The Ekholm Diaries: The Season Starts

We have followed rookie Mattias Ekholm from his departure from his home in Sweden and arrival in the United States, through rookie camp and training camp with the veterans. With a solid camp, Ekholm made the final roster, and now we are going to follow the young rookie through the season. here are his entries to his blog from the start of the regular season:


Entry 27 10-6-2011


Hello again!


New day and new possibilities, with that introduction nothing can go wrong . . . Yes, today, Wednesday, has, in fact, almost been a little hectic. Although, I can still say, the day started as usual with breakfast about 9 o’clock. Then down to the rink with a fine breakfast in my stomach. We began the day’s training with a half hour in the gym, mostly for maintenance. Followed by a meeting (no comments) and after that out on the ice and work for about an hour.


Notice, now that the premiere is near, practices are not so long anymore and there is a lot of rest in them. But when we work, we work! We began with some warm up drills, followed by some game drills, and a lot of power play. A lot of different details that we want to polish the last days before the season starts!


After practice a friend (Jon Blum) and I went and ate lunch, little pasta to refill the stores. After that I took a swing by the bank that I use over here and fixed some things. Must say that it is really nice to have such small tasks to do so you avoid sitting and rotting in the hotel all day!


Now, this evening I was invited to an excellent dinner with the Hörnqvist couple! Really nice, it was a little Swedish dinner, he invited the other two Swedes here (Lindbäck and Bergfors) with their respective. A lot of good food and good conversation. But above all, it was terribly good to get home cooked food again, appreciate it just now. Don’t really know why, because there is good food in the restaurants here, too, but it is something special when it is “Swedish” home cooked. (I cannot think how good mom’s home cooking would be just now!) So, for that, much thanks!


So, in broad strokes, that is how my day went. Tomorrow, we fly to Columbus in the afternoon. Must see how the opportunities look for an update. It will be really awesome with the premiere on Friday, even if it is from the stands, since it is the first NHL match that I get to view in person! I hope, of course, that I will get to play, but we must simply see how it goes!


The Premiere 10-8-2011
 
I have time to get in a quick entry before bedtime in St. Louis where we just landed, or have, actually, just reached the hotel room! Today was the season premiere for the team! Really fun to get it going, now. Even though I didn’t play, it feels good! I spent the match in the stands with a number of other players who didn’t get to play or are injured!



The match went really well for the team, opening the NHL season with a 3-2 road win against Columbus was really strong. Must say without the goalie (Pekka Rinne), in all likelihood, it would not have been a win. Terribly good. He saved them on several occasions! But, otherwise, it was a team effort that led to the 2 points.


So, now, we are in St. Louis where the team plays tomorrow evening. We flew here immediately after the match and have a little warm up in the morning and then lunch and rest before the battle begins at 7 o’clock. (I believe) Little unsure, there.


Nightmare Night 10-10-2011


Happy hello to all!


Peek in a few minutes before bedtime, here, in Tennessee. As you can see from the heading, everything has not gone according to plan the last few days. Almost exactly 2 hours after I posted the last entry from the hotel room in St. Louis, I succeeded in getting some type of upset stomach! Really difficult, could have been one of the worst nights of my life. You all know how it is to have an upset stomach, so any further explanation of what happened, I think we can skip . . .


Consequently, it was not a fun visit for me, but I felt better the next day and went to the match and could follow the team home in the evening. The match ended with another win! After the goalie, again, played very well the team was able to win 4-2. Pekka Rinne (The goalie) is a great security for the whole team, terribly good start to the season on his part.


Today, Sunday, we have had a free day, no match again before Thursday or Friday (little unsure there). So, mostly, I have just taken it easy and tried to take in food after the stomach trouble. A little American football and a little Swedish TV spruced up the day. Bloody nice to get to just be and take it easy for a day!


But tomorrow the serious work begins again; practice is on the schedule and I will try to fight for and show that I am worthy of a chance. If it is to go that way, I need to sleep now

Debut! 10-15-2011


Hello again blog!


Peek in a bit before bedtime on a Friday evening here in Nashville; intend to talk a little about the big event that happened yesterday. For you who don’t know, I got to make my NHL debut! It was a terribly intense feeling to step on the ice during the introduction before about 17,000 home fans! It was jaw dropping.


As you know, there had been a little uncertain/unclear status about who would start yesterday’s game. About an hour before face-off I got the word that I would play! My pulse rose fairly substantially I can report. But I thought I could keep the nerves under control during the game, anyway. The game, itself, was not a happy story really; we ended up behind 0-3 after the first period and then fought back with 2 goals to 2-4 but that was it and Phoenix, who was the opponent, took home the win, unfortunately!


For my own part, it was an intense experience to get to step into the world’s best league and, at last, get to experience what it is like to play. Must say that the fans here in Nashville are really good! Was probably the loudest I have played in front of. Always fun to play in front of so many people also, obviously.


That is probably enough about the match now, today we had some meetings and about an hour on ice. Everything directed towards coming back with a win tomorrow when the New Jersey Devils come to visit. I don’t know, yet, if I will get to play or not, just cross my fingers during warm up tomorrow. Now, my eyelids begin to fall, I will try to get some sleep, here. Bye!



Ekholm points out what all Predator fans know all too well: this team would be in serious trouble without Pekka Rinne.

Sounds like a bit of a bug was running through some of the team members, as we know Rinne battled a stomach problem before the Columbus game, and Ekholm got something before the St. Louis game

For a young man that stepped on to the ice for his NHL debut, his entry on 10/15 is surprisingly understated. I like the props he gives the Predator fans and their vocal support of the team.

As Ekholm continues to post, we will follow his exploits and his perspectives throughout the season.

Once again, a major stick tap to Patricia Blair, who has done excellent work translating these entries from Mattias.

Devils Defeat the Predators in a Shootout 3-2

The Nashville Predators fell to the New Jersey Devils in a shoot out 3-2 at the Bridgestone Arena. In this contest, there were aspects that were good, bad, and ugly.

THE GOOD

Unlike their previous effort, the Predators opened the contest with good jump and were able to solve the Devils trap game. The Devils cycle the puck well, and the Predators weathered the early pressure exerted by the visitors. The breakouts were crisper, and the Predators were able to cycle the puck in the offensive zone and create pressure of their own.

