Zibanejad_Hedman_Landeskog

Mika Zibanejad, Victor Hedman and Gabriel Landeskog are the first names submitted to be part of the Sweden men's hockey team at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Participating countries were asked to declare three players last month.
Zibanejad, a center for the New York Rangers, will play in his first Olympics. His overtime goal gave Sweden a victory against Russia in the championship game of the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship, and he scored 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 10 games for first-place Sweden at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.
The 28-year-old scored 39 points (21 goals, 18) assists in his final 29 games of last season to finish with 50 points (24 goals, 26 assists) in 56 games. He has 283 points (136 goals, 147 assists) in 323 games since he was acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators for forward Derick Brassard on July 18, 2016.
"It's definitely a dream come true," Zibanejad said Wednesday. "I've been fortunate enough to play for Team Sweden in the World Juniors and World Championship and other junior national teams. I think the memory that sticks out is '06 against Finland when Sweden won. It's just one of those tournaments. I think anyone is proud to be pulling that national team sweater on to play for your country. That's a huge honor, a huge confidence boost and, again, definitely a dream come true."
Hedman, a defenseman for the Tampa Bay Lightning, also will play in his first Olympic games. He wasn't selected for the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the NHL did not participate in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
The five-time finalist and winner of the 2018 Norris Trophy voted as the best defenseman in the NHL is a two-time Stanley Cup champion (2020, 2021) who helped Sweden finish second at the World Junior Championship in 2008 and 2009, and Team Sweden third at the World Cup of Hockey 2016.
"Obviously tremendous honor and like what I said before, it's a tremendous honor to represent our country," Hedman said. "It's far down the line and there's a lot of work to do up until that point. But obviously very honored to be named to that team.
"We're looking forward to it and obviously it's probably going in the back of everyone's mind for the whole season. But at the same time you have to focus. My focus is here and it's the same with other guys, but I'm sure we're going to hear all year about the Olympics. It's going to be a short tournament and you've got to be on your toes from the start."
Landeskog, captain of the Colorado Avalanche, was an alternate captain at the 2014 Olympics, where Sweden lost to Canada 3-0 in the gold medal game. He was Hedman's teammate at the World Cup and played at Worlds in 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2019.
Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Alex Pietrangelo were the first names submitted Sunday to be
part of the Canada men's hockey team
.
NHL.com independent correspondent Corey Long contributed to this report