The playing surface might be larger overseas at the IIHF World Championships, but it seems that getting "Kronwalled" easily translates.
Niklas Kronwall, who is playing for Sweden in the world championships
this year, has become known for his bone-crunching checks and
tooth-displacing hits across the NHL while wearing a Red Wings uniform, and for good reason.
Take this clip from Sweden's first-round matchup in Stockholm against Latvia, as poor Kaspars Saulietis gets absolutely "Kronwalled":
Even the announcer drops reference to the well-recognized verb from Detroiters' vocabulary.
The crushing hit may have raised an eyebrow of Brendan Shanahan, NHL 's senior vice president of player safety and hockey operations, who has become particularly tough on "launching" checks during this year's
playoffs. Luckily for the defenseman, this hit came outside Shanahan's jurisdiction.
Kronwall is joined by fellow Red Wings Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen and Jonathan Ericsson on team Sweden.
The tournament began May 4 and runs until Sunday.
