TO GUSTAFSSON, REGINA IS A SWEDE FIT

To Gustafsson, Regina is a Swede fit


By Greg Harder- Leader-Post

October 20, 2009

To Gustafsson, Regina is a Swede fit

Hampus Gustafsson was still flying when he made his Regina Pats' debut on Saturday.

That's no surprise since he was running mostly on adrenaline -- and not much sleep -- after a full day of travel from Sweden to Regina. The 18-year-old winger jumped on a plane Friday morning immediately after learning he had been picked up by the Pats, who released Czech rookie Michal Poletin and added Gustafsson as a free agent.

Gustafsson had been sitting at home for nearly a month after being released by the Saskatoon Blades, who were forced to part with the Swedish rookie after veteran import Milan Kytnar -- who has since been traded to Vancouver -- was unexpectedly returned from the Edmonton Oilers.

WHL teams can only keep two European players.

"I said to my agent right away when I came home that if another (WHL) team is interested I'm saying 'yes,' it doesn't matter what team it is," Gustafsson explained after his Pats debut on Saturday in a 4-1 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. "Regina is a good team for me. I think it fits me well here. The guys in Saskatoon are good guys but I think for me playing in Regina it can be better."

The Blades selected Gustafsson is the first round (57th overall) of the 2009 CHL import draft. The 5-foot-10, 174-pounder is one of the few Swedes toiling in North America, but there's no place he'd rather be.

"I just wanted to come over to the CHL and play Canadian style hockey -- smaller ice surface and stuff," he said. "I wanted to play in Canada because I like everything about how they play here, the type of hockey they play. It's faster here and all the fans and media and stuff, it's a good way to get noticed."

Gustafsson wasn't expected to join the Pats' lineup until he got at least one practice under his belt. However, head coach Curtis Hunt decided to throw him straight into the fire, even deploying him on the penalty kill. In his first game he wore # 13, the first time that a Regina Pat player has ever worn the number on his Jersey.

Gustafsson responded by throwing his body in front of a slap shot and later made a nice pass to Dominick Favreau, producing an excellent scoring chance.

"I know this much about him, I knew he had high character," said Hunt.

"I had a chance to talk to (Blades head coach/GM Lorne Molleken) about him. I knew he was a very intelligent player and I've played in enough big games against Swedish players (to know) they compete and play. He was everything I thought he would be. I thought he played a very intelligent game. Getting off the plane, new team ... I thought he'd probably burn on emotion. Now he gets a chance to go home and get some sleep in the next couple days and then we can get him better acclimated to our system. He's a great addition."

It remains to be seen how Gustafsson will fit into Regina's long-term plans, but he certainly made a positive first impression.

"Any time you fly from Sweden to Canada and you play the next day, it's not an easy trip," noted Pats veteran Jordan Eberle.

"For him to jump in and block a huge shot for us and make some key plays, that was huge. It's good to see that he cares that much already. When you see a guy who's barley been in the room for a couple hours and he throws his body in front of a shot like that you definitely get respect from your teammates."

Gustafsson said it was "fun" to jump right into the fray, noting that he "came back for a reason" and was eager to take advantage of the opportunity.

In fact, Gustafsson wasn't even nervous before the game.

"I guess maybe because of the jet-lag -- I was too tired," he added with a smile.

"Maybe because when I first came into the locker room everybody was talking to me right away. I didn't feel any (nerves) at all."