When Team Sweden needed a hero in overtime against Slovakia at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, 17-year-old Milan Sundström rose to the occasion.
The 6-foot-3 center gathered the puck behind his own net, blew past three defenders and buried the overtime winner through the five-hole, securing a dramatic 4-3 victory.
“It went so fast, I just came in and saw the five-hole, I didn’t think.”
Being a go-to player is nothing new for him, and the overtime heroics were simply the latest example of his offensive impact.
Sundström scored Sweden’s second goal of the game to take a 2-1 lead before setting up Douglas Johansson’s goal to later give Tre Kronor a 3-2 lead in the third period.
Hockey success runs in the family.
Milan's father, Niklas Sundström, represented Sweden at nearly every level of international hockey, including the Olympics and World Championship, before spending 10 NHL seasons after being the 8th overall pick in the 1993 Draft.
That legacy isn’t lost on Milan, whose dad doesn’t put much pressure on his 17-year-old son.
“He gives me tips and, you know, just makes sure I have fun,” Sundström said. “He just wants me to have my own journey and be me, and not think too much about what he says.”
Many early scouting projections already view Sundström as Sweden's top prospect for the 2027 NHL Draft. He will return to MoDo Hockey this season looking to strengthen his draft stock while continuing to develop with the club's U18 and U20 teams.
His goal for the upcoming season is to get better, stay grounded, work hard, and keep doing what he’s been doing.
“Yeah, my skating,” Sundström replied when asked what he wants to work on this season. “I like to pass a little too much, so maybe shooting more, but mostly skating, and my acceleration.”
If selected in the first round next summer, Sundström could make hockey history alongside his father, since no Swedish father-son duo has ever been selected in the first round.
“That would be really cool. I didn’t know that would be a first in history,” he said when told about the significance behind a possible history-making moment at the draft.
This is Milan’s first time playing in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, named in part after hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, whom his father played alongside with the New York Rangers in the 1990s.
Niklas doesn’t like to talk much about his playing career, opting instead to stay humble and grateful for his memories. And despite not having any Gretzky stories to share, he does sometimes describe the experience.
Niklas Sundström (right) alongside former teammates Wayne Gretzky (center) and Bruce Driver (left).(Photo Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports) Niklas Sundström (right) alongside former teammates Wayne Gretzky (center) and Bruce Driver (left).(Photo Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports)
“I ask him many times how it was, and he’s like, I just skate and would get the puck every time. It was crazy,” Milan said.
“He doesn’t have any stories, but we have a lot of pictures at home, and we have his stick signed.”
Although the NHL Draft is a year away, Sundström’s focus at the moment is winning the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which would be Sweden's second championship after winning the tournament in 2007.
Tre Kronor has won a medal in each of the last two tournaments and has won medals eight times since 2015.
“I haven’t really won anything big yet, but I think we have the group to do it,” Milan said about his country's chances. “It would be a fun memory for us.”
Whether Sweden captures gold or not, Sundström has already shown why NHL scouts are so intrigued by his development. The overtime winner offered another glimpse of a player determined to create his own legacy—one that could eventually place his name beside his father's in the history books.