Alfie ready to play key role for Sweden at 4 Nations

Breadcrumb Trail Links

Ottawa SenatorsSportsHockeySenators Extra

Article content

Daniel Alfredsson has been benched for the first time in his illustrious hockey career with Sweden.

Article content

Article content

So to speak.

Alfredsson, who will celebrate his 52nd birthday on Wednesday, has just about done it all for his country in his Hockey Hall of Fame career, but he’ll take on a new role when he serves as an assistant coach with Team Sweden at the first 4 Nations Face-Off.

Article content

While there was a lot of buzz when the rosters for Team Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden were unveiled Wednesday, a move that had been in the works for months to make Alfredsson part of the club’s staff with his country was finally made official.

He started discussions to play a role with Anders Lundberg, Sweden’s director of national teams, when Alfredsson was in Sweden during the summer. That evolved into being added to head coach Sam Hallam’s staff for the tourney Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.

Alfredsson didn’t play a role in roster selection with general manager Josef Boumedienne, a former Senators’ farmhand, and Hallam. His job on the staff will be assisting with the club’s approach offensively and how to use the boatload of skills the Swedes have on their roster.

Hallam was in town in October to have dinner with Alfredsson so they could get to know each other and prepare to work together.

Speaking to Postmedia before the Senators faced the Nashville Predators on Saturday night at the Canadian Tire Centre, Alfredsson said is excited for this next step in his international hockey career.

Article content

“My role has been about strategy and how we’re going to play,” Alfredsson said after the club wrapped up its morning skate and before he headed home for lunch. “(Hallam) from what I hear is a very good coach, but it’s different on small ice.

“He likes the idea of me being involved, having coached on smaller ice here for the last year and making adjustments. We’ve talked about what kind of adjustments because there are differences. Sweden and Finland will probably have a little bit different feel.

“A lot of NHL teams play fairly similarly with some differences, but they’re not huge. We’ll see what we incorporate in the tournament.”

Sweden features Toronto’s William Nylander, Gustav Forsling of Florida, New York’s Mika Zibanejad, Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman and Pittsburgh’s Erik Karlsson. The goaltending is strong with Minny’s Filip Gustavsson, Jacob Markstrom of New Jersey and Ottawa’s Linus Ullmark.

LEARNING THE ROPES

In his first full season with the Senators as an assistant on coach Travis Green’s staff after joining coach Jacques Martin in an interim role when D.J. Smith was fired last December, Alfredsson is thrilled to have the chance to work for Sweden in this role.

Article content

Article content

File photo: Daniel Alfredsson says ‘it’s been a lot of fun learning from more experienced guys’ since joining the Senators’ coaching staff. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA

He has fit in nicely on the Ottawa coaching staff and spends time working with players on skill development. Alfredsson has caught the coaching bug and is enjoying the opportunity to work with Green, plus assistants Mike Yeo, Nolan Baumgartner, Ben Sexton and Justin Peters.

Coaching has required a steep learning curve for Alfredsson.

“It’s been a lot,” he said, “but it’s been a lot of fun learning from more experienced guys last year and then being around this year. I realize I’ve been around a long time, and I played a lot of hockey, but I’m still lagging behind the other guys in the coach’s room.

“I love coming in every day and just talking about the subtle differences in certain areas, whether it’s faceoffs, the neutral-zone forecheck, defensive zone coverage or just looking at every other team and what they do. They’re similar to us, but they have small differences and I love learning and taking it all in to build my own data bank if I continue this career.”

Being at the rink for hours on an end hasn’t come as a shock to Alfredsson since he became a full-time coach. He knew the commitment he had to make when he took over an interim role, and that’s why, before he accepted the job with Green, he wanted to make sure he was all-in.

Article content

Alfredsson knew when he was a player that the support staff and the coaches were the first ones through the door every morning. After Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, talked to him about joining Martin behind the bench he took some time to think about it first.

“That’s why I was hesitant at the beginning,” Alfredsson said. “But when you put the work in, it’s more rewarding when you get something out of it.

“As a player, you want to try to get any advantage you can, and it’s the same with coaching. If that means watching more video or you have to work harder, then that’s what you have to do.”

