<p>The Calgary Flames will have another player representing them at the IIHF World Championship next month in Sweden and Denmark. During Saturday&#8217;s exit interviews, Flames captain Mikael Backlund indicated he had &#8220;some good conversations&#8221; with Team Sweden but hadn&#8217;t made a decision yet.</p>
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<p>On Tuesday morning, Sportsnet&#8217;s Pat Steinberg reported that it &#8220;sounds like&#8221; Backlund would be going to Worlds.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sounds like Mikael Backlund will be representing Sweden at the World Championship next month.</p>
<p>Will be Backlund’s first time at the event since 2018 when he captained Sweden’s team to a gold medal. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/Fan960Steinberg/status/1914752053446123876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Later on Tuesday, the Flames announced that, yes, Backlund was going to represent Sweden at Worlds.</p>
<p>The 36-year-old Backlund just finished his second season as Flames captain, and he&#8217;s probably hoping to use his appearance at the Worlds to finish off the international calendar on a more positive note than the NHL season did. Backlund posted 15 goals and 32 points over 75 games this season for the Flames, but he dealt with a trio of injuries over the back half of the season. As shared with the media during exit interviews, Backlund suffered a back injury in January, then a rib injury against Washington in February, and then a torn oblique in March that led to him taking two weeks off to heal.</p>
<p>Despite all that, Backlund formed a really nice shutdown line with Blake Coleman and a rotating cast of wingers – at various points, they were joined by Matt Coronato, Joel Farabee and Connor Zary – and continued to bring the same type of smart, structured 200-foot game that&#8217;s made him so effective for the Flames over the past decade.</p>
<p>That said, Backlund probably didn&#8217;t have the type of season he had hoped for, between his injury woes and missing the post-season, so the prospect of putting on the Tre Kronor sweater and representing his country in a major tournament held in his backyard probably appeals to him a great deal.</p>
<p>Backlund has been a fixture for Sweden&#8217;s national team during his career, appearing in one Hlinka Memorial tournament, two Under-18 Worlds, two World Juniors, one World Cup of Hockey and five World Championships.  He last appeared internationally at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, captaining Sweden to a gold medal win. It was his first gold medal for Sweden after capturing three silver and two bronze medals at previous competitions.</p>
<p>Backlund joins <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/19/rasmus-andersson-mackenzie-weegar-among-four-flames-set-to-represent-respective-nations-at-upcoming-world-championships/">Rasmus Andersson on Team Sweden</a>. Their Flames teammates Zayne Parekh (Canada), MacKenzie Weegar (Canada), Matt Coronato (United States) and Dan Vladar (Czechia) will also be appearing at the tournament, <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/20/zayne-parekh-to-play-for-team-canada-in-iihf-worlds-pre-tournament-games-dreger/">though Parekh may only be appearing in pre-tournament games</a>. (We&#8217;ll see.)</p>
<p>The 2025 IIHF World Championship takes place May 9-25 in Stockholm, Sweden and Herning, Denmark.</p>
<p><strong>Sponsored by bet365:</strong></p>
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The Calgary Flames will have another player representing them at the IIHF World Championship next month in Sweden and Denmark. During Saturday's exit interviews, Flames captain Mikael Backlund indicated he had "some good conversations" with Team Sweden but hadn't made a decision yet.
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On Tuesday morning, Sportsnet's Pat Steinberg reported that it "sounds like" Backlund would be going to Worlds.

https://twitter.com/Fan960Steinberg/status/1914752053446123876

Later on Tuesday, the Flames announced that, yes, Backlund was going to represent Sweden at Worlds.

The 36-year-old Backlund just finished his second season as Flames captain, and he's probably hoping to use his appearance at the Worlds to finish off the international calendar on a more positive note than the NHL season did. Backlund posted 15 goals and 32 points over 75 games this season for the Flames, but he dealt with a trio of injuries over the back half of the season. As shared with the media during exit interviews, Backlund suffered a back injury in January, then a rib injury against Washington in February, and then a torn oblique in March that led to him taking two weeks off to heal.

Despite all that, Backlund formed a really nice shutdown line with Blake Coleman and a rotating cast of wingers – at various points, they were joined by Matt Coronato, Joel Farabee and Connor Zary – and continued to bring the same type of smart, structured 200-foot game that's made him so effective for the Flames over the past decade.

That said, Backlund probably didn't have the type of season he had hoped for, between his injury woes and missing the post-season, so the prospect of putting on the Tre Kronor sweater and representing his country in a major tournament held in his backyard probably appeals to him a great deal.

Backlund has been a fixture for Sweden's national team during his career, appearing in one Hlinka Memorial tournament, two Under-18 Worlds, two World Juniors, one World Cup of Hockey and five World Championships.  He last appeared internationally at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, captaining Sweden to a gold medal win. It was his first gold medal for Sweden after capturing three silver and two bronze medals at previous competitions.

Backlund joins <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/19/rasmus-andersson-mackenzie-weegar-among-four-flames-set-to-represent-respective-nations-at-upcoming-world-championships/">Rasmus Andersson on Team Sweden</a>. Their Flames teammates Zayne Parekh (Canada), MacKenzie Weegar (Canada), Matt Coronato (United States) and Dan Vladar (Czechia) will also be appearing at the tournament, <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/04/20/zayne-parekh-to-play-for-team-canada-in-iihf-worlds-pre-tournament-games-dreger/">though Parekh may only be appearing in pre-tournament games</a>. (We'll see.)

The 2025 IIHF World Championship takes place May 9-25 in Stockholm, Sweden and Herning, Denmark.

<strong>Sponsored by bet365:</strong>
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Flames captain Mikael Backlund will represent Sweden at IIHF World Championship

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