Saint Paul. As if all the sparkle of the new Minnesota Wild in blue and yellow wasn’t enough:
During Sunday’s victory over Washington, Värmland veteran Jonas Broden is back, too.
– He told Sportbladet after the 5-3 win: It was hard to be out for four weeks and it was so good to be able to play again.
As we’ve noted on several occasions recently, this winter the Minnesota Wild became Sweden’s great ice hockey team, and not just because General Manager Bill Guerin caught blue-yellow fever around the trade deadline and traded quadruple John Klingberg, Marcus Johansson, Oscar Sundqvist and Gustav Nyquist.
There had been Three Pieces of Kingdom in the club even before.
Tireless two-way midfielder Joel Ericsson-Ek, successful goalkeeper Philipp Gustafsson and then Jonas Broden – the 29-year-old star fullback from Karlstad who played in the classic Swedish villages in the north for eleven seasons.
He’s been injured since February 21, but in Sunday’s game against Washington at the Excel Energy Center, he was once again able to fit into the lineup full of freshmen.
– It was really sick when I saw that more and more people were suddenly coming, but above all it was fun. There are Swedes everywhere here now, Jonas says with a smile when we meet him after what turns out to be a 5-3 victory over a bit sloppy Washington.
They also contribute. Johansson was in form again against his old club and managed to set up two of teammate Matt Boldy’s three goals before he was taken off with an injury that manager Dean Evason said was not serious at all.
– Yes, it was completely cruel. His skating is among the best I’ve seen. He doesn’t even look like he’s hunting there, he just flies past people, going on “Bacon,” as Brodin is called here and there.
Sundqvist also managed to play right up to the goal – before he also eventually disappeared due to an injury Evason also described as less serious.
It’s hard to be away for four weeks.
Brodin again:
– He’s the big, strong kind, exactly the kind you want in playoffs. I think he’s won three times, and he’s always great in the playoffs.
Värmland’s star back-up – the real stick in the Wild’s defense for a long time – has something to come for himself too.
As coach Evason said after the comeback in which he scored no points but played more than anything in the next 24 minutes:
– what should I say? Broden is Broden…
He himself is just glad to be on the ice again.
– Yes, it was hard to stay away for four weeks, but now I’m one hundred percent recovered and I’m very happy to be able to play, he says.
With the win over the Caps, the Wild are at the top of the Central Division. They’re just one point ahead of first-place Dallas – with the same number of games played.
Rasmus Sandin was noted for helping visitors on Sunday mornings at St. Paul’s.
