations coach Sam Hallam on the “most difficult decisions” when building his squad

Sam Hallam was back at his Stockholm hotel on Wednesday evening after finishing his meeting with the Swedish media following the release of his country’s four-nation squad.

Of course, a lot of emphasis was placed on who didn’t make it onto his team. This is a universal reaction, regardless of the hockey country or the media.

But when he agreed to a late-night phone interview The athleteHallam wanted to focus on who made the team and expressed hope that he has found a 23-man squad that can lead Sweden to victory at the best-on-best international event in February.

“We tried to find a balance,” said Hallam, who had complete autonomy in squad selection. “We have a lot of talented players at D, but also at forward, but I think we have a team that should be able to handle any situation. We have good speed up front. And I think we have good size and a good defensive edge.

“I also think we have three goalkeepers at the moment where there is real competition for who gets to start.”

No joke.

Filip Gustavsson, Jacob Markstrom and Linus Ullmark form an impressive 1-2-3 formation in goal. And no particular order has been set for the goalie depth chart. The next two months of the NHL season will go a long way in determining who gets to face Team Canada on February 12th at the Bell Centre.

“What we said is that the starting goalie against Canada is up for grabs,” Hallam said. “We cannot determine that at the end of November and beginning of December. Whoever is in the best shape at the end of January, beginning of February will probably be the ones we start with.

“It’s a short tournament. You have to choose the one who is really at his best.”

Right now, you could imagine Gustavsson being the No. 1 pick for the Minnesota Wild. But once February rolls around, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the experienced Markstrom get the starting nod.

But for all three options there is no wrong answer. And I mean, it was the clear and simple three picks.

Things got a little more complicated in attack and defense, where good players were forcibly passed over. I asked Hallam which decision was the hardest for him: choosing the last striker or the last defender?

They were both difficult, final decisions. But in attack, he specifically mentioned that signing players like Viktor Arvidsson and Gustav Nyquist was a very calculated decision to round out his forward group.

“They both have tremendous experience, speed and courage, but they have both shown that they can play higher up the lineup, so that’s something we value as well,” Hallam said of the flexibility of both lineups. “Because changes can come quickly.

“But those were the most difficult decisions and the ones we discussed the most,” he added, referring to the final striker positions.

There would never be a bad defense. Just difficult decisions among very good players.

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With Gustav Forsling, Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson already named to the team in June, there were only four spots left and Hallam ultimately chose Mattias Ekholm, Rasmus Andersson, Rasmus Dahlin and Jonas Brodin.

That meant leaving out Hampus Lindholm, Adam Larsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Simon Edvinsson and Philip Broberg, among others.

Leaving out Lindholm was the biggest snub for me.

Again, the final defense decisions would definitely be difficult.

“It’s hard, especially on a personal level,” Hallam said. “I know how much all the players want to be there. I think some players who aren’t currently in our squad think – and I hope – that they feel they should be there. Because they are competitive.

“We just tried to make the best possible decisions for the team. We spoke to a few people who were on the other, wrong side, and told them, “This is the situation right now, but stay ready.” Something can happen. We’re still following you closely.’”

And that’s exactly it. Injuries can occur until February. Forwards like William Eklund and Mikael Backlund could be called upon if someone up front is injured. The same goes for Lindholm, Ekman-Larsson and Larsson, pending an injury on the blue line. They’re still in the mix, although they hadn’t been named as of Wednesday.

In the grand scheme of things, there are only 14 months until the Olympics in Milan, Italy. All bubble players also remain on this radar. That was all part of the message to these players this week.

“Absolutely,” Hallam said. “Now we are focusing on four nations, but we also have the (IIHF) World Championship in Stockholm (in May) ahead of us. That’s also a huge deal. You can’t play a World Cup at home that often.

“And of course we have the Olympic Games in Milan. At the moment it’s about 4 nations and doing our best there. And then it is analyzed. The encouraging thing for the guys who just missed out is that there is still something to come for them and if they perform and do their best, maybe they can be on this list instead.”

That goes for every bubble player who missed the 4 Nations squads this week. The larger stage will take place on February 26 in Milan.

But deep down, every player who missed the cut also knows: The opportunity to shine at the 4 Nations gives the selected players a glimpse of the Olympics.

The Swedes last won a best-on-best event in Turin, Italy, in 2006. It was a memorable gold medal performance from a generational group of players led by Hockey Hall of Famers Nicklas Lidstrom, Peter Forsberg, Mats Sundin and Daniel Alfredsson.

For some, the Four Nations squad announced this week is the most talented squad assembled since. I’m not convinced that the Swedes are as talented offensively in the middle as Team USA or Team Canada and wonder how that might impact their ability to produce enough offense. But they have the blue line and goalie to stifle anyone.

Sweden definitely has the opportunity to win it all in Montreal and Boston in February.

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(Photos by Hampus Lindholm and Mikael Backlund: Michael Reaves and Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)