\u201cDreams are often the most beautiful in life, and he who can not dream, and whose spirit does not look into the distant, he will not achieve anything great either.\u201d This was stated by the German philosopher, politician and Chancellor Gustav Stresemann, who in 1923 received the Nobel Peace Prize. The statement accurately describes the \u201cdream in the distant\u201d of the 14 Danish hockey players, which is the main subjetc in the journalist Michael S\u00f8vs\u00f8\u2019s new book: \u201cThe Danes in the NHL \u2013 an exceptionel league\u201d (Lindhardt & Ringhof, 2021), which has just been published.<\/p>\n
NHL \u2013 One of the world\u2019s strongest sporting leagues<\/strong><\/p>\n Since he watched his first hockey match in Vojens Sk\u00f8jtehal as an 8-year-old, S\u00f8vs\u00f8 has had a strong passion for the world\u2019s fastest team sport. Hockey has \u201cgone in the blood\u201d on S\u00f8vs\u00f8, who has now for more than 25 years written books about Danish hockey and been a freelance journalist about the NHL for i.a. Jyllands-Posten, Information and Herning Folkeblad. Today, S\u00f8vs\u00f8 is also editor-in-chief of the Danish Ice Hockey Federation\u2019s website \u2013 Metalligaen.dk. It is thus a highly professionally competent \u201chockey journalist\u201d, which gives the reader knowledge about 14 boys who for a number of years have trained hard with lots of opt-outs to realize and live out the dream of playing in one of the world\u2019s sporting, financial and spectator strongest leagues. The book begins with two chapters \u2013 \u201cIce Age in Denmark\u201d and \u201cNHL\u2019s Holy Grail\u201d \u2013 which gives the reader a solid background knowledge, partly about the start and development of ice hockey in Denmark and partly about the game\u2019s origins in the middle of the 19th century on frozen lakes in Canada and the northern states of the United States. The subsequent power struggles between different federations that the right to organize games for the best teams in North America is also interesting reading \u2013 especially for \u201chockey historians\u201d.<\/p>\n Danish World Championship success \u2013 among the world\u2019s 16 best in two decades<\/strong><\/p>\n The first hockey matches in Denmark were played on Peblinges\u00f8en in Copenhagen with KSF as the dominant club. However, it is not until the 1970\u2019s with the construction of indoor ice rinks in many of the municipalities and the \u201cimport\u201d of hockey players and coaches from i.a. Canada, USA, Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Sweden that the sport became popular in Denmark, especially among boys in cities such as Vojens, Esbjerg, Herning, Aalborg, Frederikshavn, R\u00f8dovre, Herlev, Gladsaxe and Rungsted. The national team long tempted a life in the C-group or the bottom of the B-group, but in the spring of 2002 the National team secured a very surprising promotion to the A-group. The debut at the World Championship 2003 was a sensational 5-2 victory over the United States and 2-2 against the later World Champions from Canada. Subsequently, the National team has continuously managed to maintain status among the world\u2019s 16 best nations with WC quarter-finals against Sweden in 2010 and Finland in 2016 and not least the World Championship 2018 at home in Herning and Copenhagen as sporting highlights.<\/p>\n NHL \u2013 lots of myths, rivalries and legends<\/strong><\/p>\n The story of the world\u2019s best hockey league \u2013 NHL \u2013 and one of the most iconic sports trophies \u2013 the Stanley Cup \u2013 is full of myths, anecdotes, rituals and legends. Wayne Gretzky, who achieved a number of points, titles, headlines and records that will never be surpassed in the NHL. Likewise, the story of the \u201cOriginal Six Era\u201d, where six NHL teams from the major traditional hockey cities \u2013 Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhaws and New York Rangers for 25 seasons in a row (1942- 1967) in a 6-team league with more than 70 matches as well as semifinals and finals best of 7 matches, created a rivalry that still lives on today more than half a century later. S\u00f8vs\u00f8\u2019s fascination with the NHL is obvious, but he also openly refers to one of the sport\u2019s \u201cshadow sides\u201d: Staged fights on the ice, where \u201ca healthy fight has been part of the education as an real hockey player\u201d.<\/p>\n Both victories and defeats \u2013 on and off the ice<\/strong><\/p>\n The book contains 14 chapters about both current and former NHL players who had their upbringing in a Danish hockey club, often followed by a period as a youth player in Sweden or a college player in the USA or Canada. In this way, the reader gets knowledge about Danish hockey\u2019s biggest profiles such as Frans Nielsen, Jannik Hansen, Mikkel B\u00f8dker, Peter Regin, Lars Eller and Frederik Andersen, but also gets close to current NHL players such as 25-year-old Nikolaj Ehlers \u2013 who already has played nearly 400 NHL games for the Winnipig Jets \u2013 and Oliver Bjorkstrand, who in my opinion both have good chances of achieving more than 1,000 NHL games and maybe even Stanley Cup triumphs if they avoid serious injuries. The 14 chapters are really good stories, where S\u00f8vs\u00f8, using various sources \u2013 the players, coaches and teammates, general managers and family members \u2013 describe sporting highlights in the form of surprising \u201cdrafts\u201d, scores, brutal tackles and \u201cgolden\u201d and \u201cbroken\u201d contracts. But the stories also contain human disappointments \u2013 serious injuries, defeat in the last second of the 7th playoff game and uncertain future prospects.