Karlsson reportedly expected to return to national team after lengthy absence

The last time Erik Karlsson suited up for his nation, Sweden, was at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Sweden's tournament came to an end in the semi-finals after losing to Team Europe and ever since, Karlsson has not donned the famous 'Tre Kronor' uniform. Reasons include being in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, NHLers not at the Olympics and for resting purposes.

With Karlsson staying put at the NHL's trade deadline, he's set to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth straight year and with the World Championship coming up in May, Swedish national team Head Coach Sam Hallam is quite hopeful that he'll be joining them for the tournament.

Note: the following quote is translated from Swedish

If Karlsson does indeed suit up for Sweden this spring, it will be the first time he's played at the World Championship since 2012, where they finished a disappointing sixth place on home ice.

The 2023 IIHF World Hockey Championship is set to get underway on May 12th and will be hosted in Tampere (Finland), as well as Riga (Latvia). Sweden's first game of the tournament is on the opening day against Germany. The Swedes will look to bounce back from a sixth place finish last year after losing to Canada in the quarter-finals.

Source: Expressen.se

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