Five WHL Alumni to lead Denmark in 2026 Winter Olympic qualifiers
Aalborg, Denmark – About to embark on the road to qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics, Denmark is set to lean on a strong contingent of WHL Alumni in its quest.
The Danish men’s national ice hockey team for the 2024 IIHF Men’s Final Olympic Ice Hockey Qualification was named Tuesday, featuring goaltender Mads Sogaard (Medicine Hat Tigers, 2018-20) and forwards Alexander True (Seattle Thunderbirds, 2014-17), Joachim Blichfeld (Portland Winterhawks, 2016-19), Oliver Bjorkstrand (Portland Winterhawks, 2012-15), and Phillip Schultz (Victoria Royals, 2018-20).
Denmark will compete in Group F of the 2024 IIHF Men’s Final Olympic Ice Hockey Qualification round. Vying for one qualification spot from Group F are Denmark, Norway, Great Britain, and Japan. Aalborg, Denmark, will play host to Group F qualifying games from August 29 through September 1, 2024. The team that finishes atop the group following the tournament will secure a berth in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, which will be hosted from February 6-22, 2026, in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
At the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Denmark advanced to the quarter-finals before being eliminated by Russia. In hopes of building upon that showing, Denmark will roll out a roster featuring a number of NHL players, including a host of WHL Alumni.
The 6-foot-7, 200-pound Sogaard stood tall between the pipes for the Tigers for two seasons, going 40-21-3-3 in 74 career WHL regular season appearances. Selected by the Ottawa Senators in the second round (37th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, the 23-year-old made his NHL debut during the 2021-22 campaign, having appeared in 27 NHL contests since. Sogaard was originally chosen by the Tigers in the first round (32nd overall) of the 2018 CHL Import Draft.
The 6-foot-5, 199-pound True, is best remembered by Seattle Thunderbirds fans as the player that delivered the franchise’s first WHL Championship. The native of Kobenhavn, Denmark, scored the Ed Chynoweth Cup-clinching goal in overtime of Game 6 of the 2017 WHL Championship, to give Seattle its first WHL title. In 169 WHL regular season games from 2014-15 through 2016-17, True recorded 84 points (45G-39A). True signed as an undrafted free agent with the San Jose Sharks in July 2018. He has played in 27 career NHL games split between San Jose and the Seattle Kraken. True was originally chosen by the Thunderbirds in the first round (48th overall) of the 2014 CHL Import Draft.
The 6-foot-1, 188-pound Blichfeld enjoyed an outstanding WHL career, including winning the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL Player of the Year for 2018-19 after leading the league in scoring. With 114 points (53G-61A) in 68 games, the product of Fredrikshavn, Denmark, earned the Bob Clarke Trophy as the WHL’s Top Scorer for 2018-19. In total, he tallied 228 points (105G-123A) in 187 career WHL regular season games spread across two seasons. Selected by the San Jose Sharks in the seventh round (210th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, the 26-year-old Blichfeld went on to skate in eight NHL games before heading to Sweden in 2022. Blichfeld was chosen by the Winterhawks in the second round (85th overall) of the 2016 CHL Import Draft.
In many ways, the path to Portland for Blichfeld was paved by Bjorkstrand, who tore up the WHL from 2012 through 2015 as a member of the Winterhawks. The 6-foot, 176-pound native of Herning, Denmark, registered the most goals (31) and points (63) by a rookie in 2012-13 en route to helping Portland win the 2013 WHL Championship. He followed that up by leading the 2014 WHL Playoffs in goals (16) and points (33). In his final WHL campaign, Bjorkstrand led the league in goals (63), points (118), and was named WHL Player of the Year for his impressive efforts. The 29-year-old right winger was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round (89th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft and has enjoyed a successful NHL career, notching 338 points (151G-187A) in 545 regular season games split between Columbus and the Seattle Kraken. He was named an NHL All-Star in 2023-24. The Winterhawks originally selected Bjorkstrand in the first round (26th overall) of the 2012 CHL Import Draft.
The 6-foot, 201-pound Schultz made a big impact during his two seasons in the WHL, including captaining the Victoria Royals during his final campaign (2019-20). Over 106 career WHL regular season outings with Victoria, the native of Rodovre, Denmark, secured 62 points (35G-27A). He then returned home where he has played professional in Denmark and Sweden since 2020. The Royals originally selected Schultz in the first round (38th overall) of the 2018 CHL Import Draft.
Denmark is scheduled to play Great Britain on Thursday, August 29, before taking on Japan on Friday, August 30. Group F competition will wrap up Saturday, September 1, when Denmark faces off with Norway.
Eight countries have already qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, including host Italy, and the top nations based on the 2023 IIHF World Rankings – Canada, Finland, United States, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and Czechia.
Should Russia be permitted to return to IIHF competition, they would qualify as the ninth country to participate based on IIHF World Rankings.
That leaves three remaining spots for the 12-nation Winter Olympic men’s ice hockey event. Aside from Group F, two other qualifying tournaments include Group D in Bratislava, Slovakia, and Group E in Riga, Latvia.
Group D will pit Slovakia, Kazakhstan, Austria, and Hungary against one another for a final Olympic berth, while Group E will see Latvia, France, Slovenia, and Ukraine compete for ticket to Italy.
Group D and Group E competition will also be contested from August 29 through September 1.
