Шведийн залуу довтлогч Виктор Эклунд NHL-д өөрийн байр суурийг эзэлж байгаа бөгөөд багийн ахмад тоглогчид түүнийг талбайн гаднах амьдралд нь дэмжлэг үзүүлж байна.
Арван есөн настай Виктор Эклунд NHL-д анхны улирлаа өнгөрүүлж байгаа бөгөөд одоогоор машин болон жолооны үнэмлэхгүй байгаа тул багийн нөхөд болох Эмил Хейнеман, Саймон Холмстром нар түүнийг бэлтгэлдээ явахад нь тогтмол тусалдаг байна. Тэднийг “хувийн Убер” хэмээн хошигнож буй Эклунд шинэ орчиндоо дасан зохицоход багийнхны тусламж маш чухал байгааг онцоллоо. Хейнеман, Холмстром нар өмнө нь өөрсдөө ийм нөхцөл байдлыг туулж байсан туршлагаараа Эклундыг орон байрны асуудлаа шийдвэрлэх, тавилга төхөөрөхөд нь хүртэл дэмжлэг үзүүлж байгаа аж.
Эклунд NHL-д 10-аас дээш тоглолтод оролцсон бөгөөд дасгалжуулагч Пит ДеБурын зүгээс түүний тоглолтын арга барил, хамгаалалтад нягт нямбай хандаж, шайбны төлөөх тэмцэлд идэвхтэй байгааг өндрөөр үнэллээ. Залуу тоглогчийн хувьд энэ нь түүнийг NHL-ийн үндсэн бүрэлдэхүүнд тогтвортой тоглох боломжтойг харуулж байна. Тэрээр өмнө нь зочид буудалд амьдарч байсан бол одоо Лонг-Айландад өөрийн гэсэн орон сууцтай болж, цаашид илүү их хичээж ажиллахаа мэдэгдлээ.
Багийн ахмад тоглогчид зөвхөн Эклунд гэлтгүй цаашид ирэх Шведийн бусад залуу тоглогчдод ч ийнхүү туслахад бэлэн гэдгээ илэрхийлсэн юм. Энэхүү нөхөрсөг уур амьсгал нь багийн дотоод харилцаа болон шинэ тоглогчдын дасан зохицох үйл явцыг улам хялбарчилж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Victor Eklund has no need for Uber.
The 19-year-old Swede still doesn’t have a car, or a U.S. driver’s license, though there are plans in the works for both. What he does have are Emil Heineman and Simon Holmstrom.
“We’ve been his personal Uber drivers since he got here,” Holmstrom told The Post after Tuesday’s practice.
“And, I don’t know, he likes to take his time when we’re trying to pick him up,” Heineman added.
The two other Swedes on the Islanders roster, both 25, have done plenty more than that in helping Eklund with all the off-the-ice challenges of living in a new place, in a new country, on his own for the first time.
Eklund does have others in his support system. His family has made trips, and his best friend from home is here right now to help him move into an apartment. Naturally, it’s in the same complex as Holmstrom and Heineman, with lots of “borrowed” furniture.
“It looks like a mix of our old apartments, it’s pretty funny,” Heineman said. “We got some new stuff and he got our old couch and Simon’s bed or something. He got a lot of stuff from our places.”
“I try to steal as much as I can,” Eklund said, regarding furniture. “I have a bed coming soon, so yeah, it’s nice.”
Of course, Eklund — who didn’t know whether he would make the team in camp, or stay in the NHL once he did make it — had no plans to live on Long Island this year. Even if the thought had crossed his mind, he would have studiously avoided any implication that he was entitled to a spot. So he lived in a hotel.
Now, having crossed the 10-game threshold at which he burns a year of his contract — and having played well enough that it’s not realistic to believe he’d be sent down anytime soon — that era is at an end.
The way Eklund has stood out on the ice, with a motor and battle level that makes him a factor on every shift, it’s hard to believe he’ll ever play AHL hockey again. He’s not just in the top six, but proving that he belongs there.
“He’s easy for me to play,” coach Pete DeBoer said last week. “He makes mistakes, but he makes the right read. He digs in on the walls and wins more than his share of battles. He’s on the right side of the puck all the time, which is rare for a young player.”
That all added up to an equation in which a trip to the furniture store — IKEA, of course — was deemed prudent to fill in the items Eklund couldn’t steal or borrow, depending on your preferred nomenclature.
“It’s nice [to be out of the hotel], but I’m not gonna stop working,” Eklund said. “I’m gonna work even harder.”
Holmstrom and Heineman won’t stop helping either. They’ve made clear, Eklund said, that he’s always welcome for dinner.
In a way, they’re paying it forward. When Heineman moved from Montreal to Long Island, Holmstrom chauffeured him around.
“That’s really helpful until you get your feet on the ground, get your place to live and stuff,” Heineman said. “It’s huge and it makes it so much easier.”
Now, the two of them are helping Eklund and, doubtless, when the next Swede comes through — hello, Malte Gustafsson — there Eklund will be to help him.
“I think your teammates are always a massive part of everything to make you feel comfortable,” Holmstrom said. “I remember, I lived by myself in Sweden before I got here, so I think it was a little different. [Eklund] lived at home still.
“We’re just trying to do as much as we can. We’re here for him. Whatever he needs, you just gotta ask and we’ll be right here for him.”
