PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Anders “Masken” Carlsson has known Börje Salming for around 50 years.
During the period break between Leksand and Brynäs on Thursday, he remembered Börje Salming – and shared a couple of nice moments that they experienced together.
– He was our god when you were growing up, he says.
71 years old went Börje Salming away in the sequels of the disease ALS, and he is now mourned and celebrated by an entire sports world. The news of his passing came in the middle of Thursday’s SHL round, which led to a minute’s silence being held in Salming’s honor at all arenas.
The sadness of the “mask”.
In the meeting between Leksand and Brynäs there was Anders “The Mask” Carlsson in place, who has known Börje Salming since he was a child. In one of the period breaks, it was an emotional “Masken” who spoke and remembered Salming.
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– It is an incredible sadness. I think I was 12 or so when I got to know him, he was sitting at home in my father’s kitchen. We lived quite close to each other, dad worked in Brynäs and Börje played, and after practice on Fridays he liked to drive past dad and sit and buzz. So I’ve known him for a long time, says “The Mask” in C More’s broadcast.
READ MORE: Börje Salming is celebrated and mourned by Sweden’s greatest – Mats Sundin’s heartbreaking words: “I’m in shock”
“He was the god”
He also remembers several great moments he shared with Börje Salming, not least during his time in the NHL and the New Jersey Devils.
– My first game in the NHL against Toronto, I was about to score and Börje gave me a wink, it’s one of my greatest moments in life. My idol kind of gives me a wink.
– There was an episode in the match where I got cross-checked in the neck, after which I handed out an elbow to a player I didn’t know was a fighter. So he threw the gloves away but then Börje came and wrestled me down and said “lay still, I’ll save your life”. After the match, Börje was dressed and was going to take me out for dinner, then I got a completely different status because I knew “The King”. An amazing person, I suffer with his family. It is a day of mourning, says Carlsson.
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READ MORE: Stenmark opens up about the close friendship with Börje Salming – and about the last meeting: “Knew him half my life”
The mask also says that Börje Salming was a big reason why he started playing hockey as a child.
– All of us who grew up in Gävle wanted to be like Börje Salming, he was a big reason why I started playing hockey. He was the god, he was our god growing up. He has meant an awful lot to me and to all young people all over Sweden. He should be remembered as the king, he has meant so much. A humble and nice person.