Fast friends, long impact

St. Vital

West End

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This article was published 10/01/2024 (639 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

To end off 2023, a group of young Canadian and Swedish hockey players were able to experience a game of that was almost seven years in the making.

Tullinge TP — a hockey club from Botkyrka, Sweden — sent its boys team, made up of players aged 14 to 16, to Winnipeg from Dec. 28 to Jan. 7 for a hockey-focused boarding trip that was the result of a long-standing friendship between the Swedish club and the local St. Vital Victorias.

Scott Wiley — executive director of St. Vital Minor Hockey Association since 2015 — helped inspire the trip by hosting Tullinge assistant coach Niklas Pers on a trip to Canada in 2017.

Pers had come to Winnipeg by suggestion, said Johan Christensson, Tullinge’s current manager, as his mother was born in Canada, but he wasn’t sure where to visit when it came down to exploring the country.

Wiley and Pers became quick friends through their mutual connection to hockey, Christensson said. Wiley was helpful to Pers during his stay in Winnipeg, and that friendship formed a bond between Tullinge TP and the SVMHA that is now bearing fruit, years later.

“Right away, we started this long-term goal to go back to Winnipeg, because (Pers) was so impressed,” Christensson said.

“So we have been saving money for seven years, and we finally managed to achieve this goal.”

They began with a special exhibition game on Dec. 30, and each of the 23 Tullinge players stayed in the homes of the Victorias players and their families for the duration of the trip.

Trying Canadian hockey was an exciting new experience for Tullinge TP captain Nils Askengren, 14, who described himself as being both excited and nervous.

“The size of the rink is a bit different,” he said, speaking before the Dec. 30 game at St. Vital Arena. “In Europe, we have the bigger size of rink, with more ice. We think (it’s a) faster game here. A lot of the guys in the team watch the NHL, look at the star players on the small rink, so we’re excited to meet the Canadian team and give this hockey — which is more faster and more physical — a try.”

Askengren said he hoped the young Swedish and Canadian players would bond just as Wiley and Pers did seven years.

“To have the ability to live in the Canadian players’ homes for two weeks, getting to know each other and maybe make a friend for life … That’s what we’re hoping for,” said Tullinge TP head coach Christian Westerberg “The players will be good friends, (and will) have a connection, maybe in the future … from Sweden to Canada. So we hope this is going to last long.”

Christensson said the plan is for the Winnipeg players to visit Sweden this coming spring, with dates and details not yet confirmed.

“But I’m really impressed by the warm welcome,” Christensson said. “Lots of families (stayed) the whole (first) practice, and they were asking us questions, they wanted to know about hockey in Sweden, and we shared a lot of thoughts with different parents. So that was really fun. They’re all very helpful here.”

The game and trip was organized by the Swedish Cultural Association of Manitoba, which also focuses on cultural events, language classes, and recreational activities for the local Swedish community.