This effort resulted in a 2-0 lead after the end of the first period. The Predators first tally came at 12:22 of the period on the power play as Colin Wilson continued his solid play, re-directing a pass from Sergei Kostitsyn past Devils netminder Johan Hedberg. Wilson has played with fire in his belly and has been consistently good in all aspects of his game.

The Predators notched their second goal 1:21 seconds later, at 13:53 as Jerred Smithson was the beneficiary of a great cross ice pass from Jordin Tootoo. With Nick Spaling in front occupying Hedberg, Smithson was able to fire the puck into an open net for a 2-0 Predator lead.

Pekka Rinne was solid in net, making some great stops early to keep the Devils off the board. His play in net continues to keep the Predators in contests, and he is moving well and exhibiting the great glove hand that he has shown throughout his career.

THE BAD

Once again, the Predators gave up double digit shot totals in every period, and a total 38 in three periods and another 3 in overtime. This is entirely too much, and gives the other team numerous opportunities to score. The reliance on Rinne is a tribute to his skill, but the Predators have to tighten up their defense.

There were stretches where the Predators seemed totally unable to get out of their defensive zone, much less exert any offensive pressure. At times, it was a victory for the Predators to get the puck out of the defensive zone. The lapses are problematic because it puts an inordinate amount of pressure on the defense and Rinne.

THE UGLY

Sergei Kostitsyn took a slashing penalty at 19:50 of the second period. On the ensuing power play to start the third, Pekka Rinne was run into by Patrick Elias. Shea Weber responded by taking a shot a Elias and was called for cross checking. On the power play, Ilya Kovalchuk blasted a shot by Rinne to cut the deficit to one. Apparently, it was permissible for the Devils to run Rinne with no call or consequence. That was a big momentum swing for the Devils, as they controlled play for much of the third period.

David Clarkson, he who had served a five minute boarding major earlier in the game, tied the game at 7:57 of the third. The Devils had dominated play and had been swarming the Predators in their own zone, and the effort by the Devils was rewarded with the tying goal.

The Predators did muster a few offensive chances late, but were unable to bury their chances. Once again, a lead had been squandered late.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The overtime was scoreless, forcing a shootout. Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise scored on beautiful moves against Rinne, while Cal O'Reilly and Matt Halischuk were stopped by Hedberg.

This is a painful learning experience for this young squad. The game is 60 minutes and this team cannot take rest on a lead, but must continue offensive pressure throughout the contest.

The ability of Rinne is without question, but when teams pour an abundance of shots on the net every night, it is not a formula for consistently winning games. The defensive effort has to get better.

There are flashes of great play. Those flashes are often surrounded by lapses that cost this team. Those lapses have to be eliminated for this team to be successful.

Brian McGratten showed why he is on the roster, as he toyed with the Devils heavyweight Cam Janssen while pummeling him in a lengthy bout. McGratten even took his free hand and used it to exhort the crowd while holding Janssen at bay. The fact is, however, that McGratten, didn't see the ice in the third period, effectively putting the Predators down a forward.

The Predators continue as a work in progress. This young team is going to experience some growing pains. We are seeing them now.

If this team is going to make a strong push to the playoffs, they are going to have to grow up quickly.

My three stars:

1. Johan Hedberg

2. Pekka Rinne

3. Ilya Kovalchuk

My View

Random ruminations from your resident curmudgeon...


So Warren Buffet thinks the rich are "coddled" and should pay more in taxes. In his recent New York Times Op-Ed piece, Buffett wrote, in part,

"Our leaders have asked for shared sacrifice. But when they did the asking, they spared me.... While most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks...These and other blessings are showered upon us by our legislators in Washington..."

Readers of this column know that one of the first things I say to do is to always follow the money. Mr. Buffett feels that he has been coddled, eh? Tell me this, dear readers, if he is being coddled so much, why is his company, Berkshire Hathaway fighting with the IRS over a tax payment of over $1 BILLION dollars? According to the Berkshire Hathaway annual report, the company's auditors have mentioned in the footnotes that there is unrecognized tax benefits of this amount, meaning that the company will likely have to pay the taxes in this dispute. C'mon Warren, you don't want to be coddled anymore, so pony up the funds. Write the check immediately and stop wasting government (taxpayer) resources trying to collect the funds from your very own, coddled company.The hypocrisy of Buffett and his ilk is gag inducing. The next time someone trots out Buffett as an example of why the rich should pay more, stop and ask if he has paid the $1 billion tax bill that is owed by his company.

The other night, my wife asked me to whisper some dirty things in her ear. So I said "laundry, the bathroom, the kitchen floor."

In its simplest form, "crony capitalism" is the inter-relationship between a private company and government officials that innure special benefits to that company that are not available to other competitors. A company that has ties to high ranking government officials may have an inside advantage on landing government contracts or business. One of the persistent memes from the Left during the Bush adminsistration was that we invaded Iraq so that Haliburton, an integrated oil service company, could benefit. There was always an attempt by the Left and their accomplices in the main stream media to tie any wrongdoing with Haliburton to Dick Cheney and George Bush. Tell me this, how much have you heard from the MSM about Solyndra? Who is that, you ask? Solyndra is a failed "green energy" company that left tax payers with a $500 million dollar tab after it failed. No big deal, you say; companies fail all the time. This one was special, friends. Guaranties for the loan from the Department of Energy were rushed through by the White House. Furthermore, the largest shareholder in Solyndra, George Kaiser, was a prominent donor to the Democrats in the last election cycle and even hosted a fund raiser in his home for then candidate Obama. Now I don't know about you, but this certainly sounds like "crony capitalism" to me. As much as the MSM decried- and rightfully so- the instances, real or perceived, of crony capitalism in the Bush administration, they have been strangely silent on this blatant example of crony capitalism. Keep your eye on this, and be aware, there are some more instances that are coming to light that suggest that crony capitalism is very alive and well in the Obama administration, even if you will not hear it in the MSM.

You know what is awkward? When the zombies are coming for brains, and they just walk right past me.

