Sweden

Swedish old-timers’ team took part in three first editions of Christmas Tournament, but didn’t succeed. After a couple of years the Scandinavian squad started to express interest in Belarusian competition of hockey amateurs again. General Manager of the team Bjorn Åberg came to Minsk for the 7th Christmas International Tournament to actually see and appraise the level of opponents and the approach to organization.

“I was impressed by the professional arrangements. – says Bjorn. – So there were no hesitations to apply for the 8th Christmas Tournament . We all look forward to January to see some old friends and make some new friends as well. I am certain that the Swedish team will experience the same hospitality from the Belarusian people as I was shown in 2010”.

However, the Scandinavian team seems to count on their own strength rather than on the hospitality of the hosts: the roster is mainly comprised of former professionals who played in Sweden, Russia, Norway and Germany. Two players have played in the Swedish national team, defenseman Per Gusav Styf and forward Lars David Engblom. The latter was drafted in NHL in 1995.