Tampa. One would think it would be nerve-wracking to see their children play in the Stanley Cup Final.
But Olle and Elizabeth Hedman didn’t particularly rush to the stands at the Amalie Arena in Tampa as their son Victor searches for a third title in a row.
“No, we just think it’s fun to be here and watch, and we usually say it will be the way it is,” explains Father Ollie over lunch under the ever-scorching Florida sun that has become the second city for the whole family.
Because that’s it. When we meet Olly during a watershed day during the ongoing Stanley Cup drama, he’s leisurely moving and accustoming to the streets in central Tampa as at home in Örnsköldsvik, 780 km east.
Been here on several occasions before, retired paper mill worker.
– Yes, Victor came here already in 2009, when he was 18 years old, he stayed there for thirteen years and we visit at least once a year, he says when we sat on the outdoor balcony for a shot of Amalie Arena.
At an adjacent table, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, as if by chance, had lunch with outgoing Players Association President Donald Fehr, and of course we try to eavesdrop on the conversation, but fail to catch any scoop.
Olle continues:
– Then, when we were here with Victor for the first time, you were a bit of a beginner and you couldn’t imagine that it would be a long journey and that he would be there after thirteen years.
– He could have ended up in worse places. It’s so cute and fun here, big enough… We really like to come here.
“It feels unreal sometimes”
The undeniable lot has happened since that first visit in 2009. The 31-year-old Ulls and Elizabeth have played four Stanley Cup Finals and won twice, and been awarded the Norris Award and the Con Smith Cup – the NHL Defender of the Year and the most important playoff player in the Stanley Cup – She became a nun so famous that she decorates posters and billboards all over Tampa.
– It seems a little unreal sometimes, you have to squeeze your arm now and then. As for us, yes, little Victor, Ole, who himself ended his career as a goalkeeper already at the age of 14 “when Lasse Nyberg started shooting like a horse”, smiles.
– Good genes? Well, the brothers of Victor also became good hockey players. But he’s very serious especially with the summer training. He works hard. We neither pushed him nor his siblings, and our kids had to do what they thought was fun.
However, they seem to have brought good values into their lives, and Victor is constantly remembered for his humble and friendly way of dealing with all people.
Yes, successes did not rise in his head. Dad says he’s still the same person he always was.
Parents don’t get nervous
This is how you would describe the parents as well. The fact that the son became a rich celebrity did not fundamentally change the Hedman family.
People usually ask those who know us if we have become different, but no. We have the same friends as before and live as always. You better be what you are, says Olle.
This means, among other things: a delighted and excited grandfather.
Two weeks after their 2020 Stanley Cup victory, Victor and Sana are now parents to little Rio, Olly and Elizabeth spending a lot of time with him during their visit to Tampa.
We also have grandchildren at home in Sweden, but we see them often. We have the biggest contact with Rio daily via Facetime, so of course it’s fun to come here and be a babysitter,” says Olle.
– I don’t know if he understands much of what his father does, he is still very young, but when he sees the Lightning’s club brand, for example on my T-shirt, he always exclaims “Dad!” , Hehe.
Now, Dad is in his third straight Stanley Cup Final and during the games at Amalie, Mom and Dad are sitting in the stands and cheering.
But no, they are not particularly in a hurry.
Elizabeth might get a little nervous at some point, but she’s not too serious. Olle explains that we think it’s fun to be here and watch and we usually say it will be the way it is.
– They’ve already won twice. The first final, 2020, so I can say that some of the matches have been a bit exciting, but not now. There is nothing to be nervous about.
No, it will be the same.