Scoring his first-ever hat trick wasn’t enough to convince Team Sweden to add Mattias Ekholm to the Olympic roster.
It’s crunch time for Olympic squads, with the games set to begin in just a few weeks. As players go down with injuries, replacements will need to be quickly decided upon to ensure a full team is set to compete in Milan.
Sweden has been busy in that regard, with prominent players such as Leo Carlsson and Jonas Brodin ruled out of the tournament. Brodin was a significant loss for the Swedish blueline, and many thought this could be an opening for Ekholm to crack the roster as an injury replacement.
Yet, on Tuesday morning, that didn’t come to fruition, with Sweden adding forward Marcus Johansson and defenceman Hampus Lindholm to replace the duo.
The Swedish 🇸🇪 Olympic team has added forward Marcus Johansson and defenseman Hampus Lindholm to their Milan roster as injury replacements for Leo Carlsson and Jonas Brodin
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) January 27, 2026
This is the second time that Sweden has left the veteran defender off the roster, after opting for former Oilers player Philip Broberg during the initial roster reveal.
It hasn’t been the best season for Ekholm, who is starting to show a few signs of decline as he ages, but he’s still a very good NHL defenceman who plays top-pairing minutes. The 35-year-old is on pace for nearly 40 points this season and still ranks among the best in the league when it comes to expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) among NHL defencemen.
He has a very real case to not only be on Sweden’s Olympic squad but also be an impactful player for them. Alas, it appears that Swedish management disagrees with that notion and is opting to go with a sleeker, more high-event blueline.
An explanation for these multiple snubs might be found during last year’s 4 Nations tournament. There seemed to be some friction between Ekholm and head coach Sam Hallam, which resulted in the Oilers rearguard being scratched in an elimination game.
Regardless of the true intention behind the snubs, Oilers fans can take at least one positive out of this situation. This will give Ekholm plenty of time to rest and recharge before Edmonton embarks on another postseason run. He missed most of last year’s playoffs due to an injury, and he’ll want to avoid doing that for a second consecutive season.
Still, it’s a bit disappointing that Ekholm seemingly won’t get the opportunity to suit up for the Swedes.