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SLAM! Sports Century in Review INTERACTIVE CONTESTS ALSO ON SLAM!  |
Thursday, December 30, 1999 Hedberg, Nilsson pioneersLed Swedish invasion to WinnipegThey led the Swedish invasion, and were the forerunners to the European one. Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg overcame the label of "Chicken Swedes" to prove how artistic hockey could become when they hooked up with the WHA's Winnipeg Jets and Bobby Hull. In fact, Hull credited Nilsson, Hedberg and another Swede, Lars-Erik Sjoberg, for prolonging his own illustrious career. Their style of game was played, it was once said, "with symphonic aplomb." Discovered by Dr. Gerry Wilson in Sweden when the fledgling WHA was still trying to establish itself, the trio became the league's top line and one of the top draws on the circuit. And they helped the WHA become legit. Ironically, it was only after the smooth Swedes left Winnipeg to join the NHL that the upstart league began to totter. Off the ice, the popular pair were known as classy individuals who always had a quick smile and kind word for anyone who approached them. But it was their influence on young hockey fans in Manitoba that changed the perception of the way the game should be played. And it was their success that paved the way for many other Europeans to follow them across The Pond -- to Winnipeg and beyond. 
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