The NHL has, in consultation with the players' organization NHLPA, decided not to send players to the Olympics in Beijing.

This means that the Swedish national team captain Johan Garpenlöv will only be able to use players from other leagues, mainly the SHL and the Russian KHL.

SVT Sports expert Håkan Loob has picked out 25 players who according to him should be given.

And he lifts a quintet.

- During the autumn, I have seen Lars Johansson, goalkeeper at SKA St. Petersburg, be outstanding in the KHL.

He was very good when he got to represent Tre Kronor in Karjala.

I thought there was a so-called "Swiss chain" that did very well in Karjala in the form of Brome, Lander and Klingberg.

They were very successful and played well together and will continue to do so.

The leading hill is also Henrik Tömmernäs with an incredible sense of play, good at powerplay, says Loob.

Players of different characters

How did you reason in the selection?

- I have actually started from what has been when we have seen the tournaments in Europe, that is, Karjala in November and Channel One in December.

Then I watched matches from the KHL and SHL, of course, and then I tried to bring together the players who have stood out but also thought about combining and that not everyone should be of the same kind.

- There must be both characters of hard-working boxplay and powerplay players, both left and right shooters.

That's what it takes to build a team that is strong.

What do you get from your squad?

- It is a good combination of players, hard working many of them.

That is the compensation you must have.

I think it will be a team effort and I think this team will be able to generate it.

"You have a great chance to go all the way"

What's missing from the squad now that there are no NHL players?

- What is missing are the spotless scorers and those who are very good at powerplay, such as Erik Karlsson (San Jose) on the slopes and Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay), of course, who is world class.

Was there any player who fell on the finish line?

- Erik Gustafsson in Luleå could have been a hot candidate.

On the forward side there are some, and one of them is Mario Kempe who has done very well.

How far can this possible squad go?

- I think that the change compared to if it had only been NHL players is not so great as the relationship between Sweden and the opponents is about the same.

You have a great chance to go all the way and you must of course have some fluency.

Some nations, such as Canada, the United States, Russia and the Czech Republic, are also affected.

The ones who benefit the most from this are the smaller nations that may not have as many players in the NHL.

See Loob's squad in the fact box below.