"My favorite player would have to be Borje Salming.  He was the first star from Sweden in the NHL." -Nicklas Lidstrom press interview with Trevor Thompson, "Red Wings Weekly", 2006.                                                                                                                                         

  Sweden, a land of ice and where the people know the rules and players of hockey.  The Torino Olympics and the gold medal won at those games by the mens' hockey team was celebrated in Stockholm with jubilant fans.  The Swedish Elite Leagues has seen a recent influx of scouting and drafting of its players for the NHL and North American players in 2005 ready to lace the boots for action in the Elite Leagues becasue of the lockout.  Sweden is a place that is not just about the sport of hockey but family to.  Is there a person in the National Hockey League family from Sweden besides Peter Forsberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Henrik Lundqvuist? Yes there is one who is often referred to as the "pioneer impact player " from Europe, Borje Salming.

  Borje Salming made his presence known to the National Hockey League by impressing Gerry McNamara, a scout with the Toronto Maple Leafs.  In 1972 Team Canada was in the Summit Serires after game 4 the team from Canada went to Sweden for 2 exhibition games  so they could stay active and be ready for the start of game 5 of the 1972 Summit Series.  While playing against Canada, Borje Salming impressed the Maple Leafs scout so that McNamara made sure that the player from Sweden when ready to play at the NHL level would do it wearing the blue and white leaf jersey of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Salming was part of that Leafs team in 1973.  From there he went on to break the stereotype of Swedish players "as just weak but very fast skaters with the puck," in other words when the hits and body checks were finished you could take the puck easily from the players from Sweden.  Borje Salming made sure that was not the correct and final words on players who were from Sweden and Europe.  Salming was the first impact player of European birth and ancestry in the NHL and he earned the respect of  North American hockey players.    

  His statistics for Team Sweden WEC-A from the 1972-73 season was Games Played (10), Goals (4),  Assists (6), Total Points (10), Penalties in Minutes- PIM, (8).  He had an attitude and that is exactly the cornerstone of leadership elements to be a great player in the NHL.

  That following year 1973-74 Borje Salming was in Toronto for the start of his NHL career that lasted for 17 years.  He played 16 years with the Toronto Maple Leafs and scored over (70) points twice.  He had a very good +/- rating; this stat provides amount of line productivity, it indicates the levels of team play.  His rookie year he had a +38.  In 16 years with the Toronto Maple Leafs he passed the puck to his team for 620 assists.  This is a team record.  The Toronto Maple Leafs is a historic team with a legendary past.  For Salming to hold this record it is exemplary acheivement for players on the North American continent and in Europe; Sweden.  Borje Salming also played for the Detroit Red Wings one season.  Then retired and went to Sweden to play for AIK of Solna for three seasons.  Now he is a business owner, brewery and undergarment factory.  In Canada he is still known and honored as the player who broke the mould and a holder of  a Toronto Maple Leaf team record that indicates unselfish team leadership.  The words of present Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin who is from Sweden and played for Sweden in Turin, Italy for the 2006 Olympic gold medal team; Sundin says of Salming, " Every Swede respects Borje and pays him tribute for what he has done.  For us-Swedish players- he is the man who showed us the right way; he is a trailblazer." -Mats Sundin, Toronto Maple Leafs captain. From the Hockey Hall Fame website. Legends of Hockey- Borje Salming page.

Borje Salming was born April 17, 1952 in Kiruna,Sweden.  Inducted to Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996. 

For career statistics and NHL picture gallery please visit this link,

www.hhof.com.

-LGRW _X_  03/20/2006