"Little surprised with the Alternates" "Let’s go Ekholm and NYLANDER!": NHL fans react as Team Sweden names it captain's for 4 Nations Face-Off

The buzz surrounding the 4 Nations Face-Off is heating up as the start of the tournament draws closer. The event will feature NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States representing their home countries. The games will be played at Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston from February 12-20.

Hockey fans have not been shy about sharing their views and feelings about the event and the players who will take part. They had mixed reactions after the NHL’s Swedish-language X account posted the names of Sweden's team captains for the tournament.

“Era kaptener för Tre Kronor i #4Nations Face-Off är här! (Your #4Nations Face-Off captains for Team Sweden are here!),” NHL Sverige tweeted on Thursday.

Early replies ranged from unenthusiastic to mildly surprised.

“i’m a little surprised with the Alternates. Captain was about as obvious of a choice as Barkov for Finland,” a fan wrote.

Others were pessimistic about the Swedish team selection for the tournament.

"woah what is this tournament all about? when is it? they’re not stopping the season for it, are they?" one fan commented.

"Fyra kaptener för tre matcher? Inte 82 omgångar direkt…(Four captains for three matches? Not 82 innings straight…)," another fan wrote.

"Victor Hedman sucks, why is he captain of either team? The dude is a turnover machine. He has cost tge Lightning at least 5 wins thst i know of," one fan said.

Some expressed excitement at getting to see some of the NHL’s biggest superstars on the same team.

"Let’s go Ekholm and NYLANDER! 🧡💙," one fan commented.

"Great team captains," another fan wrote.

"My glorious king eky," a fan said.

"YESSSSSS WILLY A FINALLYYYYYYYY," one fan commented.

Victor Hedman the clear choice as Sweden captian for 4 Nations Face-Off

The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa said that Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman was the obvious choice to captain Team Sweden.

"Hedman was a no-discussion selection," Shinzawa wrote on Thursday. "The Lightning did not hesitate to name Hedman their 11th captain in team history following the offseason departure of Steven Stamkos to the Nashville Predators."

Hedman is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with 1,099 career games under his belt and he is the most experienced active Swedish NHL player. A lot of fans and pundits agreed with the choice of Team Sweden's captain.