Three consecutive wins over Modo is required to advance Djurgården to the SHL again.
Mats Sundin is keeping his fingers crossed for his old team.
– Greater miracles happened, she says, “surprise.”
Ice hockey legend Mats Sundin, 52, witnessed the somewhat insane final of the hockey Allsvenskan in Hovet between Djurgården and Muddu last Sunday.
– Of course, I follow Djurgården, where I grew up from the age of twelve. Of course I am following their struggle to try and return to the SHL, says Mats Sundin.
But there was no joy in victory for Sundin and the rest of the home crowd. Modo wins 7-6 and leads the match series 3-1.
– It sure looks tough now. Modo has a very good team too. But it wasn’t over until the team won four games. It is not impossible.
“Older than messing with Foppa”
On Wednesday, the fifth match will take place in Örnsköldsvik, where another hockey icon will be in the stands: Peter Forsberg.
Dear Modo is following closely, have you talked to him?
– I met Foppa a week or so ago, so we talked a bit about the series. It’s a shame that both Modo and Djurgården can’t go up, they must of course be in the top league of Swedish hockey. We can hope that both teams will be upgraded in the near future, but for now there will only be one team this year.
Do you hope he doesn’t cheer up at Ö-vik?
– I said so when someone asked if there was any quarrel between us: “No, you’re too old for that.” But the SHL is likely to see tremendous value in having both Modo and Djurgården in the top league. These are two teams with very impressive traditions.
Supports Foppa’s proposal
In an interview with Sportbladet recently, Foppa drew a spear for expanding the SHL from 14 to 16 teams.
– Of course, there must be a basis for this. For Swedish hockey, I think it would be nice to create teams like Modo and Djurgården, for example. There are other teams too, so I don’t see any downside to it.
How do you see Stockholm losing a team in the men’s top flight for the first time ever?
– Of course it’s a problem for SHL, I think so. The national media is based in Stockholm, and for the interest in ice hockey in general it is of course good to have Stockholm represented in the Premier League. It’s not a good idea not to have Djurgården, AIK, or maybe Hammarby or Södertälje not involved.
Sundin on Regrowth: “Not Clear”
Stockholm is the biggest hockey region in Sweden, what do you think that means in terms of role models?
– There are several areas that I think are important. Not just for the national interest at the ultimate level. It is not clear today that children and young people play traditional sports such as ice hockey and football, to which many have long progressed. The competition is fierce from all kinds of sports. So I think it is equally important for the popular purposes of the Stockholm area and the new employment there.
How do you see Djurgården’s future if they don’t go up now? Modo has played in allsvenskan hockey for seven years now.
– This series isn’t over yet, but Djurgården is a great team. Of course, one would hope that they would ascend as quickly as possible, but it could also take a while.
A big team, you say, makes it easier for players like Marcus Krüger to come home to play in Allsvenskan hockey?
– Exactly, they will probably always have players with Animal Farm hearts who will come home and help them. They have incredible fans in Djurgården who also follow hockey. So they will probably create the conditions that will appear sooner or later, regardless of whether it will be this year or later.
