Rakell feels snubbed by left off 4 Nations team, says he will use as motivation

Rakell wasn’t picked to play for Team Sweden in the upcoming international tournament.

Penguins forward Rickard Rakell wasn’t picked to compete for his home country in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament and he says he’s going to use that as motivation moving forward.

Rakell wasn’t selected to play for Team Sweden in the upcoming tournament that also featured the United States, Canada, and Finland and is a warm-up of sorts for the 2026 Olympics.

Rakell told the Post-Gazette Thursday that he felt disappointed that he was left off of the roster for the 4 Nations tournament and that he opens to earn a spot on the Olympic team.

“There’s a lot of good Swedish players in this league, and they built the team however they wanted,” Rakell said. “I have just tried to focus on my game here, and I was hoping that it was going to be enough to make that team.”

Rakell added that he respect’s the choice that he was left off of the team, but said he is going to try and prove the decision to be a poor one.

The 31-year-old winger leads the Penguins so far this season with 10 goals.