Vezina Trophy Winner Shockingly Rejected by His Country for IIHF World Championship
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
A former Vezina Trophy winner was shockingly rejected by his country for the IIHF World Championship.
The International Ice Hockey Federation's World Championship will be interesting to follow this year. With the 2026 Olympic Games coming up, NHL players know that the WC could be their best way of showing what they can bring to their countries for the Olympics.
With the first round of the NHL playoffs nearly over, some players who were eliminated announced that they'd be joining their fellow countrymen.
However, it seems that a player who was recently eliminated won't be joining his country.
Indeed, Linus Ullmark, goaltender of the Ottawa Senators and Vezina Trophy winner in 2023, was eliminated from the playoffs a few days ago by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In his exit interview, the goalie confirmed that he was interested in representing Sweden at the tournament, but his country chose not to invite him.
Representing Sweden between the pipes will be the Philadelphia Flyers' netminder Samuel Ersson and the Chicago Blackhawks' Arvid Soderblom.
Ullmark commented on the situation, saying that he wished he was still playing and would've loved to represent his country:
"Oh, yeah-I definitely have the interest. But they've decided not to go with me. That's the decision they made. I found out recently. It would've been a great opportunity to play for Team Sweden, especially back home in Stockholm, so I'm definitely a bit let down about the whole situation.
I really wish I had the opportunity to do that and put on the national team jersey-especially now, since we didn't make it past the second round. You know, it's kind of a weird feeling: you don't want to be available for Worlds, because that usually means your team's still in the playoffs. Ideally, you're saying, 'Sorry, I can't come-I'm still playing in the second or third round.'
But this year felt a bit more special, with the tournament being in Sweden. Friends and family could've come to watch. So yeah, it stings a bit more.
But again, it's their decision. It's not something I can change. That's on them."
I really wish I had the opportunity to do that and put on the national team jersey-especially now, since we didn't make it past the second round. You know, it's kind of a weird feeling: you don't want to be available for Worlds, because that usually means your team's still in the playoffs. Ideally, you're saying, 'Sorry, I can't come-I'm still playing in the second or third round.'
But this year felt a bit more special, with the tournament being in Sweden. Friends and family could've come to watch. So yeah, it stings a bit more.
But again, it's their decision. It's not something I can change. That's on them."
| POLL | ||
MAI 4 | 199 ANSWERS Vezina Trophy Winner Shockingly Rejected by His Country for IIHF World Championship Do you thin team Sweden made a mistake by keeping him out of the lineup? | ||
| Yes | 159 | 79.9 % |
| No | 40 | 20.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
