He is one of hockey’s greatest ever.
But the toughest Bobby Hull himself saw during his career? Two Swedes.
– Talk about competitive instinct, Hull said.
Today, the step from Swedish hockey over to the NHL is not so violently large. Many Swedes and Europeans today make the transition without major problems, and in today’s NHL there are almost as many foreign stars as domestic ones in the star-studded league. But it was worse in the 70s.
Great success chain
Börje Salming was the great pioneer for both Swedes and Europeans when he took the step over to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Salming often had to receive boos and pure abuse from the North Americans who did not like that a Swede came over and excelled with his skating, but Salming refused to give up, stood up to the troublemakers, and became a legend in Toronto, and for Swedish hockey. But he wasn’t alone in making the leap from Sweden to the North American leagues at the time.
In 1974, the year after Salming and Inge Hammarström were signed to Toronto, the WHA team Winnipeg Jets signed four Swedes in the form of Ulf “Lill-Pröjsarn” Nilsson, Anders Hedberg, Lars-Erik Sjöberg and Curt Larsson. The WHA had become popular after many of the players grew tired of the low wages, which caused some of the world’s best and most popular players to suddenly play outside the WHA. Including the legendary Bobby Hull, who is still regarded as one of hockey’s greats.
Pointing out the Swedes
There was certainly quality in the WHA, but there were also plenty of troublemakers, and for the Swedes who had just arrived there, everyday life was anything but easy. That Canadians lost jobs because Swedes came there and took up places in the squad was not appreciated by everyone.
– It was a real circus the first time, there were punches and punches in every match. I was devastated the whole damn time, says “Lill-Pröjsarn” to Expressen.
But Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg had the full support of none other than Bobby Hull. The three formed a feared chain in the Jets, and in the first year together Hull scored 142 points, Nilsson 120 points and Hedberg 100 points. The Swedes were wildly successful, and over time all the thefts became less frequent, but Bobby Hull still remembers how hard the Swedes were forced to fight. And he even stated that, during his legendary career, he never saw anyone tougher than his Swedish teammates.
– Talk about Hedberg and Nilsson showing toughness and competitive instinct. They are both the toughest players I played with in all my years, Hull has said, according to Expressen.
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