Photo: Bildbyrån
He was the best Swede in the NHL last season and in the end he also got to lift the Stanley Cup trophy.
When Gustav Forsling brought the trophy home to Linköping this summer, he served something unusual out of it.
– I thought it was a bit original to serve them out of the cup, he says to Expressen.
The 28-year-old back Gustav Forsling has played SHL hockey with Linköping HC and got the chance in the NHL, in the Chicago Blackhawks, in the summer of 2016. He had a few tough years initially and had to struggle a bit in the AHL. In 2021, he moved to the Florida Panthers, which has now paid off.
Served Swedish specialty
As you know, Florida won the Stanley Cup somewhat unexpectedly last season. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Kevin Stenlund and Gustav Forsling were the Swedes who got to be part of the great triumph.
Every summer, the players who belong to the winning team get to borrow the dent for a day. In North America, this is usually closely watched and it often becomes a matter of conversation what the players actually do when they get the chance to “hang” with the trophy. At the beginning of August, it was flown to Linköping, where Forsling – who received the Golden Puck and the award for Sweden’s best hockey player in the 2023-24 season by a jury – is from.
What he chose to do during his day was not in itself that remarkable. It was a small event with friends and family who got to share in the special moment. Then he also displayed the trophy on a stage in the middle of the city. During lunch with the family, he chose to serve something out of the Stanley Cup cup, something that had definitely never been placed inside it before.
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– It was fantastic to have the dent in some peace and quiet back home in Linköping. To show it off to family and friends. We offered a Swedish summer lunch with herring, potatoes and all that. And mom used to bake cinnamon buns, so I thought it was a little original to serve them out of the cup. It could be the first time it happened. Then we went to a restaurant and had dinner in the evening as a whole, he tells Expressen.
This was clearly an odd detail in the celebration. Fun with something so typically Swedish.
Now the new NHL season has started. Who do you think will win the Stanley Cup this year? Please write a comment!
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