Gophers sophomore forward Leon Bristedt spent much of his freshman season adapting to American university life. That included something as basic as attending classes that were taught entirely in English.
"It's a lot easier now that I am more at ease with the language," the sophomore from Stockholm told me. "It's easier to understand the questions and do the work. That helps in practice, too."
While many Scandinavians speak English as a second language -- one estimate is between 80 and 90 percent -- actual day-to-day usage is another matter. When such factors as regional North American dialects, slang and scientific lingo are factored in, communicating can still be a challenge. An additional issue for Bristedt is that, unlike some other Scandinavian players, he played his entire junior career in his home country, at Linkoping in the Swedish Super League. Last season, he broke into North American hockey with an impressive 19-point season for the Maroon and Gold.
Bristedt has never had much in the way of doubters. Certainly not the National Hockey League, which ranked him 24th among European prospects in the 2014 Central Scouting final rankings. And definitely not among Gopher coaches and fans. Bristedt's overtime game-winner on Saturday powered the Gophers to a badly-needed weekend sweep of Ohio State and a two-game return to the win column.
Now the second-highest goal scorer in the Big Ten, Bristedt saw an eight-game scoring streak come to an end in Minnesota's overtime victory Friday but roared back with a goal and an assist on Saturday. His game-winner, at 1:21 of the five-minute overtime period, was the result of a relentless Gopher charge to the net that finally overwhelmed the Buckeyes defense and goalie Christian Frey.
"We had about six shots in three seconds," Bristedt said, "and we never gave up on that play. It just ended up in the net". That's a simplistic way of saying that he, Tommy Novak and seasoned net-crasher Hudson Fasching kept tightening the screws until a loose puck popped to the top of the slot. The sophomore Swede wasted no time in burying it behind Frey.
That play is symbolic of a change in Bristedt's approach to the game. As he told me, "I'm not playing on the perimeter so much, like before. Now I spend a lot more time inside the dots. It's really paying off for us."
Doug McLeod is in his 20th season as the play-by-play voice of Golden Gopher hockey (with 17 NHL seasons woven in there somewhere). He has called many of the greatest moments in Minnesota hockey history and is back for another season behind the mic on FOX Sports North.
