“Bjorn This Way” - An interview with Anchorage Armada Rookie Bjorn Thornsen @frazzle14

The moment Bjorn walks into a room, it’s obvious who he is. A man of Viking blood. He stands 6’2” and weighs 222 pounds, with not an ounce of fat on him. His presence is commanding, his looks stunning, flowing golden hair, thick and rich beard. HIs harks the ancestry of Norwegian Viking Gods. Yet, speaking with him, his tone is humble, his laughter contagious, his demeanor inviting. When you have a conversation with Bjorn, you realize that beyond his athletic and Viking-esque build, you have an intelligent person who only wishes the best for his teammates, his family, yourself, and finally hisself. He is compassionate and wanted to know how I, the interviewer, was doing before we even got started. There’s something charming and endearing about this beast of a man, who could squash me like an insect if he so pleased.

The conversation we had was different than what our normal interviews usually are. Bjorn had a confidence about him that permeated throughout the room. This is due to his upbringing in his hometown of Fredrickstad located in Viken County, Norway. Fredrickstad is a unique town that has been around since the 1500’s, it’s the world’s best preserved fortified town. Meaning, even today, if someone wanted to invade this town, they would have issues. It’s a town known for a it’s simple, charming life. However, life has changed since those Medieval times, people describe Fredrickstad as a warm and positive place to be. A popular summer destination located on the water. It’s central position gives you access to Oslo, Sweden, and the rest of Europe.

Outdoors activities are ingrained into Bjorn’s life, spending your childhood in that area, you had access to the water activities, hiking, football, midsommar celebrations. So it’s no surprise that he turned out the way he did, when you’re surrounded by this charming life, in a beautiful area of the world, it’s easy to be the charming athlete he became.

Bjorn never set out to be a hockey player though, taking up interests in football, specifically watching the local Fredrikstad Fotballklubb, who are one of the most storied and accomplished clubs in Norway.

However his love for hockey came from a route that many professionals do. His older sister, Astrid, was a successful figure skater during her childhood. Spending many mornings with his family at the rink watching her skate, Bjorn soon took notice of the local hockey team hosting tryouts. Being familiar with how to skate, but never seriously playing hockey, he convinced his parents to let him take part.

Most kids when they’re learning to play hockey, slip, fall and in general just aren’t graceful on the ice. Bjorn was different, he was a natural in skates, and picking up the hockey side came easy. By the time he was getting into this 3rd and 4th years of playing hockey, he started skipping levels and were playing against kids two to three years older than him. His keen eye for the game helped him elevate his abilities and surpass those who were more than a foot taller than him.

It wasn’t until he started growing into himself and made the decision to switch to defense before he really found his home on the ice. Even though he was a talented forward, his team found themselves with a spot to fill in the d corps, so Bjorn stepped up, wanting to learn a new side of the game. He quickly found his way as a talented two way defender, able to be responsible in his own zone and make contributions in the front as well. It goes along with his humble, giving nature to want to see his teammates play better because he was on the ice sacrificing his body and playing responsibly.

It wasn’t long before he was outgrowing the levels of competition in his area. In his teen years, he had to make decisions about his future, and one area that intrigued him because of family connections, is Edinburgh, Scotland. This may sound like an odd place for someone to want to go to hone their hockey skills, one would expect Sweden, Germany, Canada, or his native Norway to continue and grow. However, this was his decision to make. He was part of the inaugural season for the newly re-minted Murrayfield Racers. They had a rich history in the past, playing in the British Hockey League Premiers during the 80’s and 90’s. That team eventually folded and was renewed again with a resurgence in interest of hockey in 2018.

The Murrayfield Racers, knowing the odds were stacked against them, went all out to fill their Coaching positions and rostering a team that could be competitive from the start. After being denied entry to EINHL, they found a home in the Scottish National League (SNL), and founding coaching staff with UK Legends Martin Cingel (who is actually Slovakian, but spent years playing in Britian) and Tony Hand, the first British player to be drafted in the NHL. Although Tony never played a game, he still took shifts during training camp with Wayne Gretzky, and Mark Messier, and even needed to borrow a stick from Marty McSorely. He eventually found that the grind of North American hockey was not for him and found his was back to play with the first incarnation of the Murrayfield Racers. He was a huge part of scouting Bjorn and convincing him to come play in Britain.

Bjorn excelled while playing in the SNL, helping his team achieve a record of 14-0-2 in their first year, eventually losing in the finals. With a 13-1-1 record in their second year, they went on to the finals and won the SNL Championships. During his time in the SNL, Bjorn put up 30 goals, 65 assists, for 95 points. His 105 blocked shots led the league for those two seasons, and 50 hits put him in the top 10.

It was after that Championship year where he started considering what’s next. Playing in only 25 games was only offering him so much time to play the game that he loved. Looking for his next challenge, and after speaking with his coaches, and parents, Bjorn declared for the S56 SMJHL Entry Draft. It was there that the Anchorage Armada drafted him 23rd OA to be a top prospect on a team that was coming off a disappointing play off exit.

It was just after the draft that we had a chance to sit down with him and be charmed:

DSL: What was draft night like for you?

BT: Strange for sure. I sort of thought about not entering the draft at all and then decided very late on to enter myself so wasn’t sure what would happen. All a bit of a rush to get it sorted at the end but I’m really glad I did

DSL: I’m sure it must have been a relief to go in the 2nd round, especially for some one who may not have even entered the draft. When you heard your name being called, what was it like?

BT: Felt amazing for sure. Actually knowing that I’m good enough to be picked up means that I can do what I love as a career which is awesome.

DSL: Looking at your stats in the SNL, it doesn’t like too much of a surprise for me. I appreciate your humility, but i’ve seen some game play of you, you’re a talented player.

Now, you were just drafted by the Anchorage Armada, which is on the opposite side of the world from Norway. What were your thoughts on playing in Alaska?

BT: It’s a long way from home that’s for sure. But I’m so excited to get there and get started with my new team. Looking forward to getting settled in and getting on the ice.

DSL: It’s a great group of guys up there, you’ll be playing with some extremely talented people, especially on the blue line. You have Bork Lazer, Pojo Biscuit, Alexei Petrikov, Igor Victory, Matt Sawful amongst so many other world class forwards. What do you want to bring to the table with this team?

BT: To get better as a player and hopefully help the team win a championship.

DSL: Fair enough, you’ll have plenty of people there to help you out in both those regards. What kind of player do you want to grow into, any one in the league that you view as inspirational?

BT: Someone that’s known as a team player, someone that never gives up and gives their all every time I step into the ice.

DSL: Is there anyone you’ve met on the Armada who you look up to or are excited to play with?

BT: Sven Svenson recruited me and helped me with how I should get better. Samuel Michaud, co-GM of the Armada was the 1st person from a team to reach out to me and I ended up going to that team!

DSL: Sam is a great guy, hell of a player and GM. So, you’ve been drafted to the SMJHL, and the SHL draft is just a season away at this point. What would making it the SHL mean to you?

BT: Would definitely mean everything. Now that I’ve got the chance to get there I’ll do everything possible to make it.

DSL: Thanks for your time Bjorn, and welcome to the Armada!

Now, you only get a sense of what he’s like in that interview. But you can already tell that he’s a steal of a pick at 23 OA. We look forward to watching him improve this year and showing us what his Viking ancestry brings to the table.

Thank you to all of our readers and avid followers, we’re proud to be a part of “The Boat Gang’s Gang” and from all of us here at TBGG, this is Dick S. Lapper and we look forward to another great season here in Anchorage.