Gunnar has been playing hockey for as long as he can remember, but if you want to know the whole story you have to go back a little further than his memory allows. Talking to Gunnar’s mother, it becomes obvious that it’s always been in the cards for him to find a life of some kind in hockey. He learned how to skate almost as soon as he learned how to walk, but it obviously wasn’t until somewhat later that he started hockey. Gunnar’s father died around the time he turned two, and while he will tell you that he doesn’t remember that well enough to be very sad about it, hockey was something of a cathartic family experience for his mother and sisters in the difficult days that followed. Some of Gunnar’s sisters played (and still do), and for a time, the sport gave the family something to focus on, something to draw them together. It seemed only natural for him to stick with it, and Gunnar’s mother even ended up marrying one of his coaches when he was a little older (who is the only father figure Gunnar really remembers having). It’s been a part of his life from the very start, and it’s part of who he is, so it’s also pretty lucky he ended up being good enough to do it for a living.