Whatever it is exactly that’s bothering Rickard Rakell, it’s bad enough that he’s now out of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Luckily for Sweden, they have a decent replacement in Patrik Berglund of the St. Louis Blues.
You could probably argue that Rakell boasts a higher ceiling than the solid-and-steady Berglund, but the latter brings more NHL experience to the table. One would speculate that he’ll be comfortable taking a less glamorous role behind Sweden’s higher-end firepower.
Rakell was hospitalized due to what sounds like stomach issues, and as NHL.com reports, it seems like they’re still trying to determine the issue.
“He didn’t feel any better [Sunday] so he went back to the hospital,” Team Sweden coach Rikard Gronborg said Sunday. “So far we haven’t found anything.”
Yikes. Hopefully they sort that situation out for the promising young Anaheim Ducks scorer.
Sweden’s next game is against Europe on Wednesday.