Cute article about Lidstrom and Holmstrom

[mjlee 0]

While we're all starting to breathe again after last night I thought I'd post a fun little human interest piece I found in a Swedish tabloid Expressen and that I haven't seen translated and reposted anywhere. Lidstrom tends to be slightly less boring and bland in Swedish.

Link to Expressen

Swedish veterans want to write history together

They've won four Stanley Cups and one Olympic gold together. Now Nicklas Lidstrom, 38, and Tomas Holmstrom, 36, can become historical. No other Swedes have ever become NHL champions five times. "Of course that would be huge," Nicklas Lidstrom tells HockeyExpressen.

Tonight the semi-finals against Chicago Blackhawks begin. Two of the key players for the team is an old seasoned Swedish couple, "Nick and Homer." That's what they're called in Detroit. After 800 games together and twelve seasons these two guys know almost everything about each other. They live close to each other with their families and drive together to games. "The guys on the team call Homer my chauffeur. Because I've been in the NHL longer and have seniority he has to come pick me up on the way to practices and games," Nicklas Lidstrom says with a laugh.

Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom have both had fantastic careers in NHL. Lidstrom has developed into the best defenseman in the league and won the Norris trophy six times. Homer, who many thought would have a hard time finding a place in the NHL, has become a world class player in front of the crease. He's even been singled out by one of the US's biggest publications, Sports Illustrated, for that particular skill.

Lidstrom and Holmstrom have won and lost together. The know each other's strength and weaknesses. But just like in any long-time marriage there are times after all the games and travel and practices when they get on each others nerves. "Maybe not seriously, I think I've seen Nicklas really lose his temper twice during all these years," Homer says with a grin.

"What happened?"

"Once when one of his boys set fire to the woods behind their house and the second time he blamed me when we crashed with the car. Let just say that he wasn't too happy then."

When Lidstrom is told of the car story he gives a somewhat different version. "Homer was supposed to check if there were any cars coming from the other direction when he was in the passenger's seat drinking his coffee. He told me 'just drive' and the next thing I know there's a huge bang. But he didn't mind, he didn't even spill his coffee and it wasn't his car."

'Lidas' has also trouble thinking of any serious quarrels over the year. "But he'll get extremely surly if you don't shoot the puck where he can steer it in when he stands in front of the crease. Then he'll let fly and let you know what you're worth. He also gets really sulky from time to time."

"Homer is known among the Red Wings to have a really short fuse and he has been known to curse out both team mates and coaches. But when Scotty Bowman was coach Homer just glared at him if Scotty changed the lines and removed him from a face off."

Can you tell us anything funny or personal about him?

"Homer's 'svenglish' is still the target of much laughter among us. He tends to do a literal word by word translation and then it can sound really weird. Although he's been here for more than twelve years the language still stymies him. But he's cool with it."

Something else we don't know about Tomas Holmstrom?

"He's a got a real sweet tooth (lit. candy troll) and he's got some local place in Piteå sending him candy. He's always got a bag of candy that he's sneaking around eating from when we travel."

His best trait as a hockey player?

"He's got fantastic hands when it comes to standing in front of the opposing team's goal and steering in shots. He's got amazing hand-eye coordination and after every practice he forces the rest of us to shoot the puck at him again and again."

What fascinates you most about Holmstrom as a hockey player?

"That he's scored more goals with his back against the crease than any other player in the league."

[VM1138 1,921]

Funny article. I never knew Homer had such a temper with his own teammates and coaches, though.

[Reds4Life 51]

Awesome!

[Guest micah]

C'mon Lids - you trusted a passenger to check if a car was coming before you pulled out? I'm glad no innocents were hurt or killed, and I hope he learned his lesson. There is no co-pilot in a car. Every single responsibility lies with the driver. Unsafe drivers are a pet peeve of mine.

[#18 the _Hoss_ 2]

"Nick and Homer" classic

[maltbymaniac 13]

why does it have to be a "cute" article

[Cruiser008 37]

Great read; thanks!

[esteef 2,679]

I want some candy Homer!!!!!

esteef

[EuroTwin 240]

I want to know the story about the fire in the woods behind their houses now!

Oh Homer, I think his english got worse on purpose. He saw how Pavs avoided talking to the press on account of language and started talking even more terrible.

Thanks for posting this, OP!

[Hockeymom1960 5,107]

Thanks for posting this . They kind of sound like Malts and Drapes.

[wingslogo19 281]

Great read, love hearing about stories like this.. now im hungry for some candy

[Guest Four]

It's awesome how the Red Wings organization creates such friendships.

[wingfan4ever 0]

That was a really cool article. I laugh whenever I listen to Homer do an interview because he reminds me so much of my grandparents who were from Finland and Sweden. They had the same thick accent, broken English and did a lot of "ehhhhhs" and "ahhhhs" (sort of like English "umms") when they were trying to think of what to say and how to say it.

And I always love reading about the friendships between the players on the Wings. Thanks for posting!

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Loved the article!

I'd love to know about the fire in the woods. Haha

I love reading articles like this. You know the team as a whole are extremely close and it's really cute when you read stuff like this about certain guys on the team.

[The Noodle 39 14]

Hehe like the part about Homer not seeming to care about the car accident and his coffee was fine lol.