Committee approach key in 2026 Olympics, Sweden GM says

NHL players will participate in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 this February, the first time since 2014 the best players in the world will be on the Olympic stage. NHL.com will post a story each Monday to count down the 2026 Olympics. Today, a sit-down with Team Sweden general manager Josef Boumedienne:

Josef Boumedienne knows Team Sweden will have to succeed by committee in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, on and off the ice.

Boumedienne, general manager of Team Sweden's entry when the NHL returns to the Olympics for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Olympics, will rely on some key pieces in helping push for gold for the first time in 20 years.

"I'm fortunate to be in this position," Boumedienne said, "and we have such a great group around the national team with head coach Sam Hallam and Patric Hornqvist and Daniel Alfredsson, and all the people around. There's a lot of knowledge. The way we do it in Sweden isn't me picking a team. We do it by committee and at the end of the day if there's a tie on a couple of players, the head coach has the final say in that. It hasn't come down to that yet.

"We discuss and we try to use as many angles as possible before we make a decision. I don't look at it as pressure. I'm just fortunate to be a part of it."

Sweden, which participated in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, is vying for its first Olympic gold medal in men's hockey since 2006, and its second of any type in Games featuring NHL participation after earning silver in 2014.

The men's tournament will start with preliminary games Feb. 11, with the gold-medal game scheduled for Feb. 22.

Sweden's quest for gold began June 16, with forwards Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings), Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche), William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs), Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings) and defensemen Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres) and Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning) named to its preliminary roster.

Likely contributing to the selection process was Hornqvist, a scouting and development consultant with the Florida Panthers and assistant general manager for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off and 2025 IIHF World Championship in May. He played 901 NHL games over 15 seasons with the Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins and Panthers, and won the Stanley Cup twice with the Penguins(2016, 2017).

Alfredsson likely was too; in addition to being a member of the Ottawa Senators coaching staff and a senior adviser at the World Championship and assistant coach at the 4 Nations, he had a Hockey Hall of Fame career with 1,246 games played in 18 seasons with the Senators and Red Wings.

"I spend most of my time in North America, so I keep a finger on the pulse over there," Boumedienne said, "and Patric Hornqvist, he didn't retire too long ago and he played with a lot of the players so he has that relationship, and he is part of one of the best teams in hockey helping out there and has the knowledge of what it takes to win, for sure. And 'Alfie,' he doesn't need much more introduction.

"We try to use everybody's strengths. It's just a fun group to be a part of. That's typically how we do it in Sweden over the history, not just in hockey. We've been a really successful country in team sports, and it's always by committee. It's never hierarchical in Sweden, in general. We always do it by committee."

Boumedienne spoke with NHL.com about lessons learned at the 4 Nations Face-Off and what to expect at Milano Cortina.

What did you learn from the 4 Nations experience?

"First of all, it was an exciting tournament, you know? It was good. It was the first best-on-best since 2016, so that was awesome to begin with. We learned about our team and we learned about our players. We hadn't had the chance to spend a whole lot of time with our NHL players, so we learned bits and pieces about the guys the more we spent time with them. We were fortunate to have a few of them at the Worlds last year and then the 4 Nations, and a lot of them at Worlds this year. We learned a lot along the way about our players."

Does what you observed at the 4 Nations change your philosophy at all in terms of how you want to build your roster for the Olympics?

"I think as a whole we were happy with how we played. We weren't happy with the result. For us, it's a little different compared to Canada and the U.S. Our pool of players is a little smaller. There's not that many decision for us to make, roster decisions. We don't have hundreds of players in the NHL vs. U.S. and Canada, so our process is a little different."

Where do you feel your team needs to be better?

"I'd like to see a little more grit. I'd like to see a heavier game. A healthy Gabe Landeskog would have made a difference, I think. He finished the year in Colorado and hopefully he has a good summer and is able to start off on the right foot in the fall. A healthy Gabe Landeskog would really help with the grit in the way he plays."

What do you expect the strength of your Olympic team to be?

"I think our goaltending and our (defense) core are as good as anyone's. That's definitely something I think is our strength. And then we've got top-end players up front as well. Defense and goaltending."

When you construct a roster, what are the philosophies you look to when trying to build? What do you want the identity to be?

"You want to make sure, especially the players that get a little lesser role, less minutes, than they're used to with their club teams, you want to make sure that they can handle it and that they are comfortable playing five, six, seven minutes less than they do for their respective clubs. This is essentially an all-star roster you put together, right? That's probably one of the things. Swedish players in general are really good team players, good teammates, so we don't have to worry about that. We know most of them play together growing up in various national teams, junior national teams. We've had all but three of the four skaters we had at the Worlds have played with this coaching staff previously. From that perspective, it's a good situation. I think having the players understand and, I wouldn't say accept their roles, but be comfortable in a role that they might not play in their club team."

When you look to determine whether a player is going to make your roster, how much emphasis do you put on what you saw at the 4 Nations, what you see at Worlds, and the start of the regular season as well?

"I think history is important. You learn about the players the more we spend time with them. The Olympics is a little longer than the 4 Nations as far as the amount of games. But obviously you have to be healthy, have a good start to the year, but we definitely put an emphasis on the history as well. Have you played in high-pressure games? Have you performed at the biggest stages? Have you played in the playoffs? Won championships? That's definitely something we take into consideration."

For you in this role, how much do you draw from your experiences as a player, as a coach, as a scout? How does your history in the game influence what you're looking for in players?

"I'm sure it influences a lot. And not just from playing. I worked in different roles with the (Columbus) Blue Jackets. I was an amateur scout, pro scout, I was an assistant coach, I was in management for many years, and I learned a lot from those people that I worked with. But I think to build a winning roster in a short tournament might be a little different than building a team over the course of a regular season. I think, hopefully, that's something I've learned being around the game for a long time."