Mon, Apr 22, 2019
"A sport conquers a country." Today, the Swedish National team "Tre Kronor" has a special place in our hearts, but it hasn't always been that way. Jens Lind and Albert Svanberg take us on a journey through the 20th century when ice hockey went from being an unknown sport to a national passion. When the WC is arranged in Stockholm in 1949, an ice hockey fever breaks out that no one could have dreamed of. With his superb game and his charm, Sven Tumba Johansson makes ice hockey the people's sport. Värmland boy Ulf Sterner becomes the first European to make his debut in the NHL. His career is the common thread in the story of Swedish ice hockey history. When the WC is decided in Stockholm in 1970, over five million Swedes watch the decisive match against the Soviet Union. Through unique archival material, old stories are given new life.
Mon, Apr 29, 2019
"If you touch the puck, I'll kill you". At the beginning of the 70s, the Swedish emigration to the NHL begins. The blue-yellow hockey pioneers end up in the most brutal era in NHL history. They are met with hatred and violence and accused of stealing the jobs of North Americans. At home in Sweden, they are considered traitors when they choose the money over the club and their peers. Börje Salming makes the journey from the Sami village of Salmi to becoming a superstar in the NHL. A fatherless boy who, with his passionate and fearless playing style, became more Canadian than the Canadians themselves. In the 1976 Canada Cup, Salming was honored with a standing ovation that has gone down in history. This is the story of those who opened the door to the world's best league and made it possible for hundreds of Swedes to follow.
Mon, May 6, 2019
"The battle against the great powers." Tre Kronor has won several World Cup golds, but never when the two great powers, the Soviet Union and Canada, were there at the same time. Goalkeeper Pekka Lindmark leaves the mine in Kiruna and begins the march towards Tre Kronor. But when he is pitted against the Russian superstars in the early 80s, it becomes one of the biggest setbacks in the history of Swedish hockey. Soviet supremacy is the result of a determined effort ordered by Stalin. Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson make the journey from amateur life in Sweden to becoming the NHL's highest paid players. At home, Pia Grengman breaks new ground when, as a 19-year-old, she becomes a coach for a men's team in Denmark. In Sweden, it will take many years before the ladies get a series and a national team. In a world where East stands against West, politically and sportingly, Sweden finds its own way to sporting success. In the WC in Vienna in 1987, Tre Kronor wins its first WC gold in 25 years - the first when both the Soviet Union and Canada are involved.