The first competitive game of the season was a wash for HV71, a 4-1 loss at home to Adler Mannheim in the Champions Hockey League. Victor Ejdsell had an okay game, a few close calls, but the sharpness in front of the goal wasn’t really there yet, and that was true for the whole team. There has been a lot of turnover in the HV71 squad, the team that won the Swedish Hockey League last year, and that is showing right now.
Ejdsell had a stand out season last year with 57 points in 50 games (25+32) in Allsvenskan, Sweden’s second division, and he made his debut with the Swedish national team after the season. He was a hot commodity on the market and the Nashville Predators got him signed after a battle with quite a few other teams. We got a chance to speak with Viktor Ejdsell after the game against Adler Mannheim. While we didn’t ask about the game in particular we did ask about his choice of Nashville, and his thinking about staying in Sweden and the SHL rather than going to North America and the AHL. There are some interesting answers in the interview that you can hear in full below:
A few highlights:
- The process of being courted by NHL teams
- The appeal of playing in Nashville
- The decision to remain in Sweden versus moving to Milwaukee
- His goals for development this season
- His impressions from prospect camp/
While Victor is a prospect who is quite a ways away from playing in Nashville, he has a very good attitude and is dedicated to working hard this year. If you’re interested, you can watch HV71’s next game Sunday morning on the Champions League website.