Filip Gustavsson Deserves To Play For Team Sweden In the 2026 Olympics

The 2026 Winter Olympics start February 6, and for the first time since 2014, NHL players will be allowed to compete. At this point, only 6 players for each team have been announced. Sweden has named Rasmus Dahlin, Victor Hedman, Adrian Kempe, Gabriel Landeskog, William Nylander, and Lucas Raymond to their preliminary roster, which notably has no goalies on the list. 

Hopefully, they’re saving a spot for a certain Swedish goalie from the Minnesota Wild. 

Filip Gustavsson feels like an obvious choice for a Swedish goaltender. He has 6 seasons with 183 games played. Only 3 active Swedish NHL goalies have played more games than him: Jacob Markström (543), Linus Ullmark (307), and Anton Forsberg (197). Gus also ranks second for career save percentage by active NHL Swedish goalies, with a .911 save percentage (SV%). Ullmark narrowly beats him with a .915 SV%. 

Markström is next with a career SV% of .908, followed by Forsberg at .904 SV%. However, their stats this season may be more important. Gustavsson is 5-7-2 with a .897 SV% and 2.99 goals against average (GAA) this season, and is ranked 30th for SV%. Ullmark, Markström, and Forsberg all have lower SV% for the 2025-26 season.

Gustavsson ranks fourth this season, behind Jesper Wallstedt (.926), Arvid Söderblom (.912), and Dennis Hildeby (.904). While it’s great to see The Wall of St. Paul playing well, all three of these goalies have less than eight games this season and are overall significantly less experienced. 

Whoever takes Sweden’s net will face Sydney Crosby and Connor McDavid on Team Canada, so a goalie with international experience and a significant amount of NHL experience is also crucial. Because of the previous ban on NHL players in the Olympics, neither Gustavsson nor Ullmark has Olympic experience. 

Still, Gustavsson is no stranger to the world stage. His first experience representing Sweden was in 2016 for the World U18 Championships, where he brought home silver. He stopped 29 of 31 shots against the United States in the 2018 World Juniors Championships, helping Sweden win 4-2 and reach the gold medal game. While Sweden ultimately lost 3-1 to Canada, Gustavsson was named the tournament’s best goaltender. He also brought home a bronze medal for the 2024 World Championships. 

Gustavsson represented Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-off earlier this year. Electric doesn’t begin to describe the February tournament that replaced the All-Star game. USA vs. Canada saw 3 fights in 9 seconds. 

The tournament was an incredible preview of the Winter Olympics. It was truly a kind of best-on-best hockey that we haven’t seen for years. It also had the added intensity of players representing their countries amid a tense geopolitical climate reminiscent of the 1980 Olympics. Players who didn’t make the 4 Nations roster are more motivated than ever to make the Olympic roster. Meanwhile, those who did are just as motivated to keep their spot, bringing the overall competition ahead of the Olympics. 

Sweden has the third-most active NHL players, but they’re still significantly behind the United States and Canada. Canada has 420 active players, the US has 303, and Sweden has just 97. Still, Sweden put up a fight during the 4 Nations tournament, winning 1 game and losing 2 in overtime. Gustavsson dressed for all 3 games and took the ice against Canada and Finland. 

Gustavsson had great moments during the tournament and some tough ones as well. He made an incredible save against Canada after their defense passed to McDavid down low, who sent it across to Devon Toews. Gustavsson slid all the way across the net and back to commit this highway robbery against Canada.

Sweden’s head coach, Sam Hallam, credited Gustavsson for bringing Sweden to overtime and giving them “a chance to win the game.”

Gustavsson was also pulled later in the tournament in Sweden’s matchup against Finland after he let in 2 goals on 4 shots. However, he was also feeling “under the weather,” and Hallam categorized it as a medical decision rather than a performance-based one. 

If Gustavsson makes the Olympic roster, he’ll likely play with and against his current teammates. Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin are on Sweden’s predicted roster, while other Wild players are forecasted to play for Canada, the United States, and other nationalities. Ullmark is also an expected candidate for Sweden’s roster, with whom Gustavsson shared the net during the 4 Nations tournament. 

Gus has had even better seasons, notably 2022-23, where he boasted a .931 SV% and 2.10 GAA over 39 games. While his stats aren’t as strong as in previous years, Minnesota got off to a slow start, and Gustavsson has kept the team competitive despite it. 

Here are some of his top recent saves:

It’s easy to evaluate players solely based on statistics, but it's nearly impossible to rank players based on across-the-net saves like the one he made against Canada. Those are the ones that truly win games. It took quick reflexes to both see the puck going the other way and stop his left momentum, immediately going full speed back to the right. 

Olympic rosters must be finalized by December 31, 2025, so we’ll hopefully see an official list in early January. While Gustavsson doesn’t have Olympic experience, he has represented Sweden on the world stage. 

The Olympic rosters will also likely closely mirror the 4 Nations’ roster, so Gustavsson will have a strong sense of the level of competition and the added intensity of playing for one’s nation. He would be an excellent addition to Sweden’s Olympic roster.