PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Djurgården has three new matches a week.
Then Linus Klasen continues to be poked in the team.
Now sports director Niklas Wikegård gives new information about the star.
Last week there was a lot of talk when Djurgården’s star player Linus Klasen kicked out of the team. The 38-year-old has so far delivered ten points in ten games in the start of the HockeyAllsvenskan, but had to sit out both against Mora and Björklöven last week.
Notice about Klasen
Klasen was also not present at Monday’s training and will miss the week’s three games for Djurgården. The reason is that the Dif star needs to train up his physical values and therefore has to train extra instead of playing against Nybro, Tingsryd and Vimmerby.
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Now the sports director gives Niklas Wikegård new information about the whole situation surrounding Linus Klasen.
– I don’t think there are any secrets. Linus is an extremely good hockey player. If we want to get the most out of that type of player, he has to be in good shape. And I expect him to be in good shape. I expect that we will have a lot of use from Linus in the future, says Wikegård to the site Hockeynews.
Wikegård reveals
Wikegård admits that the decision was taken by the entire sporting management and that it is now “completely up to him” when Klasen returns to match play again.
– The whole gang. All of them. We feel that we can get a lot more out of perhaps Sweden’s most skilled hockey player, says the sports director in the interview.
– He has a track record in both Sweden and Switzerland to score points and is extremely skilled in five against four. But we want him to be good at more stuff than just five-on-four.
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Niklas Wikegård states that it is only about the physical values and that the whole situation around Klasen has been magnified.
– Long story short. Linus has been superb in the five-on-four game in important parts. Djurgården feels that if we are to fight for an SHL place at the end of the season, our best players must be the best. That is the only reason. We see him as one of our absolute best players and we will make sure he is in better physical shape. Then he will be even more important for Djurgården. That is the basis for this, he tells the hockey site.
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