When best on best hockey returns in February, a prominent member of the Calgary Flames will be taking part. Flames blueliner Rasmus Andersson was announced as part of Sweden’s roster for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off on Wednesday.

A product of Mälmo, Sweden, Andersson played for his hometown team growing up and made the leap to North American hockey in 2014, his draft year, when he joined the Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts as an import. He produced at just under a point-per-game level in major junior, then gradually built up his fitness as a pro until he broke through as a regular member of the Flames lineup in 2018-19.

Andersson’s carved out a big role for himself with the Flames, serving as an alternate captain, forming a strong defensive pairing with newcomer Kevin Bahl, and generally being first over the boards in virtually every game situation. So far this season, he’s posted six goals and nine assists for 15 points over 26 games for the Flames – he’s one point behind Nazem Kadri for the team lead in points. Simply put, he’s one of the most important players on the Flames – on and off the ice – and well deserving of the opportunity to play for Sweden.

Andersson joins Gustav Forsling, Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson, Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Ekholm and Jonas Brodin on Sweden’s blueline.

This is the first time in a decade that Andersson’s had the opportunity to represent Sweden at a major tournament. He previously represented Sweden at the Under-18 World Championships in 2013 and 2014, and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2013. He’s never captured at medal at any of these events, so he’ll be motivated to bring some hardware back from this tournament.

The 4 Nations Face-Off runs Feb. 12-20, 2025 in Montreal and Boston.