If you go back to December of 2007, the U.S. economy was at "full employment" meaning that our unemployment rate was less than 4%. Of course, we know that in 2008, the financial crisis in this country came to full flower, and the result has been a very severe recession. Numerous jobs have been shed over the course of the nearly three years, so that now our real unemployment rate is approximately 17%. The coming elections in 2012, coupled with this dire employment picture, have focused our leaders in Washington on the fact that we have to create more jobs. How many jobs? I'm glad you asked. We will need to create 262,000 NEW jobs a month. For the next FIVE years. 16,200,00 new jobs. All to get back to the December 2007 employment levels. Currently, we are creating just over 100,000 new jobs a month. So the next time someone in Washington proposes a new tax, a new piece of legislation, or even a new "jobs" bill, ask yourself what this is really doing to help our country, our businesses, create new jobs. If you cannot simply and clearly answer that question, then know that it will not aid in creating the jobs we so desperately need.

I drive waaay too fast to worry about cholesterol.

And that my friends, is my view.

Phoenix Pounds the Predators 5-2

You remember how as a young child you learned to ride a bike. There were moments of sheer ecstasy as you rode along with the wind in your hair. There were also moments of sheer terror as the wheels wobbled and you eventually crashed to the ground with your knees skinned up, bloody and sore.

Tonight, the Predators fell off their bike and wound up with the skinned knees, sore and beaten, as the Phoenix Coyotes dominated the Predators in a 5-2 win.

The euphoria of the first two games, wobbly but wins nevertheless, disappeared as the Coyotes manhandled the Predators.

This is part and parcel of fielding a young team.

The callow Predators struggled in the first period of the game as they went over seven minutes without a shot on goal. In the meantime, they hung starting netminder Pekka Rinne out to dry. The Coyotes peppered the Predators goaltender with shot after shot, and Rinne could only hold the fort for so long, as the Coyotes overwhelmed the Predators for three first period goals en route to a 3-0 advantage that they would never give up.

The disappointing aspect of this loss was the fact that the Predators lost puck battles all night. They struggled to enter the offensive zone, and they could not clear the defensive zone. The Predators were outworked in all zones tonight, and the Coyotes made them pay for their lack of effort.

This was reflected in the shot totals. In the first period, the Coyotes outshot the Predators 16-7, arguably the worst period of hockey that the Preds have played in this young season. It didn't get much better in the second period, as the Coyotes held a 12-8 shot advantage. Only in the third period did the Predators muster an effort worthy of Predator hockey, out shooting the Coyotes 1-3. By then, it was too little, too late.

Here are the ugly details: Dave Schlemko scored at 12:00 of the first; Ryan Whitney at 14:28; and Lauri Korpikoski at 18:45.

In the second period, Mikkel Boedker tallied at 11:26. Ryan Suter finally got the Predators on the board with a short handed blast at at 14:01.

In the third period, Colin Wilson gave the Predators some life with a blast from just inside the face off circle to make it 4-2. The Coyotes sealed the win with an empty net goal at 19:06 by Derrick Morris.

The young squad of Predators was without Marty Erat, who has been place don IR; Patric Hornqvist, who was out with an injured foot; and Mike Fisher, who has yet to play this season.

The youth of the Predators was victimized by, well, their youth. They spent much of the night chasing the puck and seemed to forget their discipline on too many occasions. That lack of discipline often resulted in good scoring chances for the Coyotes, and if not for the solid play of Pekka Rinne, the score could have been much worse. I really can't fault Rinne for any of the goals that were given up tonight, as many times he was under siege by the Coyotes.

On the other end, the Predators had some scoring chances early, but couldn't solve Jason Labarbera. Labarbera has been a Pred killer back to his days with the Kings. He continued his dominance over the Predators, making some very good saves early to keep the Predators off the board. For this young team, the ability to bury a shot early is critical to their psyche, and tonight, their psyche was severely bruised by the play of Labarbera and the Coyotes.

As I mentioned, this is what you get with a young squad. Some nights, they come out flying with energy and enthusiasm. Some nights, they fall off the bike and have to get back up and ride again. Tonight, they fell off the bike, numerous times, and had trouble staying on.

The team has an opportunity to rebound on Saturday night. I don't expect this young squad to come out and dominate. I do expect them to compete.

Tonight, they did not.

As with any young group, some painful lessons have to be learned. The game tonight will be of benefit to this team if they learn the painful lessons and bring the effort in their next contest.

Fail to do so, and the fall off the bike is going to be painful.

Again.

My three stars:

1. Jason Labarbera

2. Ray Whitney

3. Ryan Suter

The Ekholm Diaries: Training Camp

The intensity and the action goes up several levels for our Mattias Ekholm and all the rookies, as the veterans report to camp and the competition for roster spots begins.This is going to be a rather lengthy post as we are going to follow Ekholm through the entire training camp, so here we go...

Entry thirteen- 9-16-2011

Entry thirteen already, it has gone fast I must say! Soon, I will have been here two weeks, feels like three days.

The day, offered an early morning, the alarm rang at 6:30. Got up, ate a little breakfast, then down to the rink for this year’s skating test. Terribly hard, but I must say that it went better than expected. I bettered my time from the summer by more than a second! Really good to get a little acknowledgement that I trained properly. Afterwards, it was really calm before I was picked up by our Swedish “star” here in the form of Patric Hörnqvist. It was really nice that I was invited to lunch and a tour of his, to say the least, fine home. Cool to see where you can end up, if you work hard in hockey here!

Day 1 9-17-2011

Hello!


I planned to make a little report about the day’s exploits as “Main Camp” (So they call the big training camp) started today! However, no ice today, only a lot of different tests! They are really careful to check up on all of the players’ health over here. I really have had my whole body examined.


The day began with a % body fat measurement. I have no answer on what mine is, but I have been told I’ll probably get it during the week. After that, we did all the “off-ice tests”, really easy tests, in fact. Little stamina, muscle strength, and wrists. I thought it felt good, about the same as summer camp. After that, it was time for a thorough check up with tests: teeth, eyes, blood test, agility, urine test, and some flu shot. Should have been a quick little eye test, but it was fairly unpleasant because you got eye drops which made the pupils dilate and you couldn’t see much! It stayed that way, in fact, until early in the afternoon before it stopped and you could see normally, was very sensitive to bright light the whole day!


So that was my morning, then in the afternoon there was the “team dinner”, a little inauguration of the season with speeches from several coaches and general managers. They even honored those who died in this tragic hockey summer. Especially, the former Nashville player, Wade Belak (Rest in Peace!) who they showed a real nice video about, many who were nearby shed a tear during this! Many who currently play here were close to him, tragic.


