The season is over for the Blue Jackets, but a few players may opt to continue theirs while playing for their home countries.
With the 2017 IIHF World Championships set to begin next month (May 5-17) in Cologne and Parise, national hockey federations have begun the process of reaching out to players eliminated from the playoffs in an effort to fill out their rosters. Columbus has two players from Sweden, and both were contacted by the Swedish Hockey Association to gauge their interest.
According to a report in national publication Aftonbladet in Sweden, William Karlsson has committed to play for Team Sweden at the Worlds.
Swedish coach Rikard Gronborg told Aftonbladet that Karlsson will be on the team, and while he was used primarily in a match-up role in the NHL, that may not be the role he plays at the Worlds.
Meanwhile, Alexander Wennberg is not expected to play for Sweden because of his looming contract negotiations. Wennberg is coming off a career-best season and will be a restricted free agent (RFA) on July 1; while it's likely disappointing for Sweden to not have a top player join the team, it's common for NHL players in Wennberg's position to sit out this tournament.
Other Blue Jackets scheduled to participate are goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (Latvia) and defenseman Dean Kukan (Switzerland).
S/T to CBJ Prospects for the heads-up on the Karlsson report.
