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Interview with Ulrik Bergstrom
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Please give 100% of the pay to @Wiad it's his idea

When you think of a great defenseman, a few names probably come to mind. Perhaps someone legendary from the past like Bobby Orr. Perhaps someone current like Victor Hedman or John Carlson. Maybe even someone from SHL like Rex Kirkby or Ludwig Koch Schroder. They all have a few things in common, a few things that inspire the next generation.

So if you were to showcase an up-and-coming Swedish defenseman, one with great mobility and skills, you may expect to see such influences. And you do when you watch Ulrik Bergstrom, a first round draftee and prospect for the Tampa Bay Barracuda. He has yet to hit the ice in the SHL, but he has impressed the viewers and the scouts of SMJHL games, and he has dazzled in IIHF. For Sweden, he was instrumental in their silver medal run this past year, and he looks to be battling with fellow prospect Magnus Liljestrom (a first overall pick in S53) for the sixth position on the Swedish blue line.

How will he stand out, and make the coaches have no choice but to select him? It is simple; diligence, hard work, and tenacity. That has always been what has drawn people to his game and made him such a tantalizing prospect. He intends to show his merit and prove his skills on and off the ice, in order to bring himself above the pack. When we spoke to Wiad, he was brimming with optimism and excited for the future.

"I feel my game is better now than ever. I have been working for my entire career, keeping that steady pace of training, and you're starting to see results. I think that both in the SMJHL and in IIHF, you are going to be quite pleased with what you see. My coaches already are seeing the new me, and I'm quite happy with where my game is at right now. Hockey is a constant battle to grow and adapt to whatever is thrown at you on the ice, and I am just rolling with the punches. Staying happy and healthy, I am just pumped to be here and to have made it to this point at my career," said Bergstrom.

Ulrik Bergstrom told us that the Barracuda have no plans to call him up next season, but that he expects to go up the year after. The extra time in the minor leagues should give him a bit more time to hone his craft and prepare for the enhanced competition he would face in the SHL. He may even have the potential to make a rookie of the year bid. The Jesster trophy is quite coveted among players who get called up, and you know that all top prospects in the SMJHL are eyeing it at one point. It is, however, considered quite difficult for a defenseman to get it; it would be even rarer with the new sim engine limiting defensive scoring. Decreased output for defenders in FHM has not deterred Bergstrom though, far from it. He simply sees it as a new challenge, one that he knows he can tackle.

"It is not just offense that will put me in the running for the Jesster, but my defensive game is absolutely solid. I do all the little things right, I make the smart players, I have good positioning, and I'm willing to play physical and agressive. The offensive things are just the icing on the cake, they're just bonuses, they are not why coaches love me. Defense is what wins championships, and when you see me playing the big role in a playoff run, maybe even a run to the Challenge Cup, that will get people thinking about me and change their minds about what the definition of being rookie of the year should be. It's the intangibles, how I effect possession, and how I can disrupt an enemy team's offense that will completely sell the awards committee, whether they like it or not. The decisions they have made in the past have no bearing on the future, I will not let anyone tell me what is possible or decide what I am capable of but me," said Bergstrom.

Bergstrom was a very welcome addition to the Barracuda's pipeline, and he seems quite comfortable with his current team. It has proved to be a good location for his development, one where he can flourish and shine. It may be only his third year since declaring for the SHL draft, but he is already looking like a hardened veteran who has years of experience. It seems nigh impossible that he could have learned how to pick apart opposing forwards so quickly. That he could have such wise discernment and be such a heavily relied upon member of his juniors teams' blue line. But the numbers don't lie, he is as good and as solid as it gets. He gives much of the credit to those who helped him along the way, always the humble and generous fellow.

"Really, I just have to thank everyone who ever helped me and made it possible for me to get here, to be living my dream and playing in the best league in the world. To all my wonderful teammates I am just so happy to have gotten to play with you and to still be getting that chance today. To be waking up every morning and setting foot on the ice, wearing that jersey, it always puts a smile on my face and fills be with pride. The joy I feel can not be measured, this team is just such a big part of my life. And Tampa drafting me, they will give me a shot one day to take on the world. To face the best of the best, to really test myself, to prove my strength, to make a statement to the world that I am one of the best too. I believe I can be one of the great defenders in the league one day, that I can live up to the hype I had built when I was drafted. There are a lot of expectations riding on me and I intend to live up to and surpass all of them. I have very high hopes for where I am going to go, and tremendous faith that this is only the start of a long and prosperous journey. I can't wait to see where my career will take me and what I will be able to accomplish with so many great people by my side the whole way through," said Bergstrom.

Bergstrom is currently going a bit under the radar, but he deserves more attention, he would argue. He is not the flashiest player, but that is not what he aims to be. He plays a simple, intelligent game, and watching him out there is like a snapshot of the past. An homage, a flashback to a simpler time, before hockey had been mixed up in such complexity and wild tactics. He knows what he needs to do out on the ice, and he executes it to perfection. He makes it look too easy, as though a toddler could comprehend it. That is the beauty of his game, the style that you wish you would see from more modern players. He does not muddle his game up with complexity or confuse it by overthinking things. He simply plays and trusts his judgment, listens to his gut. He uses his instincts as a beacon, and has full faith in his thoughts and decision making skills. He is not mired in anything unnecessary, not burdened by doubts or a lack of confidence. The strength that radiates from the Swedish blueliner is a calm, quiet strength that inspires admiration and confidence from his coaches and teammates. He is exactly the sort of guy that you want out there in the critical moments, that you want to dole out a lot of minutes to. The kind of guy that you can rely on day in and day out. Bergstrom did not have much to say in describing his game, and it seems he did not need to.

"I try to play an old-school game. I really do not think or try to imitate any particular player. I am not looking to emulate any particular style or counter any particular team. I simply work hard out there every minute, I do what my coaches ask me to do, and I'm ready to react and take on any situation during a game. I can handle the power play or the penalty kill, I can step over the boards at any point in the game. I am not effected by the score whether we are winning, losing or whether it is an even hockey game, all tied up. I just treat every shift by playing in the moment, thinking here and in the now. The less I think the better, I just want to do what I was trained to do and play to the best of my abilities. I need to show off what I can really do, what I really am capable of, and to make as good of an impression on my coaches as possible. I need to live up to what they ask of me, what they expect of me. I just want to do my job. My job is to stop the other team from scoring goals and to shut down their offense, that is all. Whatever it takes to do that, I do it. No questions asked, I just do it. I do not ever want to let my teammates down," said Bergstrom.

Bergstrom has not let his teammates down yet, far from it. If he is able to win the Four Star Cup this year or the next, his legacy in the juniors will be cemented as one of glory. His leadership and talent are invaluable to any franchise, and it is for sure, Tampa got a good one. Selecting Ulrik Bergstrom in the S52 draft was a smart choice, and one that is bound to pay dividends in the near future. He can be a key player for any team, whether it is in the juniors, in the SHL, or in the IIHF in the offseason. Sweden has already seen the benefits of having Bergstrom as a part of their lineup, now it's just time for Tampa to reap the same rewards. It is only a matter of time before he hits the pros, and when he does, you can bet he will be in the hunt for the Jesster and ready to hit the ground running. The higher the expectations, the better; Bergstrom can handle it.

[img=0x0]https://i.imgur.com/ByNN8Jn.gif[/img]
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Armada Armada
bergy boutta break out

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