Forsberg, O'Reilly Honored to Visit Children's Hospital, Represent Preds in Sweden

Filip Forsberg already had quite a crowd gathered around to watch him face off against a young patient in an NHL video game - and then Ryan O’Reilly emerged from a storage closet with a six string.

The veteran centerman and hobbyist guitar player can certainly pluck his way around the instrument, and he had no problem strumming a few songs on Wednesday afternoon, much to the delight of a number of children at the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm.

Suffice to say, whatever ailments the patients are unfortunately dealing with at the moment, the two Preds players helped them to forget all about it during a special visit as part of Nashville’s trip to Sweden and the NHL Global Series.

Donning their lavender Hockey Fights Cancer jerseys, the two linemates made their way around the room playing ping-pong, table hockey and even making their own spin art with those residing at the hospital.

And as the rain came down outside, Forsberg, O’Reilly and Preds mascot GNASH made sure spirits were anything but dampened.

“It’s always special anytime you go to places like this and see the kids, see their excitement to see us, and it’s the least we can do,” O’Reilly said. “I think, especially those families, those kids are going through a lot. Seeing their kind of mindset, you can help them get away from that and just get a chance to chat and bring them some presents, is always fun. It's just nice to see the reaction and get a chance to chat with them.”

In conjunction with the NHL, O’Reilly and Forsberg signed autographs, handed out Hockey Fights Cancer teddy bears and blankets, and snapped photos with kids, parents and hospital staff who were all awestruck to see NHL stars in their part of Stockholm.

Forsberg, who has made many visits to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital and Vanderbilt back in Nashville, had never done something quite like this in his home country and his NHL team - which, of course, made the visit even better.

“I think just being able to do it, and in Sweden and speaking Swedish, it's a little special, too,” Forsberg said. “I was trying to keep ‘Factor’ filled in on what's being said, but just being able to talk in Swedish and talk to kids while wearing the Preds logo is something that's great. And hopefully we've made a couple new Predators fans today.”

Plenty has been made of Forsberg returning home, and to see him give back in this way was something that stuck with O’Reilly as well.

“You can tell he's got a presence, not only back home where we are, but here, too,” O’Reilly said. “Hockey’s big here, and he's a big part of that. And so seeing him around here is really cool to see.”

Forsberg was equally impressed with his teammate in the setting, and even though there was a language barrier at times, that didn’t stop anyone from simply being a good human - and representing Nashville well halfway around the world.

“He's the best,” Forsberg said of O’Reilly. “He's obviously one of those guys that, even playing with him, you see all the stuff that he does for the community in Nashville, and things that he did with past clubs, and seeing it firsthand now is really cool. And he can play the guitar - I don't know how many people can just put on show in the kids’ room there. It's pretty special. There's not many people who can do that. But that’s ‘Factor’ for you.”

They may have only spent one afternoon brightening entire days on this occasion, but their visit won’t soon be forgotten, especially with the compassion the two showed.

And on the way out of the hospital, one more woman - a relative on her way to a young patient and hockey fan’s room - stopped the pair and simply asked for an autograph.

O’Reilly offering to film a video message to the boy on the woman’s phone and Forsberg joining in without hesitation? Well, that’s just what players - and people - like them do.

“Anytime we get an opportunity to do these visits, it’s very rewarding, very humbling,” Forsberg said. “You realize that what we do is nothing compared to what they're dealing with, but it's also a very important part of their lives. In some cases, just by kind of showing up, like ‘Factor’ said, and putting smiles on their faces, we can kind of change their day. That’s a really powerful thing, and something that I'm really happy that we can and get the chance to do.”