Meet the Team: Sweden's 2024 U18 World Hockey Championship roster

Sweden comes into this tournament with five straight medals, last year's silver and two golds among them, but it may be difficult to reach the podium this year.

Many in the industry rate this year's group (the 2006-born players) as a less talented one than many of their predecessors. You can get a good sense for this by looking at the Consolidated Ranking on the Elite Prospects Draft Center page, which doesn't include a single Swedish prospect in its first round. Still, they won the 5 Nations tournament in Plymouth, Michigan, as recently as February, so underestimate them at your own peril.

Sweden has several players who stand up well against their peers, even if they aren't a sure bet to play in the NHL one day. There's also a handful of players with legitimate bottom-six or middle-pair ups