Mattias Ekholm gets snubbed from Olympic roster, former Oiler takes his place

Ekholm has represented Sweden 5 times since 2007 between World Juniors, World Championships, the World Cup of Hockey, and the 4 Nations Faceoff. This year however, Sweden made the tough call to cut the 35 year old Ekholm.

In last year's 4 Nations Faceoff, Ekholm made the roster but was then a frequent healthy scratch in the tournament. This year, Sweden has elected to cut him entirely - and have added Philip Broberg as his replacement.

Ekholm didn't even made the cut as the added 8th defenceman. Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Toronto Maple Leafs is the other new added player to their roster, showing Sweden thinks Ekholm is no longer one of their top 8.

It absolutely stings to see Ekholm miss the cut, while Broberg takes his place.

The Oilers veteran defenceman has begun to show some signs of slowing down, and struggled massively at some points early this season.

However, he has begun to turn his play around and is once again leading the Oilers defence pairs in some underlying metrics. His offensive play is as strong as ever, but his defence has taken a small hit.

Perhaps Team Sweden is looking for younger and faster players in their group this year. Nevertheless, they'll miss the veteran leadership and playoff experience from a player like Ekholm.

Now, almost every Oiler candidate to make the Olympics has been snubbed by their country's roster except for McDavid and Draisaitl. It may not be the worst thing for the Oilers though, as these key players will get some much needed rest from the condensed schedule.

This will be tough news for Ekholm though. Hopefully he can make up for the lost Olympic opportunity this season by lifting a Stanley Cup instead.