Tommy Sjödin

Tommy Sjödin became a prominent figure on the Brynäs blue lineArticle in SVT SportRead the sourceArticle in HockeynewsRead the sourceArticle in HockeysverigeRead the sourceClose. Tommy SjödinArticle in HockeysverigeRead the sourceClose grew up in Timrå, with Timrå IK as his formative hockey club. In a 2017Article in HockeysverigeRead the sourceClose interview with Hockeysverige, he estimated that he first skated at the age of 4 or 5, while stressing that he was unsure; he joined hockey school several years later. He named Timrå’s BoArticle in HockeysverigeRead the sourceClose “Bulla” Berggren as his childhood hockey idol.

In 1982/83Article in HockeysverigeRead the sourceClose, Sjödin played for Timrå’s junior team before appearing in 2 qualification games for the senior side. Looking back on his time in North AmericaArticle in HockeysverigeRead the sourceClose in the 2017 interview, he credited Ulf Dahlén with helping him settle into Minnesota. He also singled out Ken HitchcockArticle in HockeysverigeRead the sourceClose, his coach in Kalamazoo, as someone he had learned a great deal from.

In the same interview, Sjödin explained his move to Switzerland after 1994Article in HockeysverigeRead the sourceClose by saying that he wanted more ice time and had been promised it there. Recalling his play in Switzerland, he said he wanted plenty of possession and to contribute pointsArticle in HockeysverigeRead the sourceClose. He also remembered Bolzano contacting him in 1997Article in HockeysverigeRead the sourceClose after Lugano had been eliminated from the playoffs and recruiting him for the semifinals and finals.

During Brynäs’sArticle in Brynäs IFRead the sourceClose 2003 relegation qualification series, Gefle Dagblad had a particular appeal: “Skjut, Sjödda, skjut!”—shoot, Sjödda, shoot. In a retrospective published by Brynäs in 2018, club historian Ulf KriströmArticle in Brynäs IFRead the sourceClose recalled that the newspaper handed spectators posters bearing those words before the 4th qualification game and that Sjödin scored 5 of the team’s first 10 goals across the opening 4 games.

As a coach, Sjödin worked with Valbo’s under-18 team in 2010/11 and took on broader responsibility from 2011/12 for the senior team, junior teams and hockeygymnasiumA Swedish hockeygymnasium combines upper-secondary (high school) studies with scheduled ice hockey training.Article in Brynäs IFRead the sourceClose, a programme combining upper-secondary studies with hockey. On 29 April 2015Article in Brynäs IFRead the sourceClose, Brynäs announced that he had signed a 2-year contract as an assistant coach.