Toronto forward William Nylander felt the ice in the training rink at Nokia Arena on Saturday afternoon after his arrival in Tampere. At 19.20 on Sunday evening, the 26-year-old right-handed shooter makes his first World Cup match since in the World Cup quarter-final against Finland in Kosice three years ago. Tre Kronor meets Norway and on Tuesday Latvia awaits in the last match of the group stage.
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On Saturday, Tre Kronor’s coach Johan Garpenlöv did not want to say who will be the center next to Nylander.
– We get Nylander in so we get to feel it a little again and see how we should do how we should shape ourselves. Then you have to play with it and see if it works. There are two matches we have to try to find the right one in a playoff and then try to drum on, says Garpenlöv.
What ingredients do you want from the players who will be on the ice with him?
– Nylander is a player who can play a lot on his own and may not be super dependent on playing with (some) people. He has been with before and then he has played with (Nicklas) Bäckström and they have worked well together, says Garpenlöv and thinks of the WC 2017 which ended with WC gold.
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– We have (Lucas) Wallmark and (Joel) Kellman who are a bit playful and good and smart centers. It can be a thought, says Garpenlöv.
The Three Kronor coach also does not want to reveal who he is considering as a third link in a chain with Nylander and Wallmark / Kellman.
– It will be something we have to think about.
However, Johan Garpenlöv does not see Dallas center Jacob Peterson as a complement to William Nylander.
– No, not in this situation. There are no centers in our team and I think he shows in these two matches that he keeps a very high level in the center game, says Garpenlöv.
