A direct message from Sweden to Rikard Grönborg – this matter must be brought along from Finland

After making a strong impression as the head coach of Tappara, Rikard Grönborg returns to his familiar role this season. The Swedish coach will once again take command of the Swedish national team, known as Tre Kronor.

Grönborg coached Tappara for three seasons in the Liiga and led the Tampere club to the Finnish championship twice. Now, he is faced with high expectations in his home country.

After the lackluster era of Sam Hallam, there are hopes that Grönborg will bring Tre Kronor back to the forefront of international ice hockey.

The columnist for Expressen, Christopher Heino-Lindberg, demands that the new head coach make one thing clear right from the start: national team invitations will no longer be declined for trivial reasons.

Heino-Lindberg cites Switzerland’s strict policy as an example. There, declining a national team invitation can have consequences for a player’s standing in the national representative team.

– If I were the head coach of the national team, I would start with a crystal-clear message to all NHL players: “If you decline to participate in the World Championships or the Olympics because you want more free time with your families or because you feel exhausted after a long NHL season? Then you will never wear the Tre Kronor jersey again, as long as I decide so. Period,” the journalist asserts.

Heino-Lindberg hopes that Grönborg’s three years spent in Finland have also imparted a piece of the Finnish mentality to the coach.

– I truly hope that Grönborg has brought with him some Finnish grit, has slammed his fist on the table, and crushed the Swedish comfort-seeking mentality. Winning is based on results. A significant change in attitude is needed if Sweden wants to become a superpower in world ice hockey, the journalist emphasizes.

Grönborg is also facing high performance pressure. According to Heino-Lindberg, the player material available to Sweden is of such high quality that Tre Kronor should not be allowed to leave major tournaments without a medal.

– Considering how dominant we are in producing NHL players and how many superstars we have in the SHL, a medal must always be the basic requirement. If the head coach of the national team does not meet this requirement, he should be critically evaluated, the journalist puts pressure on Grönborg.

Grönborg is already familiar with the pressures of being the national team head coach from previous years. His last tenure as head coach of Tre Kronor culminated in two consecutive world championships in 2017 and 2018.

Additionally, Grönborg’s trophy cabinet includes one World Championship gold medal achieved as an assistant coach.