Then we were away and bought some poker chips to pass time with. It becomes tough, really easily, in the hotel when we have several hours to kill. So they make it easier big time! Tomorrow it is time to listen and give all! Should be really fun to push myself hard and truly fight for a spot here, so good luck to me.


First day, check! 9-18-2011


Today we started on ice work with a regular tempo, really fun! It feels a little great to skate around with all of these NHL stars, but you never get to admit it, only see them as competitors! It is tremendously inspiring to get to be with them and get a picture of what is required to play in “The Show”. Nashville, now, in fact, possesses one of the league’s best defensive groups, so it is really good for me to get to see and learn from these guys! You pick up a lot of small things the whole time, or try to at least, as much as possible!



Must say it feels good after the first ice practice, thought it felt very good, overall. Legs hung in well despite the different tests earlier in the week and my focus was good almost the whole practice. Was a little tired toward the end, I admit, but I am still happy with my first practice, here. Was a fairly tough ice practice, almost 1.5 hours. It began with some skating technique drills, followed with 1 hour of game drills. Going through Nashville’s systems, there is a lot to think about, but so it should be at the beginning of the season!


After that, followed up with a little work in the gym, media and shower! Had lunch at a little pasta place in town. Good food, I must say, for it was a little fast food like restaurant! But nothing wrong with the food, I think. After that it was the obligatory “chat-hour” before everyone goes to bed, there at home. Called home to mom and dad, girlfriend, and talked with some buddies! Have about 1 to 2 hours you can do it before it becomes too late at home in dear Sweden!


I can report that I won the “credit card game” today. Really nice, so we earned back the dough lost earlier in the week! We ate dinner at an Italian place where, in fact, the owner knew us; he is a big Predators-fan. So he offered us free dessert after the meal.


Otherwise, tomorrow looks exactly like today. Same times, for example, practice at 11:30 then free for the rest of the day! Match on Monday, so I’d like to have a good practice tomorrow as we prepare for the Florida trip! But that is all for today ladies and gentleman. Thanks and goodbye!


Match Time! 9-19-2011


Today’s agenda was, in fact, exactly like yesterdays! Up at 8:30, breakfast, and then down to the rink. There we continued with meetings (Yup, they like meetings here), went through game details, presumably, nothing you would think is especially entertaining. So, we skip it. After that it was on with things, and out on the ice. 1.5 hours today, tough practice, I must say. A lot of skating, but it is good, because you get in form quickly.


I am quite happy with today, it feels better and better every ice session that passes. I learn new things and pick up things the whole time. Really nice to feel that it goes in the right direction, especially now when there are matches in the coming days, we will, as you know, go to Florida tomorrow for two matches. Since there is so many of us, just now, we play one match at 3:00 PM and the other at 7:30 PM, or some such. I will play in the later. We will go home directly afterwards, so we don’t have a hotel where you can prepare, probably go around the rink and watch a few hours . . . Everyone doesn’t get the opportunity to play, so we will not complain!


Then there is a match on Tuesday, away against Washington, but there is only 1 match, so we must see how it goes, if I play or not. Just give it all tomorrow, so we get to see how long it can go. Saw that Markström will play the second match, so we must try to crush one there this time!


Otherwise, the evening has not offered so very much, little card playing, and call home. Went and ate at the Chinese place where they cook in front of you, again. Very good again, then I got the news that I got the bill, again! (D*N!) Believe that is the end of that crap game, now.


Must see if there will be time to update tomorrow, since we fly home immediately after the match, it might be a little tight, there. We must simply see how it goes. But now you are, in any case, warned that there may not be an entry tomorrow!





Back on track! 9-22-2011



Hello there again!


I must first and foremost explain why updating has been poor the last two days. It is fairly simple, lack of time. There has been two away matches, first against Florida Monday evening and then against Washington before 13,000 (99% Washington fans) in Baltimore.


We will go through the days. It began with the flight to Florida at 9:00 Monday morning. We got there by lunch and bussed directly to the arena for those who played the first match. We played two matches since we still have 50-some players remaining with the team. The first match for the split squad was at 3:30 and our match was at 7:00. Those of us who played at 7 got a day room at the hotel so we could prepare a few hours with sleep, or whatever you prefer!


The match was fairly even. We took an early 2-0 lead, but they came back and won 4-3, unfortunately. Was an experience for me since it was my very first “NHL preseason match”. I was, in fact, a little nervous before the match, I will say, but I thought that I managed decently, overall. Got a lot of playing time and had a good feel throughout the match. Always nice to get by the first game nerves, it doesn’t work to check them, they show up at special events.


After the match it was straight to the airport and fly home. I will say briefly that the airplane, itself, is probably the finest I have flown on. The seats are like a big leather sofa almost! World-class. Well, on the plane I found out that I was on the team that would go to Baltimore and meet Washington the next evening. So, at the hotel there was no time to write an entry, prioritized sleep there . . .


The next day we had a little morning warm up, 45 minutes, a little practice on the ice to skate off the previous days match and get ready to go again. Then lunch and out to the airport, again! This time the flight went to the city of Baltimore, a city which lies outside Washington. (Don’t know how far) But an arena of 13,000 and it was full, always fun when a lot of people are at the match!


But the big thing with this match was that they played their 6 best players plus some juniors. In other words, Ovechkin, Bäckstöm, Semin, Green, Laich, Knuble played! Real fun! They are, despite all, childhood idols, but all such respect you must sweep under the rug when the puck is dropped!


The match was a fairly even affair! We traded little chances back and forth, but in the end we won the match 2-0. For my own part, I liked it, not a great match, but fairly stable. Fun that I continue to get the trust to play all situations, I have played both penalty kill and power play in both matches.


So there has been a lot of hockey these 2 days as you, perhaps, can imagine! Little difficult to find occasion to “blog”, must apologize for that! So now, in the coming days, several matches await. Tomorrow there is only practice, but then we have a match on Friday and Saturday! Friday’s match is in Carolina and Saturday at home in Nashville, so we must see if I get to play one of the two. Keep your fingers crossed!

Match tomorrow, or? 9-23-2011


Yes, that is the question, match tomorrow or not? I have, in fact, no answer, just now. Currently, I will not play tomorrow’s away match with Carolina, but one of the defensemen who will play is a little injured. So, therefore, I’ve been told that I should be ready in the morning to travel with the team! So we must let time decide, that simple!


