Sharks center Alexander Wennberg named to Sweden’s Olympic team

SAN JOSE – Macklin Celebrini will not be the only San Jose Sharks centerman playing in the Olympics in February. Alexander Wennberg is going, too.

Wennberg is among the 14 forwards who will represent Sweden at the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, it was announced Friday.

Wennberg, now in his 12th season and his second with the Sharks, is tied for third on the team with 26 points in 40 games. His 19 assists are tied for second on the team and his 20:35 in average ice time leads all Sharks forwards.

Wennberg also leads the Sharks with 666 faceoffs taken this season, winning 302 of them (45.3%).

Wennberg, 31, is a native of Stockholm and was a first round draft choice, 14th overall, by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013. The Sharks signed Wennberg to a two-year, $10 million contract as a free agent on July 1, 2024, and he is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Wennberg, Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog and Tampa Bay’s Pontus Holmberg were three forwards named to the Swedish Olympic team who were not on the country’s roster for last February’s 4 Nations Face-Off.

Viktor Arvidsson of the Boston Bruins and ex-Shark Gustav Nyquist of the Winnipeg Jets were on Sweden’s 4 Nations team but did not make the Olympic roster.

The other Swedish-born Sharks players, forward William Eklund and defensemen John Klingberg and Timothy Liljegren, were not named to the 25-man team.

Celebrini, the Sharks’ leading scorer with 62 points, was named to Canada’s star-studded team on Wednesday.

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