I hope this is the place for it, been away from the forum for quite some time.
I read an interesting interview with Kevin Stenlund (in swedish) that I quickly translated and thought I'd share with you.
"Då hade det varit lätt att bara skita i det och flytta hem igen" - Hockeysverige – Mer av sporten du älskar
"I had a tough time at first (coming over to the NHL), but I had a lot of help from Gabriel Carlsson who arrived at about the same time as me. We've supported eachother along the way."
The past season was a step in the right direction for you, but unfortunantly you can't say the same about the team:
"We started out well, but then the whole team fell a couple of levels and it became a shit show of a season. We couldn't get the group working together as well as the previous seasons. We had some new players and some players that wanted to leave the team, it was a bummer.
In the beginning of the past season Dubois requested a trade and later on defensive star Seth Jones would do the same:
"We had a internal discussion within the group when Dubois was traded, but I don't think his departure affected us in the beginning. But when the season went downwards it was tough to get through it. When it comes to Jones I totally understand his decision. He's been in Columbus for a long time and wanted to try something new. I get that, that's how i works.
How were you personally affected by all this?:
"I don't know if I were affected personally that much, but we couldn't get our shit together and the whole thing was a mess. One game you could be centering the top line and the next game you would be playing on the fourh line. It got very choppy. We tried everything to get the team going but nothing really worked out."
Based on the fact that so many players have wanted to leave Columbus in the past you could draw up the picture that it's a dull city:
"I don't get it to be honest. If you come to Columbus as a member of an away team then maybe you don't know the hotspots. I think that's the problem, that people don't really know the city. If you talk to kids back in Sweden and you tell them that you're playing in Columbus, they'll ask you what league they're in (laugh). The city hasn't received the cred it should have gotten. I really enjoy my time there. I don't need New York or Los Angeles, where you get a lot of dead time in traffic each day when you're on the way to the rink. I like it better this way, no lines, tranquil and nice with at lot of great restaurants. You don't get the kind of pressure from media/public as you get in Toronto, here you can stroll downtown without getting recognized."
How has it been for you to play for John Tortorella?:
"I have no problems with Torts. He was always honest with me and I like leaders like that. But as things went this year..he really tried to get the team going and as I said the whole thing was just a mess. Our powerplay had only rightys for a while and players got to play all over the lineup. It was tough, no one really knew what role they had and I think that contributed to the poor results."
Do you feel that it was the right time for Tortorella to depart?:
"Yes, I believe so. He had been in Columbus for 8 years and has done a fantastic job. But I felt at the end that we needed to go in a new direction. I'm excited for the new season, a fresh start. We get two new assistant coaches with two new voices in the locker room and I think that's important. And it's nice to have the familiar voice in "Lars", I know what he expects from me. He's a coach that always tries to have a dialog with us players and I really appreciate that. He expects hard work from everyone, if you give him that then you'll be on good terms with him"
You've progressively started to establish yourself in the team, can you feel that as well?:
"Yea, it's gotten better every year. I've been feeling more comfortable within the team for every year that is passing and now I feel like a part of the group. I still need to be more consistent and try to keep my game together for a large span of games without any dips. But I can say that I'm a NHL-player now, just not in the way that I want yet. I want to be that reliable second line center that you can count on night in and night out. That's the goal to take another step next year."
What do you need to be able to do that?:
"Power play is a big part of my game, and I'd like to become better in that area. I'd like to get closer to Kucherovs level, that feeling that you're always a threat to the opposing team. That's the level I want to reach, to know that everytime you get the puck, you can score. I want that feeling, and I want my opponents to feel it too."
