Now, after three U18s, she is with the senior team here in Ottawa making her debut at the top level.

“Winning two bronze medals with a great team was a highlight for me,” she said of her time with the U18 team. She also played for Sweden at the Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck last year, another experience that can only help her development.

“That was a big moment in my life, an important tournament,” she admitted. “It’s something that I’ll always remember.”

Sweden has defeated the Czechs in a best-of-three relegation round series, so next up for the 18-year-old is college and the Olympics.

“I started skating when I was about six,” she said. “We had a rink in our backyard and my brothers played hockey.”

Backlin’s skating is, in fact, one of her strong suits, and one of the reasons coach Nicklas Hogberg has her on the team. With the retirement of Gunilla Andersson, there was an opening on the team, and Backlin took advantage.

“I’m an offensive defenceman,” she explained. “I like to control the power play and handle the puck, try to create scoring chances.”

“He told me to just go out and have fun, play my own game,” Backlin noted. Although she didn’t register a point in five games in Ottawa, she was also even in the plus-minus, a respectable stat given the team’s disappointing performance.

Given, too, that this is her first senior tournament, she has made the adjustment well. “You notice a difference for sure here. The players are bigger and stronger, and a lot faster.”