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Making the Play - 2/22
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(2x media week pls)



Blog Post 2: February 22

SOMEWHERE ABOVE CANADA ---  I’m on a plane to British Columbia, and this is the first time in several days I’ve actually had a chance to sit still. So much has been happening so fast, I’ve hardly had time to process it all. I guess I should rewind a little and recap everything, but I’m not even sure where to start. 

Okay. Let’s talk about the games I’ve gotten to play in so far. This whole past week was such a great chance for me to get out there with a lot of guys my age, as well as a lot of guys who have some more experience than me. Getting to participate in world juniors put me on the ice with guys who’ve already been drafted and have gotten to play professionally, and getting to play in the prospect showcase let me play with and get to know a bunch of guys who are pretty much at the exact same spot as I am in their careers. 

We (Blazers) beat the Vipers to win the whole prospect showcase, which was such an awesome way to wrap up that whole thing. Some of the guys were talking some trash about it being rigged or something, but I know myself. I know how I play, and I know how hard I worked, and nothing can take any of that away from me, even if people get bitter about losing. And I get that. I hate losing, it sucks, but you just have to take the losses and learn from them and come back better for the experience.

Which brings me back to world juniors. We (Sweden) didn’t win gold, which was disappointing, but we did beat Russia for bronze. That was pretty intense. Everything about world juniors was intense, everything was just at a higher level and I was working just as hard as I was during the showcase, but it was like playing on a higher difficulty setting. When I left home a couple weeks ago, my mom gave me some advice. She told me not to get discouraged if I have to work harder here for the same results, and I know she’s right. Back at home, I was playing with some of the best players in Sweden. Here, I’m going to be playing with the best players from all over the world. It’s such a larger group and I’m going to have to adjust to so many new things, and it’s intimidating but it’s also incredibly exciting.

The most amazing thing that’s happened to me in the past few days, though, was the draft. I’m still trying to find the right words for how incredible it was to hear my name called. I mean, I had been talking to some GMs, and everybody was super professional and very nice, but to actually have that validation, to hear that they liked what they saw of me enough to pick me over so many other guys, that was…I really don’t have words for how that made me feel. I ended up going fifth overall, to Kelowna, which is why I’m on a plane to British Columbia right now. 

There’s a nine hour time difference between Kelowna and Luleå, so I guess my parents will have to get up super early if they want to see any of my games live. But they already said they’re going to come over for the home opener, so I’m looking forward to that. 

The Knights have a really good team and I’m looking forward to playing for them. I’m going to work my ass off to prove that they made the right choice when they drafted me, and to show the rest of the team that I’m a good teammate and I’m reliable and a guy they want to have around. I already had the chance to watch a couple of them play. Alexander Andersson-Grande played goal for the Blazers at the prospect showcase, so I already know he’s a good guy to play in front of. And Aleksandr Scherbak played for Russia at world juniors, he’s…uh, he’s a very talented hockey player so I’m glad he’s on my team. 

It’s already a little bittersweet heading off in separate directions from all the guys I’ve gotten to play with this past week. I hope everybody’s going somewhere they’re just as excited to play as I am to play for the Knights. Kelowna seems like such a cool city to live in. I’ve been doing some research and it looks like the weather is great, and there’s all kinds of nature to get out and explore, so I can’t wait to get there. It has nearly twice as many people in it as Luleå, so I guess it’ll feel like a pretty big city compared to home. 

I also reached out to a couple of youth organizations there to start building some connections in the community. I did so much volunteer stuff back at home and I want to be able to keep doing that. I’m going to talk to the team, too, and see if there are any LGBTQ organizations they’re affiliated with that I can help out with, because it’s so important to me that I get to keep doing whatever I can even if I’m not at home anymore, and even if I don’t have as much free time as I used to. 

I’m about to have to shut down my laptop so we can land, so I’ll wrap this up. Today I’m going to see the apartment I’m going to be living in, and I guess I’m going to find out if I have a roommate or anything (I assume I will, but I have no idea who he is or where he’s from). I’m pretty much open to anything - and it feels like the world is totally open to me. Luleå has been home to me for so long, and I guess it always will be, but now I have a new city to find my own place in, and I can’t wait.

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