Nashville. They were about to get caught in a storm in New York, but they made it to Nashville by their own devices.
So far, NHL clubs can quietly select Leo Carlsson, Axel Sanden-Belica and other Swedish talents in the draft of the night.
They have already shown that they stand firm in the storm.
For a while it looked like lightning and thunder on the east coast of the United States would cause major problems for some young Swedes who now gathered in the humid heat of Nashville for the night’s drag.
They were supposed to get here on a Monday evening, but after a stopover in Newark outside New York, a violent storm broke out with which all flights were canceled—and some of the new flights, to Nashville in particular, could not be accommodated until it was too late. .
He had to drive for 14 hours
Among others, Leo Carlsson – who is expected to be among the first when the show begins tonight – and it is possible that Axel Sanden-Belica got stranded in New York and missed out on the biggest moment of hockey’s life so far.
But if you’re going to play in the NHL, you need to be able to handle the odds, and the blue and yellow talents really showed at that moment that they can.
Instead of just sitting back and attacking, they rented cars and started driving to Nashville—which from the New York area takes between 13 and 14 hours if you’re driving one way.
We’ve already talked about Sandin Bjellica’s adventure in a text next to here, but Leo Carlson and his family also arrived by road in the busy southern city and only arrived on Tuesday morning.
At the time, the 18-year-old from Värmland was too exhausted to attend a press meeting planned with this year’s so-called – he needed sleep – but still.
Now the NHL clubs considering their selection know that Carlson and Sandin Bilica stand firm in any storm.
It’s not certain exactly where Leo – widely regarded as Sweden’s greatest striker talent in several years – will end up. Most believe the Columbus Blue Jackets, who picked the team as the third team, have their sights set on “new Mats Sundin,” but there are also theories that he could end up with the San Jose Sharks (fourth) and Montreal Canadiens (fifth).
Consider Columbus
Personally, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for blue jackets. Partly it’s of course more fun the higher it’s crafted, and partly it looks like Leo and Johnny Gaudreau could become an extraordinarily underrated pair in a few years. But Canadians aren’t a bad choice either. There is no more classic hockey club – and Le Bleu Blanc Rouge will be back again soon.
Skellefteå fullback Sandin Pellikka is expected to be in the top 10-15 and is being placed by many observers at the Buffalo Sabers – while it is believed that Rögle diton Tom Willander was picked shortly before and could become Elias Pettersson’s teammate in Vancouver.
Otto Steenberg (Frolunda), David Edström (Frland), Anton Wahlberg (Malmö) and Slovak-Swedish Dalibor Dvorski (AIK/Oskarshamn) also have good chances of selection in the prestigious first round.
In which case, we won’t know the NHL jerseys they’re wearing onstage at Bridgestone Arena until the wee hours – when the storm subsides…