Today has, otherwise, been calm. Nice, if you ask me, after the two matches at the beginning of the week. Breakfast at 10, and then down to the rink. Today’s schedule included an on ice practice for about 1.5 hours, after that a quick change, and in the gym for about 30 minutes. Nothing hard, mostly to maintain strength training.


I will capture a little difference which you really see here compared to Sweden. During my gym session today one of the coaches came in and said that the “management” (Coaches, scouts and general managers) wanted to meet with me when I was finished. Okay, I said, and immediately my pulse shot up to 1000. When I went in there in front of all of them, they only told me that I should be prepared to, perhaps, play tomorrow. Know, well, in Sweden the coaches come over and say that straight out, nothing more to it. But, now, when they all want to meet you, you manage to, well, think one thing and then another. But as luck had it this time, I was neither sent home, nor had I done something dumb!


Afterwards, the day was passed with a little poker playing and dinner at “Stoney River”, the fine restaurant where I lost my first “credit card game”! But today it went better, avoided the bill, so now we work again, here! Otherwise, I don’t know what I should report about a day such as this, we don’t have a lot to do besides poker. Oh, by the way, today we downloaded the American equivalent of “wordfeud”. Scrabble in English, really addicting I must say! If you want to take part in this game, it is named “Words with Friends”. A lot of fun when it is another language, little more challenging.


Day 19 9-24-2011


Yes, as you see in the headline, I have been here 19 days now, feels like 3 months, in fact. Hotel life is not always as luxurious as it sounds. Like now, when we only practice, the days can be really tough with not much other than card games to entertain you. Lucky, that there is a group of us who live in the hotel here, makes the days go much faster than they would normally!


We will step through the day a little quick, I can begin with - there was no match. We practiced on ice at 12 for about an hour. Nothing hard, mostly, little competitions and battles. It was nice to have a little calmer practice, since I will play tomorrow. It will be terribly fun to play before the home fans! The opponent is the new team in the NHL this season, the Winnipeg Jets. So now, I’m recharging the batteries for a discharge tomorrow. I have heard a little rumor that there will be a fairly big thinning out of players after the match tomorrow, so it’s the last chance to make an impression!


Otherwise, the day has been spent taking it easy, only relaxing at the hotel and playing cards. (Slam!) Then a little dinner and crap talk!

Match + NFL debut! 9-26-2011



Hello again blog! Must ask you to excuse me for not making an entry yesterday, I will share a little more today, instead!


Yes, yesterday was match day again, first home match of the preseason and first ever for me! The day began with breakfast at 8, then down to the rink for a short warm up on ice for about half an hour. Then lunch at an Italian place (Maggianos), unbelievably good pasta there! After that it was back to the hotel and the usual match routine each has. Myself, I don’t have one so much, at all. Usually, I try to sleep one hour, anyway, and then just take it easy and recharge!


The day’s opponent was the Winnipeg Jets. The match began with a really bad first period by us which we lost 0-2. We got a boot in the intermission and went out and won the second clearly 4-1, a good period from our side, 3 power play goals! The match ended with the score 4-3. For my own part, it went a little in waves, which perhaps you understand, a worse first period, then I played better and better in step with the team raising itself.


It was an awesome experience to play in front of the home fans. There is starting to be a really big interest in hockey in the Country Music City! There were, in fact, almost 14,000 at the match. There was a really good atmosphere (except in the first, perhaps) the whole evening.


I can happily report that I have cleared the first big cut down of players. 20-some players were sent down to the farm team yesterday, but I am still here, so it is huge fun! Just keep grinding, here. There are 11 of us defensemen still in camp. Two are injured. So, there are not too many who still have to go away, in fact.


Today, we got, for the first time in 3 weeks, a whole day off! Really nice to get to rest up a little. I thought the day would be spent at the hotel taking it easy. But we had a quick change of plans! One of the coaches had two tickets to the day’s American football game with the Tennessee Titans which is Nashville’s team’s name! So, we (Roman Josi and I) went down and watched the game played between the home team and the Denver Broncos. It is one thing which you almost must do when you are over here!


The arena held almost 70,000 (And I thought it was cool to play in front of 14 . . . .) and almost sold out. Perfect tickets about 15 rows from the field. The sun shined the whole game, so it was a perfect game, simply. I will admit that I did not know the rules so well before the game, but you learn really quickly. Very enjoyable sport to watch, in fact. But the coolest was probably, above all, the atmosphere in there, seeing 65,000 shrieking fans all at the same time! Not every day one gets to experience something like that.


The game itself could not have been better; Tennessee came back and won with a “Touchdown” with about 4 minutes remaining! The fans were crazy, they high fived with everyone around them and happiness was total! It was a really fun experience which I would gladly do again. It is almost impossible to try to describe how big football is over here. But it was fun!


After the match we went out and about with Patric Hörnqvist and got a fine dinner and hung out a bit. It was nice to be away from the hotel and out and about! Appreciate it! Then we relaxed a little in the evening and prepared for practice tomorrow. We have a match on Wednesday, again!


Entry 21 9-27-2011



Hello again, entry 21 today! I have, exactly on the day, passed 3 weeks since I landed here and I continue in the race, it feels really cool! Today we started practice at 9:00 in the gym, followed by meetings before the on ice practice. (Yup, they like meetings over here) On ice practice was, as usual, about 1.5 hours with quite a lot of stand and watch today, in fact. Happens when we go through game systems and such, becomes no real fire in practice, but such is hockey life in the preseason!


But it felt good to be back on the ice again after the free Sunday we had. No problem, except that I, in some strange way, managed to be head butted by the back of someone’s head, so my lip split a little bit. I got 2 stitches, but no big thing, mostly a precaution. I carried on with practice after the little incident, so not serious at all!


After practice, had lunch at Subway and then back to the hotel for a little conversation with home and then only relaxed. (Begins to be a daily routine, now) I got half an hour of sleep in the afternoon, real nice. So, I have the energy to stay awake.


I was invited to dinner with Hörnqvist again today. Real good guy, I must add. He invited me and Roman (My best buddy here from Switzerland) to his house and cooked for us. Today, we had steak and potatoes, really good! He takes care of us, like a little extra papa, you could say!


Otherwise, nothing that happened today is worth taking up here. I will see tomorrow if I get the chance to play the home match on Wednesday, Washington comes to visit! Would be fun, so we must keep our fingers crossed, I will report about it tomorrow!

