Hockey Love

I’ve had a lot of people ask me numerous questions about division 1 hockey in sweden and its hard to explain with limited characters on twitter.  First off were in the Northern Conference (A) and from what I’ve been told, the Southern Division is more competitive.  This is why Division 1 gets better after Christmas.  This league is configured to give the top Division 1 teams a chance to play against the bottom 2 teams in the Allsvanskan at the end of the year to get promoted to the Allsvanskan.  

Before Christmas you play within your conference and out of the 8 teams you need to finish top 4 to advance to the next stage of the process.  If you finish top 4 you play against the top 4 teams from the conference that is located closest geographically.  Again you need to finish top 4 to move to the playoffs.  

Bjorkloven is in Conference A.  There are 6 conferences total (A-F) After Xmas A and B top 4 teams will play against each other twice and the top 4 teams go to playoffs. Then there are 3 playoff series, best of 3 games.  Adding to the confusion, if you finish 1st you get 2 rounds of byes.  You would only play in the 3rd round of playoffs.  If you finish 2nd you get a bye from the 1st round.  Teams that finish 3 and 4 would have to play and win in 3 rounds to advance to the chance to get promoted. Whom ever wins the playoffs moves to the final stage where you have a chance to get promoted.

3 teams that won the playoffs move on

Two bottom teams from Allsvanskan

Plus 1 wild card- One team out of the 6 conferences with the best record that didn’t win the playoff.  

6 teams play each other one home and one away game and the best two teams with the most pts play in the Allsvanskan the following year.  

Its kind of confusing and very challenging to get promoted but I know that’s our number one goal this year as a team, organization, and community.  

I have been asked what the quality is like and how would it compare to the EIHL.  Its almost an impossible question to answer if I’m being completely honest.  I know a lot of Division 1 teams wouldn’t do well against the EIHL top 5 teams.  Our team would compete well with the top EIHL teams.  I don’t want to be arrogant and say we are better than the top EIHL teams.  All I know is that we would likely have some good games that could go either way.  The EIHL is an under-rated league and I’ve heard guys say that the difference is minimal compared to other leagues around Europe that have more creditability.  

I will say that Swedish players typically are great skaters and have tremendous skill with the puck.  I’m fortunate to be on a team that has tremendous depth in all positions.  I’ve never been on a team with this much depth.  It’s a great situation to be in.  

I hope this clarifies some of the questions I have been asked on twitter.  

Started out as a joke, me saying if I don’t get a point in our 3rd game I’ll shave my head.  Jesper Ericson was all over this and wanted to shake on it, making it an official agreement.  Sure enough I wasn’t able to snipe a goal or get an assist so following the game I came home and got Quist to shave my head into a mohawk.  I was in the process of growing out my hair and I was at the stage where it looked terrible or in hockey terms I looked like a DUSTER! I actually don’t mind the look at the moment.  Would have been nice to grow my long flow back and give it an old fashion NHL slick back but I guess it wasn’t meant to be.  

Recently someone asked me what my daily routine consisted of.  Unlike the movie Groundhog day, I do have a routine that is pretty similar each day.  In the next week or so I hope to give a detailed version of ‘A day in the life’  which will include some pictures to bring the piece to life.  Catch you guys later.  

First off, what a fun game to play in! Last night was our home opener and it lived up to all the hype.  I can express how proud I was of the teams effort and result last night.  I thought every guy on the team played really well and provided much excitement for the fans.  

I didn’t know what to expect in terms of fan support prior to the game but I was pleasantly surprised with the turn out and passion in the air.  The Green Devils section was unbelievable, I caught myself looking up and checking it out prior to opening face-off. The combination of loud chants, the flags, clapping made me for one just a little more fired up for puck drop if thats possible.  

It was nice to be able to set the tone early by throwing my body around.  I have been asked several time, what kind of player are you?  If you were able to catch the game last night you saw how I like to play.  I love being a high energy guy that finishes his checks every chance I get.  One reason I was very proud of the team last night was because everyone was finishing their checks and playing very hard between the whistles.  No disrespect to Pitea but I thought we physically dominated for 60 minutes.  The standard has been set by the team and now we have to be accountable by playing that way every game.  

I don’t know what our D ate for pre-game meal but they were just taking rockets from the point, which resulted in a few goals (Jesper 2 genos, Alex 1)

I had a coach that use to say “head down, bar down” meaning you know where top corner is so just let it go regardless if you have time to lift your head or not.  Not sure if Jens Ledin or Mikael (MVP) Riis head was up or down when they went cheddar (top corner) but both were great shots.  Zebastian (Star) Possler also went bar in coming off the left wing, kid has an NHL caliber shot.  Linus Bostrom played like a stud last night, good on him.  

Hope to see everyone sunday!

Day after our first game I’ve had lots of time to think about the game on a team and personal level.  It was definitely nice to get the first win out of the way.  It was a strange game to evaluate.  There is so much excitement that goes with playing your first game of the season.  I certainly was buzzing before the game and felt pretty sharp in warm-up. I would like to acknowledge a few guys that stood out for me.  Obviously Daniel Walitalo is a very important player for our success this season.  Although he wasn’t that busy throughout the game, he did make some nice timely saves along the way.  Congratulation to him on his first shutout of the year.  I thought the line of William Quist, Nicklas Johansson, and Viktor Ekeståhl-Jonsson played very well and showed some excellent chemistry together.  

I did a couple interviews after the game and I’m sure they got the impression I was frustrated with my performance.  I wear my heart on my sleeve and yes I was disappointed with my game.  I like to be very honest in my interviews so I hope it didn’t come across in a bad way.  Although I didn’t play my best, the most important thing was the team getting 3 points.  Best part of this game is most of the time you get to jump back on the ice the next day and try hone your skills/game.  

I’m a bit superstitious and I think I might have to pay Kalle Lundstrom for my stretching spot on the blue line in warm-up.  Apparently he is superstitious as well and he always stretches on the blue line.  Athletes are strange some times, lets leave it at that.  

Start spreading the word for Wednesday’s home opener, should be a good one.  See you there!

After a long pre-season that consisted of team testing, practicing, and exhibition games the regular season is finally here.  I woke up this morning feeling very refreshed and excited for our first game tomorrow evening.  I got the sense this morning at the rink that all the boys were feeling the same way.    

I hope we come out flying tomorrow night.  We should have the attitude that we are the team to beat, doesn’t matter who we are playing on any given night.  This is a very important year for many guys on Bjorkloven.  Personally I want prove to my teammates and fans that I’m an asset to this organization.  Although the season is just starting, my number one goal is to help Bjorkloven get promoted to the Allsvenskan league.  

I really like our teams depth in all areas of the game.  When Martin Johansson recovers from his injury I think our roster is going to be quite strong.  Fact is though it doesn’t matter most of the time the teams payroll or roster, it comes down to the on ice work ethic.  A highly skilled team won’t win championships if they don’t compete in the tough areas.  From what I’ve seen guys are willing to block shots and take a hit to make a play so thats a good sign.  

September 7th was suppose to be just another day in the pre-season schedule but it turned out to be much more than that.  I had the option to not play that night but I wanted to play even though our team consisted of mostly Jr. players.  We left Umea arena around 3:00 pm and I had no idea that we were going to hear some of the most horrific news during our bus trip to Skelleftea.  I was watching a show on my computer when William Quist got my attention, he told me that Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL were involved in a plane crash that killed almost everyone on board.  Disbelief is an appropriate word for how I felt, followed by shock and sadness.  I looked around the bus and I saw a lot of the guys talking to each other and you could tell that no one could believe the magnitude of this horrific accident.  The hockey world is small world and sadly some of the guys on the bus knew Stefan Liv.  I didn’t know anyone on that team personally but of course I knew all the big names that played in the NHL.  Its been a couple days since the plane crash but I still shake my head with mixed feelings.  Hockey players are on the road often and its scary to think that these things can happen even though the odds are very slim.  I can’t imagine how all their loved ones feel during this dire time.  My thoughts are with all the families and friends and I hope they can find the strength to get through this challenging time.  The hockey world won’t forget the 2011 Lokomotiv team, this is the best game in the world and I hope people don’t take for granted everything we have.

RIP 

Team testing is by far the most exciting time of year! Anyone sense the sarcasm? Joking aside its a way for the coaches and trainers to see where you stand and perhaps some areas you should improve on.  On monday we did two tests which included a jumping test and a squat test.  The jumping test measures your explosiveness and obviously the squat test shows your ‘quadzilla’ (quads) strength.  I’ve always has solid explosive power and good leg strength.  I’m not sure where I rated in each category, however I was very impressed with some of the guys results.  Some of these young guys have some serious strength.  Over the years I’ve taken part in many strength tests and the one thing with the squat test is you don’t want to compromise your form and injure yourself.  Last season we did a prowler test. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FQcfls8vbw&feature=related  The prowler test is one of the hardest fitness tests I’ve ever done.  You push the prowler none stop for 2 minutes straight and they measure how far you push it.  The lactic acid builds up around 1:30 minutes and by the end of the two minutes I couldn’t walk for 5 minutes.  That day I think I had an advantage because a guy by the name of Marc Richardson went right before me and I got to see how far he went.  Marc is extremely fit and takes pride in training and he set the gym record.  I went after Marc and I beat his score by a foot or two, but again I think I had that slight advantage because all I wanted was to beat his score.  I have since learned that someone from Fitness Factory beat my record so it was good while it lasted. 

Yesterday morning I skated with Patrik Sundstrom and a few guys.  It was nice to get on the ice and go through a session with Patrik and the boys.  When a guy with Patrik’s background puts you through a practice you want to do your best.  We worked on a lot of passing drills which will definitely help in team practices and games. 
Check this out.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orU7Gm05nzQ Go to the 1 minute mark and 1:15.  Would be nice to have forehand and backhand sauce like this. 
Yesterday afternoon the team took part in the infamous beep test.  The beep test is fun! haha I’ve done the beep test a few times in my life and its a good test to see what kind of shape your in.  Again the guys did amazing and I think I ranked fairly well.  The training staff wanted to see my max heart rate so I wore a heart monitor and when I finished the beep test I had to sprint as fast as I could to hit my max.  I think the heart monitor must have malfunctioned because it hit 238 and Jimmy was worried my heart was going to explode.

I think Fredrik Eriksson took home the title and not far behind were Daniel Walitalo, William Quist, Oscar Molin.  I didn’t see the 2nd group guys run so I may have to give some other guys a pat on the back for doing a good job.  The best part of the day was when William Quist finished and raised his arms thinking he won the first group, but Walitalo was still out there competing.  Quister better luck next time buddy!

Jimmy and I went to pick up Russ Moyer at the airport right after the run and I told him he had perfect timing to avoid the beep test.  I haven’t seen Russ play yet but from seeing his resume I think he will really help the back-end of Bjorkloven.  Strangely Russ and I are hometown neighbors, only about an hour drive from each other.  Sudbury is bigger and better than North Bay but we won’t hold that against him.

Thursday afternoon the team travelled across the sea to Finland.  Friday was the first of our two games in Finland and definitely the tougher of the two matches for the club.  Respectfully Vasa Sport won their league championship last season (Mestis).  Despite whether your playing a team in the Elite League or a level below us you must prepare the same way and you can’t give your adversary too much respect.  Seeing as we were playing on a much smaller ice rink the team had to adjust our game.  Over the past two seasons I’ve played on a small ice rink so I’m very comfortable and know the adjustments that need to be made.  I told the team that Vasa would come out hard and that we should just keep our game very simple.  I believe on-ice communication is very important because the last time I checked I’m not one of the Sedins and I don’t have eyes in the back of my head.

I thought we played a very strong first period against Vasa despite the period ending 1-1.  Of the three periods, our first period was our best from start to finish.  Our defensemen moved the puck extremely well in first period.  Zebastian Possler scored a nice goal to open up the scoring for us.  I told Zebastian during the week that I thought he had a sick (meaning great) shot and that he should be using it as often as he can.  Individually I thought I had a solid first period which included several good body checks and I had the goalie beat on a wrist shot but I hit the crossbar.

The second and third period Vasa controlled the majority of the game.  They have some good talent and moved the puck around very well.  Mikael Persson-Riis scored a couple beautiful goals thanks to William Quist and his intentional and unintentional passes.  With 5 minutes left in the game Nicklas Johansson and I were on slight 2 on 1 and the only way I could be an option for him was to drive the net as hard as I could. Nicky made a perfect pass and I tipped it towards the net but unfortunately the goalie made a solid save.  If we had scored on that play we would have tied the game up at 4-4.

I think we can take a lot a way from Friday’s game.  When we tried to be fancy with the puck, it usually resulted in turnovers and against a team like Vasa they have the ability to maintain control of the puck.  Every game and every training session is an opportunity to get better and to build chemistry with your teammates.

Saturdays game I won’t elaborate in great detail because I don’t have very many nice things to say about our opposition that day.  What’s that saying that your mother tells you when your growing up.  ”If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”… something like that.   I will give a shout out to Viktor Ekeståhl-Jonsson.  I thought Viktor played really well on saturday.  He did all the little things right that some people don’t notice.  I love seeing a young player playing very smart, playing a full out team game.

Looking forward to Wednesdays game at home.  I might end my career if there is less fans than there were on Saturday in Finland.  Don’t worry people I don’t think thats possible here in Umea.

I arrived thursday afternoon (August 4th) and strangely enough I didn’t feel any nerves about embarking on my new adventure.  Jimmy did a really great job this summer when he assured me that I’m going to enjoy my stay in Umea and I think that helped put my nerves at ease.  All summer long I was looking forward to August  so I could begin this new chapter in my career.  As soon as I arrived to Umea I went straight to the rink to meet my new teammates and people involved in the organization.  My first thought when I came into the locker-room was quite comical.  I thought to myself that I was very happy that I trained as hard as I did this summer because I was shocked to see that every player was super fit and looked strong.  I met most of the guys that afternoon but it was hard to remember everyone’s names because I met everyone all at once.

Friday I skated with the team for the first time and it was the first time I had skated in a few weeks so I was a bit nervous. I wanted to make a good first impression on the ice, but you can´t expect too much when you haven´t been on the ice at all and are recovering from jet lag. I was shocked to see all the reporters and the fans watching the practice. I knew prior to coming to Umea that Bjorkloven had a good following amongst the community and the first practice just confirmed it. Its such a great feeling when you have such a solid fan following and for the last three years I have been lucky to experience that.

The team had the weekend off so it gave me a chance to hang out with my teammates outside the rink. I think its important to get to know one another away from the rink, sharing laughs and fun times just builds better camaraderie. Last year I played on a very tight team and I think it helped us on the ice because we always had eachothers back. Its early but I already get the impression that we are going to be a very tight-knit team. I love the attitude amongst the boys, everyone works hard and wants to improve their game. Although I´m one of the older guys on the team I still have a huge appetite to improve my game. I am really looking forward to working with Patrik Sundstrom, I think he will be able to enhance some of my skills that i haven´t had a chance to work on over the last couple of years.

Its hard to compare the EIHL to the Swedish Div 1 this early in the season. I think once we start our regular season I´ll have a much better idea of the differences in the level of play. There are a few things that I have noticed early on thus far; our team is a much younger than the teams I´ve played on for the last few years. A lot of the young guys have tremendous tools to be great hockey players. I hope that some of my experience can help improve some of my teammates all around game. I´ve seen a lot of players in the past have so much skill but they lacked the heart and determination. There are a lot of guys in the ECHL that are highly skilled but they probably don´t compete hard enough to play in the NHK even if they had all the skills to make it in my estimation. That being said I think some of the younger guys will certainly help my game as well. I won´t change my style of play but learning some technical things to improve on capitalizing on scoring chances would be a huge asset to my game. I don´t know what it´s like for other teams in Div 1 but I´m really happy with the work ethic in practice and that will only make us better in the end. I´ve had a couple of poor practices or made minor mistakes that have left me disappointed at the end of practice and knowing some of the guys feel the same way is refreshing. It´s encouraging to know that there is so much pride to be at our best even in practice. The Icebreakers game is by far my best hockey memory to date. Being on the ice and competing against past and present elite NHL players was amazing. When I saw Forsberg line up against me on the opening draw I was kind of in a shock. I have so much respect for these guys travelling around Sweden during their summer to help raise money for the children´s hospital. I´m excited to travel to Finland to play in a couple exhibition games. I think it will be great for our team to leave Sweden and do more bonding, share some more laughs and stories and keep building on our team dynamic. I´ve heard the Fins play more of a North American styl of game so that should suit me well.

Off-Season training has become a very important aspect in a hockey players career.  I can’t necessarily put a time frame when hockey players started to put themselves basically through hell to build more muscle, become faster, anything that can improve their game. What I do know is that I started training hard at the age of 14.  To this day, I still work very hard in the summer.  Many hockey players lose muscle during the course of a long season which is why it is vital to get in the gym and push yourself.  

Lately I have heard some of the NHL prospects talking about how they need to gain 10-15 lbs of muscle this summer to position themselves to play in the NHL.  A few summer’s I had the same attitude and I was able to gain that 10-15 without a problem. This came with consequences of not feeling like I had the same speed and shiftiness on the ice.  Whether I was slower or just felt slower has no difference because I believe this game has be played with full confidence and most players would agree.  This summer I have been carefully watching the scale because I know my ideal playing weight and with hard training you build more muscle and gain some lbs.  Its finding that perfect balance of strength while not getting too big is the key for myself.  

I’m excited to get to Sweden in early Aug to train with my teammates.  I’ve been training all by myself all summer which can be difficult from time to time.  Its always nice to train with another athlete, that way you can push each other to a higher level.  

I think its amazing that anyone can go on youtube and find videos of professional athletes doing some of their training.  I for one have found some great exercises that NHL players do in their off-season program.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfx5p-Oo7Lg There are so many videos available on youtube that you can make high intensity program.  

I have so much respect for a lot of NHL players because although they have guaranteed contracts, they still choose to push themselves.  Those are the players that GM’s want on their team.  

Excuse my spelling and grammar.  I don’t pretend to be an English professor.   Just trying to stimulate my brain and put some of my thoughts on record.  Thanks for reading!