Swedish nationalism rears its ugly head

Sweden is no exception when it comes to nationalism. Swedes like to think of themselves as not nationalistic, at least not in the same way as Americans are, but they just have a different way of showing it. One of those ways was published today in a major newspaper by a columnist calling for an end to foreign players in Sweden.

There is no reason to end or even put a quota on foreign hockey players in Sweden. Furthermore it is against EU regulations, but nobody in Europe really cares about that. Here are some of the reasons why a ban is stupid and dangerous for Swedish hockey;

• Foreign players show Swedish players new techniques and styles, this helps develop Swedish players.


• Swedish international hockey won the two biggest competitions in the world last year, having foreign players is obviously not hurting Swedish hockey


• Young players forced out of the Eliteserien get more ice time in Allsvenskan allowing for greater development


• Because of the high quality of play in the Eliteserien, NHL teams feel confident letting their prospects develop in Sweden, keeping them in Sweden longer before leaving for the NHL
  

By any measure, Swedish hockey is doing really well. It has a deep
pool of talent, a large fan base, international success, and lots of
promising young players. One example of this is the level of talent of
the goalies playing currently in Sweden. Sweden has never really produced
great goalies like Canada, Russia or even the Czech Republic. Now that is
no longer the case. There are lots of good young goalies in the NHL from
Sweden and there are more young Swedish goalies in the Eliteserien than in several years. Why? Because increased competition develops competitive athletes.

The ban proposal is clearly without merit and not based on any serious study of the state of Swedish hockey. As such it is clearly a product of a biased commentator who finds all these foreigners somehow unworthy of the honor of playing in Sweden. On the contrary, he should feel honored because of all the foreign talent choosing to play here instead of Russia for example, or Switzerland, where they may earn more money. Because this proposal is so far off base and without factual support, we must conclude that this is pure nationalism speaking here; "Bevara sverige svensk!" (Keep Sweden Swedish) in other words.

What a disgusting sentiment and a downright shame for Sweden.