Tough day 9-28-2011



Hello, again!


Today was really like any other day. Nothing fun happened except that we went to the movie! Began the day as usual with gym at 9:30, then meetings (Yup, they like to meet over here) followed by on ice practice for about 1.5 hours. In other words, same as usual!


After that we went to the shopping center where the theater is and ate lunch and strolled around a little, then we watched an early movie. We saw Moneyball. A baseball film with Brad Pitt. Completely, okay I think! I had expected a little more, perhaps, because there has been a lot of talk about the film over here! Not that it was bad, but I had, well, perhaps, expected a little more.


After that we drove to dinner at a steakhouse down in the city, loaded up with a big steak before the match tomorrow! I will play tomorrow! Real fun, as you know at home against Washington. I will play with the Finn, Teemu Laakso, who I have played with a few matches, now. It has worked well! He is a defensively strong back, so I have someone who can clean up during my offensive outings! I have not heard how big interest is, but we hope for a lot of people! Not really the same conditions with the weekend and premiere like last home game, but we will see how many people think to come!


You must satisfy yourself with a shorter entry today, because, simply, not a fig has happened over here worth reporting . . . but I will try to squeeze in an entry after the match tomorrow. On Thursday the team goes to Winnipeg for a match on Friday, so must see if I get to go or not! Now we will get a few hours sleep. Good night!


Long time no see 9-30-2011



Hello again!


There were several days with less free time, here. It began Wednesday with the match at home against Washington which we succeeded to comeback in after a little mistake from me and in the end won 4-1. I somehow successfully managed to trip at the blue line, leading to a breakaway, and they scored. Nothing to do but shake it off and I think it went okay after that! I got to play quite a bit (Around 18-19 minutes) and continued to play on the power play!


I was home at the hotel after the match by 11:00 and we had to be at the airport at 9:00 the following morning. So, once again, I prioritized sleep over writing here. (Sorry) We flew on Thursday morning to Winnipeg for today’s match. Had an easy practice yesterday afternoon and a quick warm up this morning!


The happy news is that I, in fact, will play this evening which I really had not believed because we go with 9 defensemen and there were 3 who did not play against Washington. So, I simply thought it was their turn, but I will play! Really fun. I have heard that it will be a sell out and TV this evening! Really nice!


So, I will go and get my afternoon nap that I always have before a match! I will make an update before the match tomorrow, so that it is not so long between times. Have the best, so long!


Match 10-1-2011


Hello again!


Must be quick here again, because, namely, I will play again this evening. I will make a longer report on these two matches this evening after I come home!


I can say that we won yesterday’s match against Winnipeg 3-2 in a shootout! I, also, made my first point during the match, an assist on the 2-1 goal. But I will return with a little better analysis of the match this evening.


I will, also, play again this evening, 3rd match in 4 days! Good that I experience this many matches direct! Carolina waits on home ice at 7:00 American time (about 2:00 AM at home).


I will take my afternoon nap now, so we will talk this evening. Bye!


Summary of the week 10-3-2011


Hello blog!


I will begin with an explanation for the fairly poor updating I did this last week. There has been a lot of traveling and a lot of matches. I began the week with pretty good updates, overall. Then came matches Wednesday, Friday and Saturday! So, we will make a summary of the week, here and now!


The match on Wednesday, we have already gone through, so enough of it. It ended, as we know, with a win against Washington. Then the next morning, we hopped on the plane to Winnipeg, we went the day before the match because of the longer plane ride (about 2 hrs and 40 min). After we arrived we had a practice session, of the easier type, followed by an afternoon/evening on our own. We spent it just relaxing in the room and went out to eat dinner. (As usual) Then, on Friday it was time for the match! The new team in the NHL for this season, Winnipeg was, again, the opponent and the match was fairly even.


We began well in the first period and quickly took hold of the match, it felt even good for my part. Then they worked themselves into the match more and more. It stood 2-2 after regulation and overtime, so the match went to a shootout. There we made the first and only shootout goal! So, we won 3-2. I even got to throw in an assist on the 2-1 goal which was my first point in a Nashville sweater. Little nice to have that out of the way, so it doesn’t become a curse.


After the match we had to pack things as fast as possible, and then off to the airport and home to Nashville, again. We landed at 2 AM and I was in bed by 3 AM! So, it was a little tough when I woke up on Saturday morning. But it was nice that we skipped the morning warm up. So, the only time we had to prepare for was the gathering 2 hours before the start of the match. It was the last preseason game for this year, at home against Carolina. My third match in four days. Will not complain at all, only happy to get to play the matches!


The match was a goalless affair the first two periods, 0-0 before the last period. Still, I think the play went fairly well for my part. This match, I played with the Canadian junior star, Ryan Ellis. It worked very well. So, 0-0 before the last period, then Carolina took an early 1-0 lead. Then we got a power play goal immediately, thereafter, to tie. Then this match, too, went to overtime, but there we were able to bang in the winning goal! Fairly unbelievable preseason with only one loss in eight matches, I believe it was! (Pity that they don’t count)


Yes, the preseason is completely finished! Now, the fun begins. Where it begins for me is, well, still a little unclear. I have not had any indications, so far. We will see in the morning at practice if we get some new information. So, for all who wonder, I have no news to give, only have patience and wait.


Today, (Sunday) has been a free day from hockey. So, I have just taken it easy at the hotel. I, also, went out and got some teeth work done, after a little incident during yesterday’s match. So a little rehab day with a lot of lying in bed and watching TV! That is all for today, I shall try to update the blog here as soon as I get some news, if I get to take a spot or not!


Now, I can even pass on information to follow me, because today I started a Twitter account. If you have this little social network, I go under the name MatEkh14. So, check in there and follow me! Goodnight!


A lot to enter 10-5-2011

Hello again blog!


There wasn’t an entry yesterday for several reasons, none that I want to go into. I still get to hold some things secret. Can say that I got a completely different message from what I got first, so now I don’t know a lot, only take it day by day. Anything in the world can happen!


But I feel good and I have continued to practice with the team the whole time. I am, currently, one of 23 who have been announced for the first match. I try to fight on and show that I want to play, also! So, both of these days (Monday and Tuesday) have in principle looked exactly the same! On ice practice at 10:30, and before that, a half hour in the gym and various meetings. (Yup, they continue to like meetings) Practices have been about 1 hour long, some final polishing before Friday!


