“Damn, are they calling someone else now?”

Ascent 05.30. Flight to Riga 08.00.

It was a quick reaction for Dennis Rasmussen after he learned that he will be part of Tre Kronor’s squad that starts the playoffs in the WC on Thursday.

– I didn’t expect to be here at all when I first got the news that I wasn’t coming. I have been at home taking care of the family. We have a two-month-old daughter who was fun to meet. I’ve been taking it easy at the gym, because I don’t like to take time off completely.

He did his first practice with the team on Wednesday night.

– It was hard, because I haven’t been on the ice that much. Now that’s done, it usually gets easier after that.

Got the call on Tuesday

Rasmussen, who was cut from the squad just before the World Cup, had taken a holiday and set his sights on the 23/24 season.

He had not expected a call from Tre Kronor’s assistant general manager Josef Boumedienne.

– I had put the phone down for three or four hours. Then I saw that I had three or four missed calls. It became a stress there, “Damn, are they calling someone else now because I didn’t answer the phone?”. As soon as I saw it, I called back and they told me to come here.

Fullback Christian Folin was registered for the WC at the same time as Dennis Rasmussen.

He had not completely let go of the idea of ​​Tre Kronor, after being sent home from Tampere last week.

– It was nice to come home and recharge the batteries a bit. But it’s clear, it’s really tough not being allowed to stay, but I knew from the beginning that maybe it would be like that, he says and continues:

– I had a few good days at home. I played some golf, cut some grass and now I’m back with full energy.

Folin was in a clothing store when the call came from Tre Kronor.

– I was shopping for some suits for my best man before the wedding. I took the call more or less in the fitting room.

Both Dennis Rasmussen and Christian Folin are ready for the game against Latvia. The former was part of the Three Kronor that played in the 2021 covid-19 World Cup.

– I joined two years ago. Then there were no people in the stands and it was very boring. It gets weird. With the crowd it becomes more real, you get energy even if you are the away team.

Sweden’s quarter-final starts at 19.20 on Thursday evening.