Challenging day on different levels

We had a great day upon arrival in Stockholm. After the longest walk from the Silja Symphony to our new bus with all our hockey bags and luggage, close to 500M  we were introduced to Kathrine, possibly the best tour guide I've ever had who took the group on a wonderful bus tour of Stockholm, which included a trip to the Vasa Museum. Sweden's 17th century version of the Titanic whose maiden voyage only lasted 20 minutes and whose ship remains stayed under water fully intact for over 350 years, before being brought to the surface 95% in one piece.

Following a bus tour of the old town of Stockholm we headed to our hotel, checked in a grabbed some lunch. 

It was time to head to Vallentuna to play our first game. It was awesome to watch the little hockey players greet us as celebrities.  The boys played a team made up of a mix of 2001, 2000 and 1999 born players. It was a very talented team that schooled us a bit on their home rink. It was 2-0 after one and 4-0 after the second, we played a solid third and the game ended in a 6-2 defeat. 

The game was overshadowed by the games first shift when Tevi, our heart and soul collided with a player on Vallentuna and quickly came to the bench clutching his arm. Jordan was amazing, as were our hosts who took Tevi to the hospital in Stockholm. 12 hours later Jordan and Tevi returned with a broken wrist.

He will be missed but will help me coach the rest of the way.

The Vallentuna families hosted our boys to an amazing buffet known in Swedish culture as a Julbord (traditional Christmas  dinner).

Alana and me had a brilliant evening meeting up with a dear old friend from Teachers College days whom we had not seen in 20 years. A special time for us both. Adrian is now a doctor in Orebo Sweden. 

We awoke this morning to a very cold but sunny day in Stockholm. Greg took those interested on a walking tour of old Stockholm, other slept in and some went out shopping. At 2pm we headed to the Globen Skyview for a magnificent 360 degree view of Stockholm, at sunset.

We are now headed to Taby for our final game. We are missing a few with Tevi out, PC has a bad back and Lucas Crawford Holland is a game time decision with a lower body injury. Lucas Fisher is close to coming back but still a few weeks away.  He wil be a an amazing addition.

One last evening, on what has been an amazing journey. Everyone is looking forward to sharing their collective stories upon our return.

One last entry tomorrow.