Daniel Alfredsson returned to Ottawa with a gold medal in hand after the Winter Olympics in Turin. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OTTAWA SENATORSSWEDE SUCCESS

It makes sense for the Swedes to use a former NHLer who amassed 444 goals and 1,157 points in 1,246 career games as a resource in a short tournament where there’s no margin for error. Hallam coaches all of the national teams overseas and this will be an adjustment.

“You have to see what works on small ice and what doesn’t,” said Alfredsson. “In the NHL, you have to get the puck to the net quicker. How can you do that? How can you create chances and still have traffic on the net? You look at (Connor) McDavid, (Leon) Draisaitl and (Zack) Hyman.

Article content

“Hyman is unbelievable at going to the net, creating space, winning battles in the corners, and then Draisaitl and McDavid draw attention to themselves to set up a shot and then they always have somebody at the net. And I think that’s very important.”

Alfredsson didn’t say no to his country often during his playing career and he wants to do what he can in what will be a competitive tourney. The highlight of his international career was winning a gold medal with Team Sweden at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.

“Any time you get to represent the country in a capacity where you’re playing against the best, or any capacity for that matter, it’s a huge honour,” Alfredsson said. “Especially for my generation. We grew up and the main goal was the national team, not the NHL because we didn’t have NHL coverage.

“I couldn’t watch any games, it was Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em videos with Don Cherry that we watched on the bus. It was huge to be involved with the national team then and it’s the same thing now. It’s a good way to represent your country and also help develop the game. In these best-on-best tournaments, you’re going to have all these top players sharing what they do with their teams; everybody learns from it. That’s the same for the coaches and it’s great for the game.”

Article content

A STEPPING STONE FOR ALFIE?

Sweden will open the tourney against the host Canadian team on Feb. 12 in Montreal. The players will only have a couple of days together before they hit the ice as a team, but the competition should be excellent.

“It’s going to be high calibre,” said Alfredsson. “Are you going to get hockey where you’re dialled in right away? You’re going to have to overcome a lot with hard work and finding a way to make plays when it matters. Goaltending is going to play a big role.

“Special teams as well. If you can win the special teams battle, it’s going to give you a big edge because nobody will be firing on all cylinders, especially with so little practice time. When you’re working with a system, you don’t want to overcomplicate it and try to keep it simple.”

Alfredsson is confident this Swedish team can have success.

“We’ve got a very good team and Sweden is under-rated as well,” Alfredsson said. “You look at the rosters of Canada and the United States, they’re pretty darn good. It’s going to be super fun. Any team can beat any team on any given day, but Canada and the U.S.A. stand out with their talents.”

Article content

The 4 Nations Face-Off doesn’t have the pedigree of the Olympics, but it will be better than an IIHF world championship because this will be the best players from all four countries.

“Participating in the Olympics is a huge honour and winning the gold medal is icing on the cake, and it’s something you will always have with you,” Alfredsson said. “This tournament doesn’t have that status, but any time you bring the best players together, you’re going to have good hockey.”

The competition changes when you put on the Tre Kroner, right?

“Of course it does,” Alfredsson said. “It’s like a Canadian putting on the maple leaf or an American with the red, white and blue, it means a little more. These guys work hard every day in their regular jobs with their teams, but this brings a little different dimension.

“It’s almost like going from the regular season to big playoff games right away. The intensity and the anticipation will bring out the best from everybody and we’re going to see some fabulous hockey.”

Winning gold with Sweden is one of the highlights of Alfredsson’s incredible career, but this is the opportunity to start a new chapter and it could be used as a stepping stone to being part of the coaching staff at the Olympics in Milan, Italy, in 2026.

“We’ll see what happens in this tournament,” Alfredsson said. “I would love to be part of the Olympics or coaching in general. The last year has been a lot of fun.”

BGarrioch@postmedia.com

Recommended from Editorial

Brady Tkachuk to New York Rangers rumour is ‘Total bulls–t’ and ‘garbage’

Ottawa Senators had no serious talks on Jacob Trouba as search for help continues Author of the article:

Article content

Share this article in your social network