Marcus Kruger’s wish was granted early Monday morning as the Swedish Ice Hockey Association announced the Chicago Blackhawks will play for Team Sweden at the 2017 World Championship.
Kruger won’t be joined on Team Sweden by his Chicago teammate Niklas Hjalmarsson, who declined his invitation to play in the tournament which runs from May 5 to 21 in Cologne, Germany and Paris, France.
Kruger, 26, scored five goals and 17 points in 70 games this season for Chicago. He’s no stranger to representing Sweden at the international level. The 6-foot, 181-pound center won four medals at the senior level, including silver twice at the 2011 World Championship and 2014 Olympic Games. He also took home bronze at the 2010 World Junior Championship and at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He did not record a point in four games for Sweden at the World Cup.
Canada will go for a three-peat this year after defeating Russia and Finland the last two years, respectively. The Canadians are in Group B with Finland, who took silver at last year’s Worlds, along with Belarus, Czech Republic, France, Norway, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Sweden is in Group A along with Denmark, Germany, Italy, Lativa, Russia, Slovakia and the United States. The Swedes open the tournament against the Russians.