Forsberg thanks teammates, relishes 'great week' at Global Series with Predators

STOCKHOLM – When the game was over, when the festivities had concluded, Filip Forsberg gathered all his teammates to deliver a message: He wanted to thank them.

He knew it wasn’t easy flying all the way to Stockholm in the middle of the season, knew that some of them had battled jet lag, had tasted foods they never imagined.

But, to him, it meant the world, in games that he called probably his favorite of his NHL career.

“It’s been unbelievable,” said Forsberg, who grew up about three hours north of Stockholm in Leksand, Sweden. “It’s been so much fun. I’ve had both sets of grandparents here. I’ve had family that you only see a week or two in the summer that have been watching their first NHL games. Eaten more meatballs than anyone on this team ever thought they would eat, probably. I don’t think we’ll see another meatball for a while.”

Which was why he made sure to thank his Nashville Predators teammates.

“It’s special, you could see how much it meant to them. Even after the game, 'Fil' said something to the group, that was really nice. Thanked everyone for their effort in coming here,” Predators forward Ryan O'Reilly said. “It was nice of him. You could tell it meant a lot to those guys.”

Forsberg and Adam Wilsby, the two Sweden natives on the Predators, put together a week to remember for their teammates, squeezing every moment out of the six days they spent in their home country. Though the week didn’t end the way they had hoped – they dropped a 4-0 game to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday at Avicii Arena in Stockholm after winning 2-1 in overtime on Friday – they were still thrilled at what had been.

“Speaking for me, for 'Willy,' I’m sure he feels the same way, obviously would have been even sweeter to have another win on the plane home with us, but overall it’s a great, great week,” said Forsberg, for whom Sunday also happened to mark his 800th game in the NHL.

The best moment, for Forsberg, and for the Predators, came on Friday night, with 70 seconds remaining in regulation. That was when Forsberg scored to tie the game, unleashing an outpouring of emotion, of joy.

Nashville would win the game in overtime, ending a five-game losing streak, on a goal by Steven Stamkos.

“The winner, the tie-er from last game, those are hard to beat, but we’ve had a lot of fun off the ice as well,” Forsberg said, when asked to name his top moment.

Chief among that was a trip on Wednesday to Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, where Forsberg and O’Reilly met pediatric patients in the cancer ward. They also signed autographs and O’Reilly played his guitar.

That stuck out, in a week of experiences that all were close to Forsberg's heart, including bringing a group of 100 people – 63 kids – from his hometown of Leksand to Stockholm for the Predators' open practice on Saturday. The National Hockey League Players Association, the NHL and Forsberg announced a donation of $20,000 in ice hockey and street hockey equipment to Forsberg’s hometown club, Leksands IF Youth Hockey as part of the NHLPA Goals & Dreams program.

It was the same for Wilsby, who grew up in Stockholm and who has an apartment in the city where his family still lives.

“It’s been really cool for me, especially the moments after the games, seeing my family and sharing it with them,” Wilsby said.

He added, “I think it’s a really good way to keep the European fans and give back to them. And obviously for us players as well, it’s pretty special.”

Not just for the Swedish players.

“It’s a wonderful experience for everybody, for the city of Stockholm, Sweden, for the guys that are from here, I think it’s a great event,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. “… I think the experience from the group, I think they had some really good bonding and they enjoyed each other.

“Obviously the thrill of the win the other night, the disappointment of today, but you can’t forget that it was a great experience and something you’ll never forget.”

And it’s an experience they wouldn’t mind replicating, in Stockholm or elsewhere.

“It’s a great hockey country. It was great to see the support for them,” O’Reilly said of his teammates. “Wasn’t the best showing from us tonight, but still I feel like for the fans, the support, the hospitality throughout the city was amazing. The NHL did a great job putting this on. Hopefully there’s much more of these down the road.”

The game itself was disappointing; It wasn’t the way the Predators wanted to finish out this trip, a trip they had hoped would give them a chance to rest and reset, a trip they had hoped would be galvanizing.

Still, they didn’t emerge empty-handed, taking two of the four points.

“I think the traction that we gained, we just let slip away,” Brunette said. “Especially the first period, I thought all the things that we talked about, that we did on Friday, we did not do. We knew they’d have a bigger sense of urgency and the puck meant more to them than us that period. It’s a tough way to start a game, let alone give up three early. Disappointing.”

But Forsberg wasn’t dwelling on that after the game. For him, this week meant so, so much more than any one game, than any two points.

“I think it’s huge, obviously just even from my own experience, it’s the most fun regular season games I’ve played in my life,” Forsberg said. “Being able to give back, see the Leksand kids yesterday after practice, all that stuff is not possible without us coming [to Sweden]. I’m very thankful for that.”