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Kristen Shilton
Philadelphia Flyers‘ goaltender Samuel Ersson will replace the injured Jacob Markstrom on Team Sweden for the upcoming 4 Nations tournament.
Tuesday’s announcement came days after New Jersey Devils‘ netminder Markstrom was placed on injured reserve by the team with an MCL sprain he suffered in a collision with Boston forward Justin Brazeau in last Wednesday’s game. The timeline for Markstrom’s recovery was set around four to six weeks and a source told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan that Markstrom’s participation in the 4 Nations event would be “a challenge.”
Now it’s official that Markstrom won’t be participating and instead it’ll be Ersson getting the call. Philadelphia’s starter has been impressive of late, posting an 8-2 record with a .930 save percentage in his last 10 starts, and he’s 15-8-2 on the season. The 25-year-old has represented Sweden on five other occasions internationally, including the 2024 World Championships where Sweden took home a bronze medal.
Ersson may not be the only replacement goaltender Sweden needs for 4 Nations, either. Linus Ullmark — who was named along with Markstrom to Sweden’s roster in December — hasn’t suited up for Ottawa since a back injury sidelined him in late December. He’s been skating again but whether he’s available to Sweden in next month’s event is still to be determined.
As it is, Markstrom is the second player to be removed from a team’s roster due to injury. Canadian defenseman Alex Pietrangelo also will not be participating; no replacement has been named as of yet for him.
The 4 Nations Face-Off will feature teams from Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland. It will take place from Feb. 12 to Feb. 20 with round-robin action between the Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston.