Swede success: almost four decades after the first Swedish player made his inauspicious debut, players from the land of ABBA and lutfisk are dominating the league

Hockey Digest, Jan-Feb, 2004 by Chuck O'Donnell

IN HIS WILDEST DREAMS, ULF Sterner would have never imagined this. Peter Forsberg and Markus Naslund finishing first and second in the NHL in scoring? Nicklas Lidstrom winning another Norris Trophy? Henrik Zetterberg being a finalist for the Calder Trophy?

The world has changed in the 39 years since Sterner became the first Swede--or European-trained player, for that matter--to crack the NHL ranks. In that time, we've walked on the moon, the Cold War has thawed, ABBA has sold an estimated 350 million records worldwide, and Swedes have become some of the biggest stars in the NHL.

It's not that Sterner didn't think Swedish players had enough talent to play in the NHL. It's just that he was treated so poorly, abused so much in his four games with the New York Rangers, he couldn't have imagined any Swede would have wanted to go through what he did. He had bruises all over the backs of his hands from being slashed, often by his teammates in practice. At one point, he told reporters he felt "like a piece of raw meat." Then someone hung a sign over his locker saying, "We supply everything but guts." When five or six teammates tried to give Sterner the old initiation ritual called "The Shave," Sterner went berserk and bit one of the Rangers in the arm. In one game in Montreal, Sterner took a vicious elbow to the chin from Canadiens tough guy John Ferguson. "I think [Montreal] management told him to kill the Swede," says Sterner, who recorded no points in four games before returning to Sweden, where played until 1978 and then coached for another decade. Sterner, 62, is now retired and lives on a farm in Kartstad, Sweden.

What perhaps is most stunning about the years since Sterner's inauspicious stint is how the Swedes have become perhaps the most respected citizens in the league of nations that is the NHL. They're lauded by coaches and pursued by general managers for their business-like approach to the game, their fastidious attention to detail, and their egoless dedication to their teams. "They just show up and play hard and a lot of people think very highly of them" says Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach Denis Savard.

"Swedish players are well-respected throughout the league," says Florida Panthers winger Marcus Nilson, himself a Swede. "I think Swedish players play a little different. We play more of a team game than players from other European countries. That's why I think there are so many Swedes serving as captains and assistant captains in the league."

Bobby Smith, former general manager of the Phoenix Coyotes: "I can't think of a [Swedish player] that has a reputation of being a bad seed. They seem to be mature, serious guys. They play hard, make sacrifices for the team, have a very high skill level, and that earns them a lot of respect on their teams."

Although these players from the land of gentle roiling hills, where ice floes form in the Gulf of Bothnia during the long winters have long since established their place in the NHL, the 2002-03 season was their biggest season yet:

* Naslund, who led the Vancouver Canucks with 104 points, became the first Swede to win the Lester B. Pearson Award as the league's best player, based on votes his peers. Vancouver's captain finished with 48 goals, leaving Hakan Loob still as the only Swede to hit the 50-goal mark in the NHL.

* Colorado Avalanche center Forsberg, finishing with 106 points, edged Naslund in the race for the Art Ross Trophy given to the league's leading scorer, and in the race for the Hart Trophy for league MVP, which is voted on by members of the media He's the first Swede to win the award, and the first to lead the league in scoring.

* The Detroit Red Wings' Lidstrom became the first defenseman to win three straight Norris Trophies since Bobby Orr won eight straight between 1968 and 1975.

* Zetterberg, also with the Red Wings, led all rookies with 22 goals and 44 points and finished second to St. Louis' Barret Jackman in the Calder Trophy voting for the league's rookie of the year.

Other Swedes had big years in 2002-03. Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson ranked 10th in the league with 52 assists and 15th with 79 points. Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin became the first Swede to reach the career 1,000-point plateau. Edmonton Oilers goalie Tommy Salo played in 65 games, winning 29 and posting a 2.71 goals-against average. Flyers defenseman Kim Johnsson led all Philadelphia blueliners with 10 goals and 29 assists. Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Dick Tarnstrom was third on his team with 34 assists and fourth with 41 points. Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom had a career-high 20 goals and matched his career-best 40 points.

Several other Swedish players league-wide are more like Kings captain Mattias Norstrom, who didn't register a goal in 81 games, but was the heart and soul of the team defensively by virtue of his approach to each game and the way he carries himself.

"I don't know if it's a byproduct of their society or the way they play the game or the way they're taught the game. They have an understanding for what their job is. They show up and go to work and leave after," says New York Rangers announcer John Davidson. "They generally don't have egos that get in the way. I think in general the kids from Sweden are the complete package, as far as being people who can handle the pressures of being a pro athlete. They're methodical, meticulous. I quite admire their way of life."