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***Canadice*** · 11-20-2020, 05:03 PM

My first media submission to the league, attached as a formatted PDF, as well as plain text below.

Mörön, Luleå As I drove up to the small village of Mörön situated along the north of the Gulf of Bothnia, I was struck by the amount of trees that enveloped the highway on both sides. I almost missed my turn if not for the GPS, the road barely identifiable in the vast forest. The village was small and picturesque, with around twenty family homes located along the main road. The Lind household was a normal looking house with an open garden and a hockey goal lined up against the garage. Tomas and his parents greet us before we sit down into the family room for the interview.

- I have always been interested in hockey. My parents got me into it at an early age and ever since then I have been hooked.

Tomas motions to the signed framed jersey of the Red Wings legend Tomas Holmström hanging above the sofa.

- You can probably guess who I’m named after, he says. They lived through the late 90s with the success of the Red Wings and actually met Tomas [Holmström] when he came back home with the cup.

The scouting reports coming in from Lind’s current league indicate that it’s not only in name he has been influenced by Holmström.

- Watching videos of him standing in front of the net was inspiring and I have been trying to play like him ever since I put on my skates, Tomas says. I live to be a thorn in the goalie’s side and allow my teammates to aim for the open areas of the net. If I can shoot in some of the leftovers that fall at my feet, that’s just a bonus.

Tomas shows us a compilation video of his latest season and the resemblance is uncanny. On every video, Tomas is standing firm in front of the opposition’s goal and is jousting with the defenders. It doesn’t take long before the puck is in the back of the net and his team is up a pair of goals. Tomas stat line is not that impressive if you look at goals and assists, barely getting over 30 points during each of his last three seasons, but his plus minus and the advanced stats tell another story. Even though Tomas is playing in a remote
league, every game played in the municipal leagues are videotaped and software developed by researchers at Luleå University of Technology is used to identify events that take place. This allows for those inclined to analyze the more intricate aspects of a
player’s style and impact to their team. It seems that some analyses also had spread further away from the province.

- I was surprised when the first scout called me up and wanted to ask me a couple of questions, Tomas says. They wanted to know how I train, what I aspire to do, and the like.

- It’s always fun when you see all the hard work that Tomas has put in starts to pay off, Tomas’s mother chimes in. That someone else sees the potential and value in having a player like Tomas on your team.

When asked which team had contacted him, Tomas did not want to give a straight answer.

- I would be happy to be drafted by any of the teams but playing in Detroit would be special, he says. I would love to be a part of
improving the team considering their result from last season.

The Detroit Falcons finished the season with the lowest winning percentage of all teams in the SMJHL. Their roster from last
season consisted of five defenders and fifteen forwards, so it is going to be tough competition for a spot on the roster if there are no SHL graduates.

Another team that sparked interest in the prospect is the Quebec City Citadelles , one of the four Canadian teams in the league.

- Playing in a beautiful place like Quebec City would be an experience like no other, he says. I might have some difficulty with the language. I’ve heard that they only speak French over there and I only know a couple of words.

Tomas makes an attempt at speaking a couple of words in broken French, much to his parents’ amusement. The Citadelles had a better
season than the Falcons, managing to achieve a "Bettman" .500 win rate. The league’s latest expansion team improved upon their inaugural season and they project to place higher in the standings in the coming season.

- Getting the chance to play in the birthplace of hockey is something I’ve always dreamed of, Tomas continues. I have heard that the fans are quite hard on their teams, but they would be awesome to play for in a packed arena.

As we are coming up on the end of the interview, I am surprised how quickly the sun set while we were talking.

- It’s the latitude, Tomas’s father explains. The sun is barely over the horizon during the winter months.

- I think this is what I am going to miss the most about moving abroad, Tomas says. The never ending days during the summer and the never ending nights during the winter. We are lucky to live in a place where the rink is lit up by old streetlights, so I didn’t have to stop playing.

I say goodbye to the family and start my drive back to the airport. I am struck by the calm demeanor of Tomas, even at his young age. I suspect that he will be a great addition to any locker room, both on and off the ice.

The SMJHL draft occurs this weekend with the St. Louis Scarecrows holding the first pick. Both Detroit and Quebec City follow in the first round, but they do not have another pick until the 3rd round in the draft, so Tomas might have to wait a while if he is to be picked up by one of his favorite teams.

Word count: 1032

Attached Files
.pdf