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"Good industry. Good people. And, most of all, a city that loves its sports teams."
But seriously, the hockey is a lot different here than it is in Vasteras, Pitea, Njuranda, Stockholm, Manefred, Lansbro and Karlskrona, where Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, Mikael Samuelsson, Johan Franzen and Jonathan Ericsson have matriculated in Sweden.
How Swede it is. Seven Swedish contributors to the Red Wings. That's nearly a third of the lineup.
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Since Lidstrom and Holmstrom in the early 1990s, the Red Wings have used their Swedish link, Andersson, to uncover one gem after another. But it actually wasn't until 2002, when Zetterberg made it to the NHL, that the Swedish tradition really began to take shape, followed by the arrival of Kronwall, Samuelsson, Franzen and Ericsson.
From the Wings' style of play, to the seamless introduction into a new country, new culture, Detroit has become the home away from home for these skills and hard working players.
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Franzen says the biggest boost to Swedish inhabitants on the Red Wings is the success of the team, plus the fact that there are already Swedes in the lineup throughout the organization.
"The language is not as much of a barrier as it would be somewhere else," he said. "It feels a little more like home. There's always someone there who can understand what it means to trying to cope with a new language ... in a new culture."
From Zetterberg to Kronwall to Franzen and Ericsson, all grew up admiring the Red Wings and their success from thousands of miles away and wanting to play in Detroit and follow the lead of Lidstrom and Holmstrom. That was the destination they all hoped for.
"Every player that comes from Sweden is going to work hard. That's like their badge of honor. Over there, it's all about emphasizing practices and developing skills. It may seem strange to us, but the games and competition is secondary to them to practicing and developing skills." -- Brian RafalskiAmerican-born-and-trained defenseman Brian Rafalski couldn't find a job in the NHL until after he left his University of Wisconsin job and followed that with four years combined in Sweden and Finland, where he honed his skills and got noticed by the New Jersey Devils. Then, in his first year with the Devils, he won a Stanley Cup in 1999-2000.
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And now even Rafalski knows the feeling more at home in Detroit. Even if he made the Swedish connection to the Red Wings in a totally different way.
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The given text has 161 "a"s.
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