Young goalies from Sweden

Mattias Modig
Sweden has never really been known as a nation that produces stellar goalies. That may be about to change. Yes, Tommy Salo made an impression when he was playing in the NHL, and he has probably the best resume of any Swedish goalie ever, but there are some goalies who might challenge him and in the meantime change the perception of Sweden as a hockey nation - for the better.

Firstly there is the crop of Swedes currently playing in the NHL, led by Henrik Lundqvist. Henke of course is the star second year goalie on the Rangers and has proven himself helping the Rangers last year into the playoffs and winning some impressive international tournaments last year. But there are other good goalies as well, like Johan Hedberg in Atlanta, Johan 'Honken' Holmqvist for the Lightning, and Mikael Tellqvist in Phoenix. While the other goalies have not had a breakthrough like Henrik it certainly is possible, especially for Homlqvist who has been so rock solid in his years in Sweden. He has a winning record with the Lightning and he is capable of standing on his head as they say.

There are some good young goalies coming up in the Swedish league as well. One to mention is Joel Gistedt. Gistedt is only 19 and is the first goalie for Frölunda in front of Tommy Salo. He will be in net for Sweden in the Under 20 World Cup that will be played this month in Sweden. But another that deserves mention is Mattias Modig. He has played brilliantly for Luleå helping them into a playoff spot. His goals against average is the best in the league (and this is a league with Karol Kristan, Tommy Salo, and Roman Chechmanek). He will not play in the World Cup this year, but he will be there eventually as well as the NHL.