HOCKEY DIARY
Lidstrom and Kronwall paired in Swedish practice
Feb 23, 2006
TORINO, Italy — Warning: Never, ever travel from Detroit to Torino carrying a big stick.
Like the four Swedish Red Wings that came before him, Niklas Kronwall is waiting for his hockey sticks to arrive. He left Detroit on Monday night, arrived here Tuesday, and Firday he hopes to play in an Olympic semifinal against the Czech Republic. But what with, remains the question.
“I hope they show up before the game,” Kronwall said after practice Thursday. “Today I used Mika Hannula's - he got one shipment that was the wrong one – he is right-handed and they were left-handed. They didn’t feel too good, so I'll try to find something else otherwise.”
Kronwall believed his sticks were stuck in Paris, so they’ll probably get here in time. It’s just quite the coincidence, because last week, it was teammates Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Mikael Samuelsson and Henrik Zetterberg who stood at the airport in Milan and wondered where in the world their equipment was.
If need be, Kronwall will use a toothpick. He beamed with excitement at the prospect of jumping into the Olympics, a dream he has nursed since he was a little boy. The opportunity almost was lost for this year: Kronwall blew out his left knee in an exhibition game and missed the first four months of the NHL season before playing three games beginning Feb. 1. Although he had been named to the Swedish Olympic roster in December, Kronwall pulled out in late January, citing a lack of time to get ready for such a hectic tournament. Wings general manager Ken Holland expressed concern that Kronwall could potentially be playing eight games in 12 days.
But when the Swedes called again and asked if Kronwall would come over and be on their taxi squad, there was no deliberation. Kronwall hustled to Torino, and his opportunity to play arose Wednesday when Mattias Ohlund crashed into the boards during the game against Switzerland, and suffered a fractured rib that’ll sideline him for 7-10 days.
“Olympics is something that's always been like a dream,” Kronwall said. “You grew up watching it on TV. It's only every four years. So when I got the call Sunday evening I couldn't believe it at first, but I talked to Detroit and everything was fine, so I packed my stuff and left.”
Swedish coach Ben Gustafsson had Kronwall practicing with Lidstrom on Thursday, and afterward explained he liked the two together because one would have to be a raving lunatic not to. Or, as he actually explained it: It’s a good pairing because both are very good at reading plays and knowing when it’s time to jump up and join the rush.
Unsurprisingly, Lidstrom agreed. “Yes.” he said.
Lidstrom elaborated: “I think we're similar in that aspect, that we both can jump up in the play at different times, we just have to read off one another so we both don't go up there at the same time.” Lidstrom also allayed any thoughts that it would be hard for a player to jump right into an Olympic semifinal by pointing out that Kronwall did quite all right in his first game back with Detroit on Feb. 1, when he had a big hit on his first shift and two assists.
“You couldn’t tell he'd been missing for four-months plus,” Lidstrom said. “He played real strong that first game, and I think he's going to play the same way coming out here, just with being so energized, too, excited to be a part of this.”
Kronwall was just 13 the last time Sweden made it this far into the Winter Games, in the 1994 Lillehammer Games. As every Swede knows, those ended when Peter Forsberg scored the game-winning goal in the shootout.
“I believe I was at home on the couch just watching the hockey with my family,” Kronwall said. “It's one of those things that you'll just never forget. That was huge. It was unbelievable.”
(MILLIONAIRE) BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME: Teemu Selanne, who will lead Finland against Russia in Friday’s other semifinal, was asked if good buddy and ex-teammate Paul Kariya had sent an encouraging word Selanne’s way. “No,” Selanne said. “I think he knows it’s too expensive to call overseas.”