Otherwise, if feels like I haven’t managed to do much during my free time beyond talking on the phone. Oh, I had a dentist visit on Monday and fixed little things there! Not fun, but always nice to have it done. Very fine office they have here, you get your own little TV beside the lamp so you can watch it. And the time went, in fact, much faster when I could watch some sports while they fixed my teeth!


No, I have, in fact, nothing really fun to report at the moment. I am beginning to be bloody tired of our hotel, now. But you know that already, so nothing new.




Several things jump out to me from Mattias' writing. He seems amazingly calm about games ("matches") although he did admit to nerves for the first one.

In his entry for 10/3, he mentions that he is unsure of where he will begin the season, and the fact that he made the Predators roster is just sort of a matter of fact, afterthought statement in his 10/5 entry.

I liked how he referred to Patric Hornqvist as "a little extra papa", but was really appreciative of how Hornqvist has taken an interest in his fellow countrymen.

I enjoyed his perspective of playing his first game in front of the Nashville fans.

Oh yeah, the Predators like team meetings.

In the next installment, we will follow Mattias through the opening week of the season,

Once again, a major stick tap to Patricia Blair, who has done a marvelous job translating these entries from Swedish to English.

Meet the Predators 2011

The Nashville Predators held their annual Meet the Predators gathering at Bridgestone Arena, affording fans an opportunity to get up close and personal with their hometown heroes. The event was well attended, with several thousand of the Predator faithful in attendance.

Fans gather at the various autograph stations before the start of the event. Stations were set up throughout the concourse with players at each, and they were available to autograph items and have pictures made.

 

 

This is the line for Pekka Rinne. His booth is past the far Tennessee Zone sign in the distance.

Francis Buillon and Sergei Kostitsyn at their autograph station.

 

Pekka Rinne signing a jersey for a fan.

Jack Hillen

Anders Lindback

 

Mike Fisher signs an autograph for a fan

Mattias Ekholm, our young defenseman and Swedish blogger

Ryan Suter signs a jersey

Blake Geoffrion

Patric Hornqvist interacts with a young fan. The impressive thing about all these players is their friendliness and approachability, and they seemed genuinely happy to visit with all the fans, especially the children.

Jerred Smithson and a young fan

Colin Wilson shares a laugh with a fan

 

Shea Weber talks with a fan while signing autographs

Rookie Craig Smith was a fan favorite

Niclas Bergfors

Gnash was there to interact with the fans

Terry Crisp signs a jersey for a young fan

The best play by play announcer in the NHL, Pete Weber, signs an autograph for a fan. Pete and Terry have a great time engaging the fans.

Pete with his lovely wife, Claudia

The View even had his picture made with Pete and Terry. I had to pay them immediately after the picture

was made

This is a great event that allows the fans to mingle with the players and see them as people. They are a great bunch of guys first and hockey players second. Kudos to the Predators organization for putting this event together.

The Ekholm Diaries: Rookie Camp

Mattias Ekholm has arrived in Nashville as a 21 year old defensive prospect attempting to make the Predators after playing ad excelling in the Swedish Elite League. He has graciously let us in on his blog that he is submitting back to his hometown newspaper, and in the first installment of his diary, we "listened in" as he talked about transitioning from his home in Sweden to Nashville.

Today, we pick up his diary at the beginning of Rookie Camp.


Serious Work! 9-10-2011


Hello blog! Today we, at last, crept to the start of rookie camp. There was no practice or such. Only physical testing and a group dinner on the schedule. All went smoothly with the doctor, so it was over in 30 minutes. Afterwards we had dinner at “Logan’s Steakhouse”, a restaurant that lies about 25 meters from the hotel. But that is really all the “hockey talk” for today, not so much has happened on that front yet. So, today, we skip it completely!


First, we reveal that we have a little “profile” on the three boys I named yesterday as my best buddies over here! We begin today with a guy named Taylor Beck!


Age: 20


Position: Left Wing


Marital Status: “Don’t know/unknown”


Favorite food: Chinese


Favorite Restaurant: P.F. Changs (Chinese place in Nashville)


Favorite Animal: Panda


Why: “They are cute.”


And the final question, if you should win 10 million kronor, what would you do? Go to Sweden!

(Mattias abruptly shifts gears in the last part of his blog to talk briefly about food- The View)

Have even thought a little about doing some account of the difference in food here versus Sweden! It is a terrible big difference, in certain ways. Like our hotel breakfast, for example, you find something useful in it, so that makes it good, I can say! So, we shall try to get that in, soon!

First “real” practice 9-11-2011

 

Hello there again!


Today, we kick started this adventure, seriously! First ice practice is over and the feeling is a little mixed afterwards. You notice that there is a difference in the play, if you compare it with play at home! The smaller rinks make it much faster and you must be on watch the whole time. There are small details in the play that you must work on the whole time, but we have already started with that today, so it feels good!


Today’s program consisted of: first, a video meeting at 9:00, followed by on ice practice at 10:30. On ice practice was for about 1.5 hours, fairly hard I must admit, but nice to have a good/tough start so you get into it. Then, after the on ice practice, we had a few more meetings (they really love to have meetings here) and a quick work out in the gym. Was finished by 1:30 and after that was free for the rest of the day. Nice to get a little time to rest up, also!






So, we shall continue the series of profiles on “my best buddies”. Today the luck falls to the physical phenomenon, Mike Latta:


Age: 20

Position: Center


Favorite film: Old School


Favorite fruit or vegetable: Kiwi


Why?: “Tastes delicious”


The final question like yesterday, if you should win 10 million kronor what would you do?: Travel around in Asia, especially in “East Asia”.


Mike comes from Canada, played last year in the Canadian junior league with Guelph Storm. A hard working forward who is not afraid to drop the gloves, so he would concisely describe himself. I think it is an excellent description! Off the ice, he is a really nice guy who is always up and happy, has even a little mischief about him sometimes too . . .


Match Time! 9-12-2011


Hello blog!


Tomorrow, at last, we have a game! We fly at 8:00 in the morning to Florida and will meet Tampa Bay and Florida’s rookie teams. Really fun to play matches again, been several months since the last, so get to see if I remember how it goes! It will probably go well. Today we have cut to one turn on the ice and a bundle of meetings (usual arrangement). Feel good before tomorrow, shall even play a little power play, so it is fun! Have not learned who I will play with or such, but there are 7 defensemen who go, so I would predict that we take turns with seven. Doesn’t matter, it will only be great to get to play a match again!


