With the Leafs’ season coming to a premature end, the focus now shifts to who will be heading over to Europe to compete in the World Hockey Championship.
While it is not yet clear exactly how many Leafs will make the trip, one player has been reportedly given the clearance to participate.
NHL-backen ansluter till Tre Kronor #hockeyvmhttps://t.co/c1L1JCvxzl
— SVT Sport (@SVTSport) May 15, 2023
According to SVT Sport, Timothy Liljegren has intentions of playing for Team Sweden and all that’s left for him to do before he gets the clearance is a routine medical examination.
An interesting note is that should this occur, there is a very good chance that Sweden decides to pair him up with his former teammate Rasmus Sandin. The Capitals defender was acquired by the Leafs at this year’s trade deadline for Erik Gustafsson and Boston’s first-round pick in the 2023 draft. This would be both bittersweet and nostalgic for Leafs fans to watch Toronto’s first-round picks from 2017 and 2018 reunite on the international stage.
Once Liljegren joins Team Sweden, they will have one spot left to add another forward who is willing to join. William Nylander told reporters during today’s locker cleanout that he is interested in making the trip but needs to first speak with Kyle Dubas and Sheldon Keefe before committing to it. Given his love for his country and his track record of representing Sweden at the Worlds, it would not shock me if this request was granted.
Given that Sweden is currently playing against Finland in an attempt to tie the USA for first place in Group A, the earliest Liljegren can join the team is for their game against Hungary on Thursday. You can catch the action on TSN with puck drop scheduled for 9:20 a.m.
