I spent 7 weeks training in a small town in Sweden with driven players in a rink with character.

Why Sweden

After graduation I had a decision to make on where I would spend my off-season before my first year of professional hockey. The past two years I stayed at school during the summer to lift and skate with my team and trainers. This year, that wasn't an option for me.

I could choose to go back to Canada and skate in Vancouver or Calgary, but with my girlfriend residing in Sweden, I made the life decision to be with her with the time I had. I brought a backpack and checked my gear on a one-way flight to Stockholm with the trust that I would find a way to get on the ice and bring my game to the next level without making the sacrifice to my relationship.

How I Found My Crew

It was hard in the beginning not having too many connections overseas. I have two friends (and previous teammates) playing and living in Sweden. They helped me, but weren't in the Sundsvall area where I was located.

One thing I learned is that lots of guys in Sweden don't skate in the summer. Like at all. I talked with Allsvenskan guys that get on the ice around 3 times in the summer before camp. Crazy to me, but I'd eventually find guys that trained a lot.

I DM'd a couple players I found on EP that were from the Sundsvall area playing HockeyEttan and Allsvenskan. One of these guys was Filip. He graciously helped me out and introduced me to the barn in Njurunda where I went out for my first skate of the summer. One of the only rinks north of Stockholm with ice available at this time of year (15 minutes from where I lived in Sundsvall).

With the help of my good friend Kim and coach Craig I got in connection with Mike. An unreal guy based in Gävle, a couple hours south of where I was at. Boston guy who's been around the area for many years training great talent on the ice. He connected me with Roos who invited me out to a scrimmage in Njurunda.

I was taken aback by the hands on all these Swedes. Players from levels of Div. 2 to AHL. All had insane mitts.

From here I found my crew. Jonathan, Noah, Roos, Will, Lukas, and Holger to name a few.

I went out to open ice in the mornings with Jonathan and work on shooting and hands. He's a top D in Ettan. Silky. He never lost the puck. Incredibly low error rate on technical movements.

In the afternoon Noah, Holger, Will, Lukas, Roos and a good mix of other guys in the rotation would run game scenarios, battles, skating, etc.

We pushed each other hard and I picked up a lot on the different styles of training these guys run through.

It fascinated me watching the little guys get out there in the morning for open ice. Just shinny for hours. All dangling. Every day.

The rink had so many tools for players to use. 4 passers, a bunch of stickhandling tools for the ice, go-kart tires, all you need to challenge yourself and have fun. Free to access for everyone. Everyone cleaned up after themselves and respected the rink and their access to the amenities.

The abundance of hands was no longer as surprising to me.

This cultural difference was real. My home rinks in Canada, and especially rinks in the States, didn't have all these toys openly accessible, with the rink open for hockey players to skate for almost no money for 3-4 hours a day. I understand the Swedish hockey talent pipeline better now.

Modin & Zetterberg Hallen

Njurunda is the hometown of Fredrik Modin and Henrik Zetterberg, hence the name of the barn.

It has character. A real small town barn. Cold, hard ice and concrete floors in the hallway out to the sheet.

Njurunda HC currently plays in Div. 2, which is Sweden's 4th tier professional league, one level under HockeyEttan.

Noah introduced me to the guys on the team that were skating there this summer and welcomed me to the room. I had a stall to keep my gear.

My Experience

The guys were incredibly welcoming and kind. There's a notion around Swedish people being cold, or closed off, but this wasn't my experience.

Strangers quickly became my friends. Maybe this is the hockey world doing its magic as well, I'm not totally sure.

Making the decision to come to Sweden without a set plan to skate was a bit unnerving, but with enough clarity and drive on what needed to be done allowed it to work out well in the end.

Thanks Noah, Roos, Holger, Will, Filip, Lukas and Jonathan for this summer.