The stars of the NHL were not allowed to participate in the 2018 Olympics.
But for the Olympics in Beijing 2022, the players have now been given the green light.
"Two separate tracks"
But that does not mean that Tre Kronor's national team captain Johan Garpenlöv abandons the idea of an Olympic team with only players from the European leagues.
- No, we can not do that in these times, of course.
There is a possibility that there will be some kind of outburst, so that we will not have the opportunity to choose these players from the NHL.
So we work on two separate tracks, and we have a so-called "long list" that we must send in no later than October 15.
And then that list must be very broad, because we have to cover all possible scenarios, Garpenlöv says to SVT Sport.
So it will contain many players from the European leagues there as well?
- Absolutely.
It will be sent to SHL players, KHL Swedish players and also the Swiss league.
So we will be very wide in that selection.
"Means a lot"
But Garpenlöv still does not hide behind a chair that he views today's message positively.
- It means a lot to the Swedish part.
Both for hockey in general in Sweden when we get the opportunity to gather all the best players, and meet the very best players in all other countries.
It's something we look forward to in our sport, and it does not happen every year.
Great fun for the players to have the opportunity to experience and play an Olympics, against the best players, he says, and continues:
- It is fun for us leaders also to gather the best players and carry out an Olympics: It sends good signals, I think, within Sweden but also globally.
We are not a great sport worldwide, so we need to take every opportunity we can to sell our sport and try to broaden it.