OEL: 1st for the Maple Leafs, 7th for Team Sweden
If you’re looking at Team Sweden’s blue line at the Olympics, it’s hard not to be impressed. Sweden boasts one of the deepest blue lines in Milano Cortina, blending elite offensive skill with lockdown defence. Victor Hedman, Rasmus Dahlin, and Erik Karlsson provide puck-moving and scoring ability, while Jonas Brodin, Gustav Forsling, and Rasmus Andersson anchor the shutdown game. Philip Broberg adds youth and speed, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson brings veteran experience.
Even Hampus Lindholm, stepping in for the injured Brodin, adds quality depth. It’s a rare roster where nearly every defender can impact a game, making Sweden’s defence a major reason they’re so hard to beat. With that kind of talent stacked up, it’s no shocker that Oliver Ekman-Larsson hasn’t played yet. Honestly, it makes you stop and think about what that means for him, the Maple Leafs, and even the team he’s representing.
Ekman-Larsson Has Been Great for the Maple Leafs.
Here’s the thing: OEL might be the top player on the Maple Leafs’ blue line. He’s logged big minutes, moved the puck effectively, and has been a steadying presence all season. For Toronto, he’s the kind of defenseman you rely on when the games get tight. But put him on a Swedish roster that already has Hedman, Karlsson, and Dahlin handling the heavy lifting, and suddenly that impact shrinks. The younger Swedish players are more mobile and versatile. Even the power-play setup favours the other Swedish blueliners. OEL’s traditional strength as a puck-mover just doesn’t stand out the same way when he’s the seventh option.
Still, being available on the roster matters. Even if OEL doesn’t play big minutes, his experience, leadership, and composure can help in practice, in the locker room, and when the coaching staff wants someone reliable in a pinch. These things don’t show up on the stat sheet, but they’re worth their weight in gold (perhaps literally) when a team has championship expectations. For Maple Leafs fans, it’s also a reminder that he’s still at the top of the defensive food chain in Toronto, and you can see what he brings to a high-pressure, high-stakes environment.
Maple Leafs Fans Shouldn’t Worry too Much About OEL’s Ice Time.
So, don’t read too much into him sitting out Sweden’s first game. It’s a deep roster, and if they go with seven defensemen, someone has to be the odd man out. That doesn’t make OEL any less important to the Maple Leafs or any less capable of making a difference when it counts. For now, we watch, wait, and appreciate that even when he’s not on the ice, he’s still part of the conversation—a seasoned leader with skill, vision, and enough experience to impact a game the moment he steps onto the ice again.
He did play in the team’s 4-1 loss to Team Finland earlier today.