Sweden's Worlds roster bets on Ohio State and the PWHL

Sweden's roster for Denmark is a bet on two things: the PWHL and Ohio State. New coach Erika Holst left a Milan Olympic assistant captain at home and brought in five first-timers, and I think she's right to.

A program that wants to close the gap on the top of the field has to find out who its next core is, and the Worlds are the place to do it.

The number: three. That's how many of Sweden's 24 come from Ohio State: defenders Mira Jungåker and Jenna Raunio and forward Hilda Svensson. The Buckeyes are No. 1 in the USCHO women's poll at 7-1-0.

Nicole Hall comes from No. 6 Penn State, and Ida Karlsson from No. 13 Minnesota Duluth. That's five Swedish skaters playing NCAA hockey against top-15 competition every weekend.

The other half of the bet is the pros. Sweden will have seven players in PWHL camps this November, the most the country has ever sent. Josefin Bouveng (Las Vegas), Anna Kjellbin (Hamilton) and Thea Johansson (Vancouver) are on this roster, and the league's expansion has turned "Swedish prospect" into "PWHL regular" faster than anyone expected.

Who's out. Hanna Olsson, an assistant captain in Milan, didn't make it. Neither did Tindra Holm, Jessica Adolfsson, Linnéa Andersson or Felizia Wikner Zienkiewicz. That's a real chunk of the Olympic group, and it tells you Holst isn't running the last staff's depth chart.

Who's in. Goalie Ida Boman, defenders Lova Blom and Josefine Holmgren, forward Wilma Sundin and 18-year-old Tilde Grillfors are new.

Michelle Löwenhielm, a former captain, is back. Emma Söderberg and Ebba Svensson Träff are back in goal, and two veterans in the crease buy the kids some room.

"This is a team that we know will compete every second on the ice but that can also play with the puck," Holst said, in translation.

That second half is the whole project. Sweden has always competed. It hasn't always had the puck.

The tune-up. The roster stays the same through the Worlds, so the Lidl Hockey Games in Södertälje are the dress rehearsal: Czechia on Oct. 28, Switzerland on Oct. 30 and Finland on Oct. 31. The rest of that field is short-handed in places.

Finland is without Ronja Savolainen, and Sini Karjalainen and Emilia Vesa are hurt. Czechia is missing the injured Andrea Trnková. Switzerland has its full player pool again, Alina Müller and Andrea Brändli included, and has to cut three before Denmark.

The schedule that matters. Sweden opens the Worlds against Canada on Nov. 6, then plays Finland on Nov. 8, Denmark on Nov. 10 and Japan on Nov. 11. Canada is the measuring stick. Finland is the game that sets Sweden's tournament.

My call: Sweden beats Finland in Södertälje on Oct. 31 and again in Denmark on Nov. 8. Finland scored three goals in five Olympic games and brings two injured players' worth of holes to the tune-up. Sweden's young group is better than that right now.

The W read: Holst picked the future over the résumé. With a Finland team this thin, it's the right year to do it.