Sweden and Maja Nylen Persson are back at top-level international ice hockey at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
photo: Matt Zambonin / HHOF-IIHF Images
Between 2002 and 2014, the Swedish women’s national team made it to at least the semi-finals in four straight Winter Olympics, and won the silver medal in 2006 behind the goaltending of Kim Martin. With all the players settling into Beijing for the start of the women’s tournament on Thursday, the Swedes are looking for new blood to lead them, such as offensive defender Maja Nylen Persson.
“We’ve been here since Friday, so we’re pretty settled into the routine now and over the jetlag,” the 21-year-old said after practice on Tuesday, two days away from the team’s first game against Japan. “It feels good to be here now.”
Despite her age, Nylen Persson is a returning veteran from PyeongChang four years ago, where Sweden finished seventh – the proud hockey nation’s worst-ever finish in Olympic women’s hockey. But despite that placement, Nylen Persson had a good tournament, recording four points in six games. It came roughly a month after she had won a silver medal and was named to the all-star team of the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship.
“I was the youngest on the team, but now it’s been four years and I hope I can be a key player and help the team win,” Nylen Persson said. “Now that this is my second Olympics, I feel that I have that experience to rely on and use that to help the team.”
She’s also part of the team’s leadership group along with captain Michelle Lowenhielm and fellow alternate Anna Kjellbin.
“I want to be a leader on the ice,” said Nylen Persson. “Obviously, it’s a huge honour to get an ‘A’ on your chest and play with that. It means you’re doing something right and have some leadership skills.”
As for her style of play, she said, “I like to go my own way,” rather than patterning her game after someone else. Nonetheless, she added: “I like to watch NHL highlights and Victor Hedman is one of my favourites. He’s really good offensively and defensively, so those are the kind of players I like to watch.”
She’s always been an offensive defender, but this season Nylen Persson has broken out with 41 points in 28 games for Brynas Gavle in the SDHL, the Swedish league that is considered one of the best in the world for women. That total puts her fifth in league scoring, and the top-ranked Swede.
“I’m an offensive D, so I like to be part of the offence and the points have been coming,” she said. “I’ve had a really good season coming into the Olympics, which is really good for my confidence.”
Brynas is a league powerhouse, having won 23 of its first 29 games and is in first place by a comfortable margin. Six of the SDHL’s top 10 scorers are on the team, including Nylen Persson. It’s not surprising, therefore, that the club is well represented at these Winter Olympics. Other Brynas players on the Swedish team include Josefin Bouveng, Emma Muren and Mina Waxin. Brynas also has three players on the Czech team – Katerina Mrazova, Denisa Krizova and Samantha Kolowratova – and one each on Switzerland and Finland – Lara Stadler and goalie Eveliina Makinen – bringing the total to nine.
“I’ve already spoken to some of them,” Nylen Persson said about encounters in the athlete’s village. “You see them when you eat and stuff, and that’s fine. But when it’s time for the game against them, you need to go 100 per cent and forget about those things.”
Since that seventh-place finish in 2018, things have been difficult for the Swedish women. They finished ninth at the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship in Finland and were consequently relegated, and haven’t played in a World Championship since due to Covid-related tournament cancellations.
With Sweden’s decline in the women’s World Rankings, the team had to earn its trip to Beijing by winning a Qualification tournament on home ice in Lulea in November. The Swedes won all three games but it wasn’t easy, needing a narrow 3-2 win over France in the last game, with Nylen Persson registering an assist.
“It was a new situation for all of us, but I feel like it was a good experience for us to play with that pressure on us to win every game,” she said. “I think that’s good for us to come into this tournament, to have experienced those kind of games.”
The Swedes are competing in Group B of the women’s tournament. After the opening game against Japan come games against Czechia, China and Denmark. They need to finish in the top three to advance to the quarter-finals with the top-five seeded teams, but it won’t be easy, with three of the teams currently ranked higher than Sweden.
“It’s gonna be fun to see how we play against higher ranked teams, and I think it’s an advantage for us to come into the games in this position,” she said. “No one believes in us but we believe in ourselves.”
“We’ve been here since Friday, so we’re pretty settled into the routine now and over the jetlag,” the 21-year-old said after practice on Tuesday, two days away from the team’s first game against Japan. “It feels good to be here now.”
Despite her age, Nylen Persson is a returning veteran from PyeongChang four years ago, where Sweden finished seventh – the proud hockey nation’s worst-ever finish in Olympic women’s hockey. But despite that placement, Nylen Persson had a good tournament, recording four points in six games. It came roughly a month after she had won a silver medal and was named to the all-star team of the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship.
“I was the youngest on the team, but now it’s been four years and I hope I can be a key player and help the team win,” Nylen Persson said. “Now that this is my second Olympics, I feel that I have that experience to rely on and use that to help the team.”
She’s also part of the team’s leadership group along with captain Michelle Lowenhielm and fellow alternate Anna Kjellbin.
“I want to be a leader on the ice,” said Nylen Persson. “Obviously, it’s a huge honour to get an ‘A’ on your chest and play with that. It means you’re doing something right and have some leadership skills.”
As for her style of play, she said, “I like to go my own way,” rather than patterning her game after someone else. Nonetheless, she added: “I like to watch NHL highlights and Victor Hedman is one of my favourites. He’s really good offensively and defensively, so those are the kind of players I like to watch.”
She’s always been an offensive defender, but this season Nylen Persson has broken out with 41 points in 28 games for Brynas Gavle in the SDHL, the Swedish league that is considered one of the best in the world for women. That total puts her fifth in league scoring, and the top-ranked Swede.
“I’m an offensive D, so I like to be part of the offence and the points have been coming,” she said. “I’ve had a really good season coming into the Olympics, which is really good for my confidence.”
Brynas is a league powerhouse, having won 23 of its first 29 games and is in first place by a comfortable margin. Six of the SDHL’s top 10 scorers are on the team, including Nylen Persson. It’s not surprising, therefore, that the club is well represented at these Winter Olympics. Other Brynas players on the Swedish team include Josefin Bouveng, Emma Muren and Mina Waxin. Brynas also has three players on the Czech team – Katerina Mrazova, Denisa Krizova and Samantha Kolowratova – and one each on Switzerland and Finland – Lara Stadler and goalie Eveliina Makinen – bringing the total to nine.
“I’ve already spoken to some of them,” Nylen Persson said about encounters in the athlete’s village. “You see them when you eat and stuff, and that’s fine. But when it’s time for the game against them, you need to go 100 per cent and forget about those things.”
Since that seventh-place finish in 2018, things have been difficult for the Swedish women. They finished ninth at the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship in Finland and were consequently relegated, and haven’t played in a World Championship since due to Covid-related tournament cancellations.
With Sweden’s decline in the women’s World Rankings, the team had to earn its trip to Beijing by winning a Qualification tournament on home ice in Lulea in November. The Swedes won all three games but it wasn’t easy, needing a narrow 3-2 win over France in the last game, with Nylen Persson registering an assist.
“It was a new situation for all of us, but I feel like it was a good experience for us to play with that pressure on us to win every game,” she said. “I think that’s good for us to come into this tournament, to have experienced those kind of games.”
The Swedes are competing in Group B of the women’s tournament. After the opening game against Japan come games against Czechia, China and Denmark. They need to finish in the top three to advance to the quarter-finals with the top-five seeded teams, but it won’t be easy, with three of the teams currently ranked higher than Sweden.
“It’s gonna be fun to see how we play against higher ranked teams, and I think it’s an advantage for us to come into the games in this position,” she said. “No one believes in us but we believe in ourselves.”