New York. Now Sam Hallam will secure his first NHL reinforcement for WC.
New national team captain Tre Kronor kicked off a North American expedition last night with his maiden visit to New York’s Madison Square Garden.
– Primarily, I’m here to make connections and make sure the guys here get a picture of me and that we know where we have each other, he tells Sportbladet.
There are four long months left until Sam Hallam coaches his World Cup debut, but of course ideas are already out as to what the Tre Kronor side could look like in Tampere and Riga.
That’s why he, along with his assistant Stefan Klocker, has now traveled to North America to scout the blue and yellow NHL pros and last night he was on site at Madison Square Garden and watched a game between the New York Rangers and the Minnesota Wild.
– It’s actually my first time ever in New York, I flew in yesterday, and it was a bit difficult. But there’s always room for another “first,” the national team captain smiles as we meet in the venerable arena in Manhattan.
Also one of these battles was the Fight of the Night. Mr. Hallam had never seen a live NHL game before.
– No, I scouted in the AHL before, but not in the NHL. This is a good room to start in and it’s a very good and entertaining match I can see.
Yes, the duel between Rangers and Wilde became a really intense drama and Sam followed particularly closely – Mika Zibanejad in the home team, Joel Erickson-Ek and Jonas Broden in the visitors – they all made excellent efforts.
So if they become available as early as mid-May, they are very welcome to travel to Finland and Latvia if they wish.
But it is not to secure specific information that Tre Kronor’s head crossed the Atlantic.
“Primarily, we’re here to make connections and make sure the guys here get a picture of us,” he explains.
– As always, WC and NHL players are a big deal and it’s nice to get a chance to talk to them and tell them how we feel and see things, so we know where we stand with each other.
As you say, World Cup and National Hockey League players are a big deal. There is always a debate, often infected. How do you see that?
– First of all, you must have great respect for what players invest in the NHL season and what it costs. It’s tiring and when the season is over, they’re looking forward to breathing and resting their bodies before it’s time to start training for next year. Many of the older players have also been away from their families, and I totally understand that.
– What we’re looking for is to find players who might feel that, and now that fits very well with their career and also in the private sector. If you have 20 games left and you know there will be no playoffs, the restroom can be a motivating factor to continue your training. At the same time, we think we have good players in Europe that we can build a framework from, and then we hope to add excitement to players who are doing well here.
NHL MATCHES THREE CROWNS STAFF TO WATCH IN THE NHL THIS WEEK
Last night
New York Rangers – Minnesota (Sam Hallam)
New York Islanders – Dallas (Stefan Klocker)
The night is coming
Philadelphia – Washington (Hallam)
Friday night
Tampa – Vancouver (Hallam)
New York Islanders – Minnesota (Observer)
Sunday night
Boston – Toronto (Hallam)
Nashville – Buffalo (hour)
The night before Tuesday
Nashville Calgary (time)