The biggest unexpected surprise in Nystrom's life thus far were his first few calls from North American junior organizations. He'd gone undrafted in his junior entry draft, and thought that was the end of any ideas he might have had of playing juniors in North America. The SHL might not have been out of the question, but he still wasn't going to be playing in American juniors and would need to work that much harder to earn a place on the SHL's draft board. He hadn't expected SMJHL scouts to keep their eyes on him after the draft, much less start making phone calls halfway through their season. Even beyond that, he was doubly surprised by Colorado's willingness to spend a significant sum on ensuring he landed in Denver. When he did arrive, his doubts were confirmed more than his hopes, as he was entirely over his head for that first season and didn't even begin to play up to his own standard until this second season in the league. It's these final three seasons in Colorado, not his first, that will determine whether his team was right to trust him.

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