Otherwise, the day has not offered so horribly much that you would enjoy to read about, but I can go through it a little quick! After practice, lunch was on the schedule which I had at some salad bar nearby. In the afternoon, I have just taken it easy, played some cards with “the boys” and basically just relaxed.


Then around 7 we went out for dinner, an Italian restaurant a little bit away. Luck so happens, one of those who played in Nashville last year hangs out with us, so we have a chauffeur to the finer place! I ate some type of pasta with a little chicken and mushrooms in it, real good, in fact! And best of all, I won what they call “the credit card game”. It means, in short, that all place their credit card in a cap, then you call the waiter who picks out card after card and the card that is remaining last, he takes and pays the whole dinner with! So, really nice - a free dinner. There were only 5 of us, so it was not too bad a bill. But always nice to avoid it!


The first match is over! 9-13-2011


Then the first match of the season was over. In rainy Florida, today we beat Tampa Bay’s “rookie team” 7-3, to be honest they were not particularly sharp! For my own part, it was a little up and down I must admit. It is such a big difference from playing in Sweden! The first period was really hard. Everyone, so to speak, only dumps and chases in this rookie game. No structure what so ever! But after awhile you come to see how the play goes here. I should be able to explain it a little quick, in situations where I am used to skating at home, you don’t need to here. So, since I am used to the play at home, I waste energy in the wrong place.


I got, in fact, to take a shootout shot today. It was after the “real match”. Beforehand they had already decided there would be a shootout. So I got trusted to take the fifth and last shot. The shootout was already decided when it was my turn (the score was 1-3) so I thought to try something extra in the form of a classic “Foppa shootout shot”. I got the goalie perfectly, but failed to get the wretched puck inside the goal post! Lucky, that it didn’t mean all that much to the team.


Otherwise, we have had a rainy day here in Florida, when we arrived this morning it was a heavy downpour, I’ve never been in something like it. It is early “hurricane season” here just now, so it was absolutely nothing unusual with a little lightning and thunder.


I met up with Markström for a little while this evening, he plays, as is well known, in Florida’s organization. Really nice to get to talk a little crap in Swedish for once, he will play in tomorrow’s battle. So, I think we will get at least a couple!



Back in Nashville! 9-14-2011


Yes, back in Nashville, again!


It’s always nice to come “home”, again. We will go through the match we played today. We will begin by saying that we took another victory! 3-1 against Florida, must say that I pulled myself up a good bit and it felt more like there was a little play in this match. Yesterday, it was just people everywhere and no structure at all! So this match was clearly a step in the right direction, the passes were placed a little better today, and I had it a little easier, in general. Could have been a little “first match nerves” yesterday – always a little tense when you try to impress the club’s management while at the same time it is the first match! But nice to have gotten through all of that and now it is only to push!


The match was otherwise a fairly even affair; it completely felt like it could have gone either way, but nice that we were able to sew it up in the end. Markström played the whole match for Florida and did well I must say, only pity that I couldn’t get one. We have a fellow named Craig Smith who has really earned praise, he made 6 goals in the 2 matches! So, there you have a guy who has every chance to play in “the show” (NHL) this winter.


Must say that it was nice to live in a different hotel for variety’s sake! I must tell you what happened last night, I went and lay down around 11:30 PM and at approximately 1:58 AM the world’s loudest fire alarm rang! I flew up out of bed, out through the door and people ran panicked down the stairs! No clothes on us, only underpants, we put on the rest, and ran out. Lucky it was in Florida, it isn’t particularly cold there at night. In any case, we stood outside while a number of fire vehicles came and investigated the hotel. It took only 40 minutes until they discovered that some (idiot?) had smoked in the lobby and set off the alarm, smart!

Tomorrow we return to “everyday” again, little later practice than usual (A sleep in morning, Yippie!) Don’t have to be down on the rink before around noon, really nice to get to sleep in a little! They said we will have a light practice session and then begin seriously on Friday with tests! Although, I have heard a little rumor that we “rookies” will do the tests on Thursday, so there isn’t so many people on Friday. That should mean that we have Friday free!

Bad Night! 9-15-2011

Hello there again!


All goes as usual, one day is like the other, little sleep in the morning – not bad! Right nice. Got up about 9:00, brushed up the room and watched a little TV from home. By 12 we went down to the rink for an hour of on ice practice of the easier sort! Purely rehab purposes really, for tomorrow we have the skating test on the schedule! A terribly hard test where you skate a loop marked by cones, it takes about 25-30 seconds to skate, and you skate it 6 times with 30 seconds of rest in between! Then they add together all the times and get an average, so it means save energy and don’t spend it all at first! Must post a report tomorrow morning about how it went. We have to get up and do it at 7.


Otherwise, it has been calm. Dinner was at a fairly nice restaurant named “Stoney River”. I had a small piece of meat which was not bad at all! Then, unfortunately, this evening there were six of us at the table and in usual order it was the “credit card game.” Since it was a nicer place the bill was high! And of course, he picked my card out of the hat last, really tough when the total price was around 250 dollars! Rounds to about 1700 Swedish kronor for a piece of meat! (Yippie!) Only thing to do is cough up the dough, so not the best evening for my part!


As I said we have the skating test tomorrow at 7:00, after that it is a completely free day. Right nice must I say! Take a little relaxation and recharge the batteries for the “Big camp” which begins on Friday! It will be a lot of fun to meet all the NHL stars they have here! Only recharge the batteries and give it all! And that is exactly what I will do, now! The bed waits. So, have a good day!





It is interesting to see how Ekholm had already bonded with guys like Roman Josi, Mike Latta, and Taylor Beck. Credit goes to Marty Gelinas, the Predators Director of Player Development for starting that process and forging the bonds with these young players that helps to make their transition easy.

As you read Mattias' blog, one can almost get a sense of his bemusement at being in a country that is markedly different from his own. Yet, there are still similarities, especially among the athletes, in their approach to practice and life outside the rink. Sounds like Mattias is batting .500 in the credit card game.

Nice that Mike Santorelli could hang with some of his old team mates while they were in Florida.

Once again, a big stick tap to Patricia Blair, who has down a marvelous job in translating Mattias' blog.

In the next edition, we will pick up his entries from the start of training camp.