Growing up in Norway, a country where hockey is more of an afterthought compared to football and skiing, Andreas Kvalheim did not know much about the sport of ice hockey when he was a young child. Instead, he was introduced to the sport when a group of young Norwegian hockey players started making some noise on the international ice hockey scene in the early S30s, challenging the traditional powerhouses like Canada, the USA, and Russia for the medal positions at the annual International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship. Perhaps the brightest star on this Norwegian team was Chris York, who played for the Toronto North Stars in the SHL. York was a dominant two way player, winning back to back scoring titles and Jeff Dar trophies in seasons 39 and 40. Andreas modelled his game off of York, and he was eventually able to make the move to North America and work his way up to becoming a SHL star.