PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Niklas Sundström would have played for Dinamo Minsk as the last adventure of his career.
But after the shocking news, he instead returned home to Sweden and stopped playing hockey.
Now he looks back on the incident and talks about the feelings in the middle of the storm.
– I could have played a few more seasons, says Sundström to Hockey Sweden.
Former hockey player Niklas Sundström had a fine career. A SM gold and a WC gold can be found on the track record, as well as games in the NHL with the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks. He played over 500 games in Modo, where he later became part of the club’s sports council.
Sundström stopped
In the 2012/2013 season, Sundström did not feel the same joy about hockey. A while after the season ended, he put the skates on the shelf. But the plan was really to continue the career for another year or two, to have one last adventure.
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The center trained for Dinamo Minsk, and completed a medical examination.
– I was in a hospital and they did an ultrasound on my back. Then it was a Russian woman who said “oh oh…” She then said in broken English that I had a cyst on my kidney. My mom got kidney cancer and passed away from it in 2010. This was right after. I was like “Damn, did I get that shit too?” and panicked, Sundström tells Hockey Sweden.
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Not affected today
After that announcement, he put an end to the move himself and returned home to Sweden.
– They did tests over there and said after them that it was nothing malignant. I still said “we’re breaking up, I want to go home and get a thorough examination at home”. The club was understanding and very good. I was in Minsk for four days. Then I went home and then felt that it had to be enough, even if I could have played a few more seasons. I haven’t had any problems after that either.
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The first time after Sundström came home was very difficult because of the great uncertainty.
– When I got home and met Modo’s doctor and checked everything, he said that you could have it without pain. This is still ten years ago now. We were renovating the house at home so instead I started helping with some carpentry and was a handyman for the carpenters. It was a year where I did nothing.
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