Homer the great

When I was a kid, Itried to take up the game of icehockey. I never really developed any skill in the game. I was one of the youngest and smallest in my team, and after the humptiseventh time I came home from a game bruised, bloody, and generally miserable- I lost the intress in constantly being humiliated and beat up, and took up cross country skiing instead.

I just did'nt have the right stuff.

Others have!

Sweden, a little nation of some 9 million people has for some reason succeded in fostering a number of greta hockeyplayers. Those of you with any interrest in the game probably have heard of such greate players as Peter Forsberg, Mats Sundin, P-J Axelsson, Daniel Alfredsson. Markus Näslund, Nicklas Lidström and so on. Absolutely great players with one thing in common.

They all belong to "The Golden Generation".

They are fairly in the same age as I'm in. So I have been most fortunate in beeing able to follow their carriers, and have done so with much pleasure.

One player belonging to the same generation of hockeyplayers has never got the same attention and credit as the others; but are in my opinion- one of the gratest of our time.

He has allways stood up for his teams, wether it has been clubtems or playing for "Tre Kronor"- the Swedish national hockey team.

He has three Stanley Cups, an olympic gold and was on the Swedish Elite series and cup winning rooster of Luleå.

The terminator

Robocop

Tomas "Homer" Holmström

He has been higly praised for his work ethics and for the incomparably work that he does as a goalscreener; at wich he arguably is the best role player in the world.

He takes more hits, spearings, hookings, trippings, slashings and other variants of abuse than any other player in NHL- and still get his work done.

But here is the catch! Holmstrom has got a pair of the sweetest wrists in the game- but few- if anyone- knows this. I have seen him do things with the stick that lies right on par with what Forsberg, Sundin or any other player in NHL could do. He has just never got the chance beacuse of his curse. The curse beeing. He is too good at what he does! He is too valuable as a roleplayer; and therefor will never get the credit that he so well deserves.

If you ever have the chance to see a Detroit game- either live or via television. Take a closer look at number 96, and see for yourself what a great player he is!

Go Homer GO!