From Hipsters to Grizzly Bears

Jonas Larsen is going to Anchorage

Article by Chris Simpson for Puck Life Magazine

April 2019 Issue

If you're a Portland local and have any fandom for the sport of hockey you've probably heard of the name Jonas Larsen. We first put our readers onto Larsen when we wrote about his performance at the international exhibition in St. Paul a while back. He joined the Winterhawks over there in Portland and put up great numbers for a first year player. We weren't the only ones paying attention apparently because the Anchorage Armada of the SMJHL have reached an agreement to sign Mr. Larsen to their team. As soon as this news came across my desk I arranged for an interview with Jonas before he left Portland and booked the first flight out of town. What follows is that interview.

I sat waiting in the lobby of a modern apartment building downtown. There was a woman behind the desk who was extremely incredulous and wasn't buying for a second that I was just waiting for a hockey player to come buzz me up to his apartment. However she did believe me when the elevator dinged and Jonas stepped out to greet me in the lobby and usher me up to his place. 

"So, Anchorage." I prodded as I followed him through his front door and into the nice apartment that must not have been built more than two or three years ago. It was sparsely decorated save for a team photo of the Winterhawks and some medals he had received during his play here in Portland and back home in Norway.

Jonas laughed. "What about Anchorage?" He opened a drawer in his living room and started to pack the contents of it into a cardboard box.

"Why did you pick Anchorage of all places? Especially over some of the warmer climate teams that I'm sure were available to you."

"Hey, I'm Norwegian. Don't you think I would feel more at home in Alaska than anywhere else?" Jonas finished packing up the box and taped it shut with some packaging tape that was resting on his coffee table. "Truthfully, they were the first to reach out to me. That means a lot and I felt an instant camaraderie there." 

"So how much does that mean to you?"

"It means a lot to be honest. I feel like I'm a pretty loyal guy and I think that over there in Anchorage I will have a great opportunity to develop as a player and grow my game and they aren't going to put me in a position where I'm uncomfortable."

"So with you being from Norway you think you will take well to living in Alaska?" Jonas had stood up and I followed him into the kitchen where his father who was packing up some pots and pans gave me a curt nod of welcoming.

"Oh, absolutely! I feel like it'll be the both of best worlds. I get that climate I'm used to and probably some of the food as well, but I've also heard that a lot of the culture there and the people is very similar to how it is here in Oregon and I've absolutely fallen in love with that during my short stay here."

"When are you flying out?"

"We leave later this evening. Let's hope that everything is done by then!"

"Well Jonas I will let you finish up here. Good luck in Anchorage."

Jonas thanked me for my time and we shook hands and parted ways. As I drove through the city on the way back to my hotel for the evening, the city that Jonas had just come to less than 12 months prior and taken by storm, the city which was his first home here in America but definitely not his last, I couldn't help but feel sentimental for him. How would he take to Anchorage when he landed there? How would Anchorage take to him? I hope that this time next year I can have another interview with this young man and let all of you know. Good luck, Jonas.

 

                                       Jonas during his first media day appearance for the Anchorage Armada