<\/p>\n \u201cGrains of Gold\u201d on the road from talent to top athlete<\/strong><\/p>\n The portraits of the individual players vary, not least because of the players\u2019 different NHL careers: From Frans Nielsen with 15 seasons and more than 900 NHL games for the New York Islanders and Detroit Reds Wings, Lars Ellers triumph as Stanley Cup winner with Washington Capitals in 2018 to Joachim Blichfeld and Aleksander True, who have just started their NHL careers with the San Jose Sharks. The book\u2019s primary target group is all children, young people and adults who have an interest in and passion for hockey, but also coaches, sports managers and parents who are involved in developing children and young people in other sports can get lots of inspiration in the book . Let me just mention four examples of \u201cgrains of gold\u201d from players who have had the abilities and not least the motivation and willingness to \u201cgo all the way\u201d from talent to NHL profile.<\/p>\n The first coach is (perhaps) the most important<\/strong><\/p>\n Peter Regin, who is one of Danish hockey\u2019s very best players with 254 NHL matches for Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks, have the following comment on the importance of a skilled and passionate youth coach in Herning IK: \u201cTodd Bj\u00f6rkstrand is the coach and the person who has had the greatest impact on my career. It was he who managed to get me the last piece over the edge. Going forward in your career, going beyond your comfort zone and Todd pushed for me \u2013 all the time\u2026 He pushed me while I was at an age where it was important to develop further and it hardened me mentally. He had a huge commitment to us young players and it was his will and passion that drove us to stay and for my part get ready to be a professional athlete. I\u2019m extremely grateful for that \u201d.<\/p>\n Physical exercise is crucial<\/strong><\/p>\n Todd Bjorkstrand\u2019s son \u2013 Oliver \u2013 who is currently in his 6\u2019th season for the Columbus Blue Jackets, also gives good advice, which many talents in team sports can listen to with advantage: \u201d \u2026 it has been important to practice all forms of movement. Athletics allowed me to use my body in a completely different way than when I played football and hockey, and the practice for high jump gave me, for example, strength in jumping and swaying in the back. I\u2019m sure. that I have benefited from it later on\u201d.<\/p>\n Only better by playing against older and better players<\/strong><\/p>\n Frans Nielsen, who has always been a great role model, both on and off the ice, for the other Danish national team and club mates, gives the following advice to talents in team sports, who \u201conly\u201d focus on offensive skills and results: \u201cIt always has been important for me to be matched against the older and stronger players. I could develop my technique and dribble when I met my own cohort, but when I met the \u201cold\u201d players, I had to give everything and fight to be with. That way, I got the chance to develop my physique and my work across the course. If you only dominate, you learn nothing about your defensive game. This was also the case in my career \u201d.<\/p>\n Success over time lies in the details<\/strong><\/p>\n Lars Eller, who emphasizes \u201capprenticeship\u201d as a junior player in the Swedish top club V\u00e4stra Fr\u00f6lunda and a strong family togetherness as particularly valuable for his career, like many other international top players focuses on the details, both in training and matches: \u201cI am very thorough and work systematically. It\u2019s a big part of my personality and my approach to the sport. Every time I practice, I want to be sure that every second of my practice time benefits me on the ice. For example, I always ally myself with the best and most specific coaches in the off-season, and I go to great lengths to find the best ones. I spend time looking for them and it does not matter what it costs\u2026. I have reached an age where I know I will not get faster, bigger or stronger, but I can still get better \u201d.<\/p>\n Winter Olympic Games 2022 \u2013 new dream for Danish NHL players<\/strong><\/p>\n Danish hockey with \u201conly\u201d 17 clubs and approx. 3,000 players under the age of 18 have \u2013 with fantastic support and efforts from parents, coaches and volunteer leaders \u2013 come a long way in developing players into the world\u2019s best league \u2013 the NHL. The next \u201cstep on the journey\u201d \u2013 and my personal dream for Danish hockey \u2013 is qualification for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. It will be unique to see NHL profiles like Nielsen, Andersen, Eller, Bjorkstrand and Ehlers fight for Olympic medals against NHL stars like Ovechkin, Crosby, McDavid, Kane and Laine \u2013 with the whole world as spectators. As targeted training session ahead of the Winter Olympic Games 2022, you should read S\u00f8vs\u00f8\u2019s excellent book.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"