Fredrik Händemark has been the very symbol of Malmö

Published: Dec 17, 2020 at 10:46 p.m.
Updated: Dec 17, 2020 at 10:58 p.m.

Var torsdagen den December 17 The day of the late Bloomers?

Yes, it felt that way when Malmö’s Fredrik Händemark had to decide the derby against Rögle and Jacob Berglund made his Tre Kronor debut.

Players left the backyards of hockey and never gave up their dream.

Fredrik Händemark has been the symbol of Malmö in recent years with his hard work and club feeling.

And former Malmö manager Peter Andersson gave him room to grow.

First a member of the national team in Tre Kronor.

Then to a player with a newly signed NHL contract when he was 27. A great talent at Leksand once, but there he never got up and ended up on the Panthers in allsvenskan hockey to start over. It was in the Panthers where he made the first jump in the 2015-16 season, when he was picked up in Malmö and stayed.

And despite the fact that he is a hockey-educated person in Leksand and still speaks a more pronounced valley goal, most of today’s homeworkers, it is in Malmö where the heart is now.

It was not possible to misunderstand, when he sent a decisive 3-2 match there in the third period in Scanian’s derby against Rögle and ensured that Malmö kept their fourth win in a row.

Was it the last game?

It was such a genuine euphoria. And when the final whistle sounded, all his teammates hugged him. It was a single poisoning. And Händemark not only decided against Rögle, in their final match they lifted Malmö above the qualifying line, as Oskarshamn lost their lead 4-2 to 4-5 up in Luleå.

So you can always speculate if this was Fredrik Händemark’s last game in Malmö this season.

You never know what will happen when you come to the San José Sharks and try to take a spot in the “shark tank,” as the local SAP Center in San José is called.

Now I don’t doubt his firm belief that he will occupy a place in the squad.

It cannot be done with a player like Händemark and after the journey he has already taken. But it is not excluded that he will “come home” again. You never know how they think there and at the moment there are no farmer teams to send players to.

The AHL is said to start as well, but no decisions have been made and it is way ahead of the NHL start in that case.

At present, however, the possibility of having so-called taxi squads is being discussed.

Sweden’s most unknown KHL player

Players who can stay and train with their NHL teams, but are not on the team.

All to make it possible to call players when someone is injured and they are just a cab ride away. But everything remains uncertain about the next NHL season. There is still no alternative to even get rid of. Early Thursday, I saw Jacob Berglund debut on Tre Kronor.

At 29 years old.

Perhaps the most unknown Swedish KHL player who played for Norwegian Storhamar just three years ago.

Here he and Händemark have a common denominator in Malmö. Berglund’s mother club, where he was extremely talented before making the move to the WHL of the North American Youth League.

But he never got up, was not drafted by any NHL team, and returned for three seasons in then-Swedish Troja-Ljunby Hockey. Then it was Storhamar in Norway, Martigny in the second Swiss league, Ingolstadt in Germany and then Krefeld.

Then we come to the 2018-19 season and the 27-year-old who finally got loose. His 32 goals, 20 assists and a total of 52 in 51 games garnered attention and led him to the KHL and now to his Tre Kronor Channel One Cup debut.

A great day in your hockey life.

And another proof that it’s never too late and that hard work pays off.

Of: Mats Wennerholm

Published: Dec 17, 2020 at 10:46 p.m.