Eriksson makes his mark at the Olympics
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
Stars forward Loui Eriksson was back in Frisco Monday morning following an impressive showing at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
"It was fun to be part of it," Eriksson, who played in his first Olympics, said after Monday's practice. "There were so many good players. I had a lot of fun playing there."
Sweden, which won the gold medal in 2006, went 3-0 in preliminary play and won its group, but was upset by Slovakia in the quarterfinals.
"I was disappointed it ended like that," Eriksson said. "We should win that game."
Although the Swedes came up short of their goals, Eriksson had an excellent tournament individually. He was tied for the team lead in goals (3) with linemate Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators. Eriksson and Alfredsson were centered by Washington's Nicklas Backstrom, who led the team with 6 points. Those three players made up Sweden's most effective line.
"Our line with Backstrom and Alfredsson did really well," Eriksson said. "We had a lot of chances and created a lot of things when we were on the ice. It felt good when I was out there."
Eriksson's play caught the attention of the Swedish media and others. Stars coach Marc Crawford said the attention is well-deserved.
"He's shown he's among the elite players in the world now and a lot of people thought he was maybe the best player that the Swedes had in the tournament, Crawford said. "I was talking with him this morning and he comes back with such a favorable impression of people like Nick Lidstrom. That's the probably the first time he's had a chance to be around him and be around the great Peter Forsberg. He talked to me about how good Backstrom is.
"It's nice to see your players have the realization that 'I'm pretty good too.' Loui's a pretty humble guy, but he shows the ability to play at that level, which is the elite level of the world."
Notes
- Loui Eriksson explained his decision to wear No.
91 at the Olympics after Monday's practice in Frisco. He said he
liked the number as a kid and the reason he liked it is because it
was the number worn by Sergei Fedorov.
- Defenseman Karlis Skrastins returned to the team
Monday and practiced after playing for Latvia at the Vancouver
Olympics
- Brenden Morrow and Jere Lehtinen, who played in the medal games at the Olympics over weekend, are scheduled to the join the team Tuesday.
Quotable
"I've said before that you can compare Loui to Jere Lehtinen. And the comparison is only growing. Jere could score 20-30 goals and still be very responsible in his own end. Just like Loui."
Former Dallas Star and current Frolunda coach Ulf Dahlen talking about Loui Eriksson in an interview with a Swedish newspaper
Quotable II
"As much as the fans wanted to see it happen I think the 23 guys competing wanted it more."
Team Canada forward and Stars captain Brenden Morrow on Canada winning the Olympic gold medal in hockey
