OT: Canuck fans' opinions on Swedish Hockey Players

Karl Hungus

Registered User
Oct 6, 2007
2,470
0
Lots of great players coming from Sweden now. They tend to adapt well to living in North American which can't always be said for players from Eastern European countries. They tend to use their skill to play a more simplified game and they are coachable making them generally good team players.
 

Lindgren

Registered User
Jun 30, 2005
5,944
3,849
You don't happen to recall the defender's name who made that bonehead play, do you? ;^]
One of the team's best-ever trades was sending a draft pick to Chicago for Gradin's rights... And then 15-or-so years later shipping another bust first rounder to Pittsburgh for that Naslund guy.

I can never remember that guy's name, but he was actually a pretty good player.

It's also worth pointing out that Swedish hockey players speak English more fluently than Canadian players do.
 

Nuckles

_________
Apr 27, 2010
28,310
3,347
heck
I've been very happy with them, don't care where a player is born really..

I agree, except I care about BC boys WHO ARE GOOD OL' CANADIAN KIDS WHO ARE TOUGH AND KNOW HOW TO PLAY DEFENSE.

doncherry_471.jpg
 

Catamarca Livin

Registered User
Jul 29, 2010
4,908
983
My opinion of Swedish hockey players is almost competely dependent on which Swedish hockey player you refer to. I prefer not to let nationality inform my expectations of a player before I see him or evaluations after I do. I just like to watch them play. When I see Zetterberg I don't think primarily about him being Swedish, for example.

The only time that ever really interests me is seeing how countries select/run their Olympic program and development programs, or when people are scouting prospects from different regions.

Otherwise it inevitably leads to some xenophobia-tinged diatribe somewhere or another...

Culturally, on the other hand, it's interesting. The biggest names in three Canadian cities in the past two decades are all Swedes: Sedins in Vancouver, Alfredsson in Ottawa, and Sundin in Toronto. Coincidence? Do Swedish players like Canada's health care and thus stay in Canada more often than other players? I have no idea. It has crossed my mind from time to time, though.

This part suggests that you prefer to be blind to the obvious cultural differences between various countries that help determine the values and success of the individual players. Obviously Sweden is a very successful society, which promotes high social values. Their players reflect that for the most part, they are rarely involved in contract disputes and are low maintainance players. Even the negative sterotypes of Swedish players being soft, is not from them being afraid it is more from them having a higher moral code then many of their opponents, though Sandstrom & U. Samuelsson must have been Viking throwbacks.

There are exceptions to every pattern i think with Eastern Europeans you need to build a friendly environment for them to succeed. Detroit did this with Russians, Pittsburgh with Czechs perhaps the society is so different you need more than one guy for them to feel comfortable. The difference in contract negotiations is obvious. Has a Swede/Finn ever held out? Canadians/Americans hold out quite often and Russians/Czechs seem to do it regularly.

So basically my viewpoint/sterotype of Swedish players is that they are great team players but generally are even better people. They are both a product and a credit to their society.

Basically IMO some people and societies quoting Cory S. shirt "are better at life" than others. That is not politically correct where all people and societies need to be considered equal regardless of how they are or how they behave. I think Canadian and American societies are moving in the direction of Sweden "fair society", so current hockey values are becoming more in line with traditional Swedish hockey players. I would say Sweden is a leader in social progress so i would expect their players to continue to shine as the league becomes more regulated.

An interesting stat i read years ago stated that Murder/suicide rates in countries are often inverse to each other. Sweden had the lowest murder rates but the highest suicide rates while the U.S was the opposite. Adds nothing to this conversation but it is interesting why that would be.
 

Lindgren

Registered User
Jun 30, 2005
5,944
3,849
T
An interesting stat i read years ago stated that Murder/suicide rates in countries are often inverse to each other. Sweden had the lowest murder rates but the highest suicide rates while the U.S was the opposite. Adds nothing to this conversation but it is interesting why that would be.

I think that the belief that suicide rates are high in Sweden is a myth. It has to do with Sweden being one of the first countries to record and report suicides reliably.
 

vadim sharifijanov

Registered User
Oct 10, 2007
28,585
15,948
still mad at you guys for holding on to leif rohlin for all those years. he could have been our lars-erik sjostrom.
 

Hammer79

Registered User
Jan 9, 2009
7,223
1,033
Kelowna
I think some Swedish players get this unfair reputation for being soft. The Sedins may not be fighters, but they don't shy away from contact to make a play either. I think Sweden has a great development system, and our team has had a lot of luck picking out of that country.
 

Alflives*

Guest
Sweden has produced some of the best hockey players in the world.

Don't even get me started on how beautiful Swedish women are.

And they invented the Allan Key to assemble their furniture too. Do any of us (as fans) really care, where the players are from, just so long as our team is the best it can be?
 

natemm

Registered User
Sep 13, 2013
253
0
2) Sweden tends to pump out quality goaltenders like a factory. It's quite amazing actually.

Like a trash factory?

Compared to their skaters their goaltenders are HORRIBLE. Aside from Hank which other star goalies are out there from Sweden?
 

y2kcanucks

Le Sex God
Aug 3, 2006
71,229
10,319
Surrey, BC
Like a trash factory?

Compared to their skaters their goaltenders are HORRIBLE. Aside from Hank which other star goalies are out there from Sweden?

Lundqvist, Fasth, (mistook Rinne for a Swede, d'oh), and Markstrom, Lehner, Enroth and Lack all look promising.
 

F A N

Registered User
Aug 12, 2005
18,629
5,893
I view the Swedes as the best "European" players to have. They are better than the Finns at producing NHL players and unlike Russian players, they are extremely loyal and aren't known for following the money and generally won't leave the NHL for Sweden until the tail end of their careers.
 

Yammer

Registered User
Oct 22, 2002
2,357
2
Republic of East Van
Okay, so I'm sorry if there's been a post like this earlier but I'll let mods remove this then if it's been asked already.

As a swede I'm mainly curious about what Canucks fans from Canada and USA think about swedish players.

I've been following hockey for a while now, and my impression is that Swedes are tough players. They had to be in the beginning, because they were given the reputation as Chicken Swedes (for being European and fancy - they probably wore deodorant). They must have been strong to put up with the discrimination.

In more recent years, some of the physically strongest players have come out of Sweden. I think of Ulf Samuelsson - also an incredibly dirty player - Mats Sundin, Doug Murray, Tomas Holmstrom.

Nowadays, I don't even think that Swedes are seen as different from Canadian players. For one, they all speak English faultlessly and with hardly any accent. They are captains of teams, they are both stars and grinders, and also tend to be solid citizens.

Russians, Swiss, they are seen as somewhat exotic and higher maintenance. Swedes are not. They fit right in.
 

Mr. Canucklehead

Kitimat Canuck
Dec 14, 2002
39,961
29,757
Kitimat, BC
Reading this thread made me miss Mattias Ohlund.



One of the best impact hitters we've had, IMO. I loved "guranteedHemskySmashNights" against the Oilers.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->