Updated 12:35 | Posted at 12:24 pm
Bjorn Hellqvist will miss the pre-season Stromstadt Hockey Classic.
Coach Lexand is still on sick leave.
You don’t always get what you want, says Hellkvist.
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Bjorn Hellqvist was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 14 years ago, and over the summer he had surgery on his brain.
When Leksand went on the ice last week, Hellkvist was not there and the coach is also not with the Strömstad Hockey Classic this weekend, which he said for the first time to Expressen.
– I want to go back to work, but I have to find time to sort these things out, Hellqvist told Sportbladet.
He wanted to go back right away
Hellkvist says he wants to be at peace while on sick leave. He doesn’t want any sob story or black headlines.
– It’s not dangerous, it’s just that I have to solve this, he says.
– It’s very private stuff. It’s in my brain and it’s related to my illness. The past few years haven’t been entirely perfect. Despite that, it was great, I got a lot of help, and now I hope things get better.
Should you take the time to return?
– I wanted to go back yesterday. But you don’t always get what you want.
– Obviously, I was hoping to be back this week. But it didn’t happen that way and you have to accept that fate is what it is. It is important to play the cards that are dealt correctly. As long as you have cards in your hand, you can always make something out of them.
“It was great luck”
Hellkvist needs additional sick leave to prepare for the season.
– If I stress too much now, I won’t be able to do a good job. He says it’s best to make sure this looks good, and points out that he doesn’t want to talk too much about his illness.
– I know how it works and I’m not going to complain, because no one forced me to become a hockey coach. I was incredibly lucky in my situation, and now I’m trying to create the conditions to do something good with the cards I have, he says.
