PHOTO: Bildbyrån + TT Nyhetsbyrån
Bengt-Åke Gustafsson played with many talented hockey players during his career.
But there are those that stand out a little extra.
– There were guys who delivered every day, says Bengt-Åke to Sportbibeln.
Bengt-Åke Gustafsson is a great icon in Swedish hockey history. First a fine hockey career with games in clubs such as Färjestad, VEU Feldkirch and Washington Capitals. It was followed by a coaching career with a solid track record. Both WC and Olympic gold with Tre Kronor in 2006, and SM gold with Färjestad, to name a few.
Bengt-Åke’s dilemma
The 65-year-old thus has a long hockey career to look back on, where he encountered many players over the years. There are those who have stuck out.
Who is the best you have trained?
– Oh oh oh. Well, it has to be a national team player I guess. These are the names that come up – Suffers, Fop, Sudden, and all of them. Incredibly good hockey players, all of them. There are any number of them, so it’s hard to pick one, I think. There is a large, large selection there, says Bengt-Åke Gustafsson to Sportbibeln.
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Pinpointing the player who is the best he has played against is equally challenging for “Bengan”
– It’s clear that the Russians were shaggy, you can’t get away from that, the old men there. So they ended up in America. And I mean, I played along Wayne Gretzky, it was nice if you say so. His development was very good, so there were many challenges against him over the years since then. It’s a name that stands out if you say so. I say Gretzky, he must be the one who stands out, says Bengt-Åke.
Met Gretzky
The Swede and the Canadian met on several occasions. Gretzky played for the Edmonton Oilers when Gustafsson represented Washington, and both were senior national team players.
– I was matched against him evenly. Especially at home, with the substitutions and all. Then I played man-man against him, you could say. So when he went and jumped up on the edge, and I then went away and stood at the edge, we just stood and looked at each other. Then we almost played four against four instead, it was a bit comical.
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And who is the best you played with?
– I played with Gretzky, but we were both young talents, so there were many players who were better, so it is difficult to say that he was the best back then.
– In recent years there have been many incredibly talented players, I mean – Begin Hymn, Lidas – oh oh oh oh. It’s guys who every day deliver the security that backs up. They really stand out, two confident players, says Bengt-Åke Gustafsson.
READ MORE: Bengt-Åke Gustafsson reveals who is really the best of Peter Forsberg, Mats Sundin and Nicklas Lidström: “I have to choose”
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