Golden Knights’ Jonas Røndbjerg replaced by Malte Setkov on Danish men’s Olympic roster
Defenseman Malte Setkov will get to live out his Olympic dreams in Italy – but it comes at the cost of replacing a key Danish forward.
Vegas Golden Knights Jonas Røndbjerg was officially removed from Denmark’s men’s Olympic roster on Sunday due to injury. Denmark originally intended to bring 15 forwards and seven defensemen, rather than the traditional 14 forwards and 8 blueliners, so this brings the roster in line with what we see across the rest of the tournament.
Røndbjerg, 26, has 11 points in 80 NHL games with Vegas since getting drafted 65th overall in 2017. Røndbjerg has primarily played in the AHL this year, registering 23 points in 36 games. At his current rate, he is on track for around 40 points, which would smash his previous best of 28 in 2023-24.
The former Danish junior hockey standout was expected to challenge for a top-six role on the best Danish team ever iced in an international event.
Setkov is hard to miss – he’s a 6-foot-8 blueliner. Drafted 100th overall in 2017 by the Detroit Red Wings, Setkov has spent the past four years playing in the top Danish league, where he has been a consistent 30-point producer. He hasn’t played much meaningful hockey for Denmark’s national team, primarily in exhibition games and smaller events throughout his senior hockey career.
Denmark has been a fixture in the top division of the World Championship since 2003, usually fizzling out of the round-robin. The team hasn’t had much high-end NHL representation over time, making success hard to come by – including in Olympic qualification events. The 2026 tournament will be Denmark’s second Olympic appearance, and they hope to build on their trip to the quarterfinals four years ago.
The Danes will open the tournament against Germany on Feb. 12 before taking on USA two days later, and capping off the round robin against Latvia on Feb. 15.
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