Mika Zibanejad

Mika Zibanejad is an established Swedish NHL star with a dangerous one-timer on the power playArticle in HockeynewsRead the sourceArticle in SVT SportRead the sourceArticle in SVT SportRead the sourceArticle in HockeysverigeRead the sourceArticle in SportbladetRead the sourceClose. Mika ZibanejadArticle in Svenska IshockeyförbundetRead the sourceClose grew up in Stockholm, with Hammarby IF as his original hockey club. His Swedish hockey background also included DjurgårdenDjurgårdenDjurgården, short for Djurgårdens IF, is a sports club in Stockholm. Here, the name refers to its ice hockey team, which has developed many Swedish NHL players.Close’s hockeygymnasiumA Swedish hockeygymnasium combines upper-secondary (high school) studies with scheduled ice hockey training.Article in Djurgården Hockey ABRead the sourceClose, an upper secondary programme combining school studies with hockey: the club’s 2014/15 annual report lists him among players who attended.

There was hockey at home too, where his older half-brother Monir KalgoumArticle in AftonbladetRead the sourceClose was an early role model. Aftonbladet’s JanuaryArticle in AftonbladetRead the sourceClose 2012 family interview recounted how Monir made a wooden hockey goal in a school woodworking class and brought it home on the subway; the brothers then played hockey in the hallway.

Zibanejad also played tennis growing up, first at 6 and again at around 12–13Article in AftonbladetRead the sourceClose. In an Aftonbladet interview during his junior years, he said his father had arranged a coach to work on coordination and footworkArticle in AftonbladetRead the sourceClose.

Music also had a place alongside hockey: in a February 2018 interview with Sveriges RadioArticle in Sveriges RadioRead the sourceClose, Zibanejad recalled performing at Summerburst in summer 2017 and trying out his own unreleased tracks with the crowd. He described producing music during the hockey season too, while avoiding releases during that period to keep them from becoming a distractionArticle in Sveriges RadioRead the sourceClose.

According to Sports Heart’sArticle in Sports Heart FoundationRead the sourceClose own account, in summer 2019 the organisation awarded its Hockey Mum of the Year and Volunteer of the Year scholarships with Zibanejad and Monir Kalgoum, each worth 25,000 Swedish kronor. In JanuaryArticle in Mitt iRead the sourceClose 2020, Mitt i reported that Zibanejad was a leader at Sports Heart Camp and had attended a kick-off gathering with children in Tumba.