OLOFSSON HEALTHY AND EAGER TO PLAY
Sep 20, 2015By Tom Witosky | Follow Tom @toskyAHLWild
Gustav Olofsson has one goal for the Minnesota Wild’s training camp, which opened Friday.
“I just want to play well and see what happens,” said the lanky defenseman, who is considered likely to begin this season with the Iowa Wild. “It’s been a long time for me, so it just feels good getting back out on the ice and playing the game.”
Oloffson is among 58 players now in the Minnesota camp, which includes another 12 players who played last season with the AHL Wild. Iowa’s camp is schedule to open on Sept. 26 and have its first public scrimmage on Sept. 30. Two preseason games against the Manitoba Moose are scheduled for Oct. 2 and Oct. 3 in Grand Forks and Fargo, respectively.
Olofsson is expected to be among the top young players at this year’s camp in Minnesota along with defenseman Mike Reilly as well as Iowa Wild veterans Tyler Graovac and Kurtis Gabriel.
The 20-year-old Swede is returning to hockey after missing the entire 2014-15 season with a shoulder injury he sustained in Iowa’s first game last year. The injury required surgery and rehabilitation that delayed the Minnesota’s 2nd round draft choice in the 2013 entry draft from beginning his professional career.
“It was hard.’” Olofsson said in a telephone interview from Traverse City where he played for the first time in nearly a year in the NHL Prospects Tournament. “This was the first really long term injury that I have had to deal with. Plus when it is your first pro season, you feel like you have a lot to prove.”
The injury became a major speed bump on what had been a fast-moving career toward the NHL that included just one full season with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL and just one season at Colorado College before he signed his entry-level contract with Minnesota.
Born in Boras Sweden, Olofsson has spent almost as much of his life in the U.S. as in the native Sweden. The family’s first move to the U.S. took place when his father was transferred to a job in the Silicon Valley.
After living in California, the family moved back to Sweden for several years, then relocated back to the U.S. where Olofsson and his brother, Fredrik, became NHL prospects. Fredrik Olofsson, a forward, was drafted by Chicago in the fourth round of the 2014 entry draft and will play at the Nebraska-Omaha this season – an advantage for the Olofsson brother parents if Gustav is in Des Moines.
“I think they will like it that we are just a couple hours from each other if I am in Des Moines,” he said.
Touted last season as one of three top prospects destined for the Minnesota blue line with Matt Dumba and Christian Folin, Olofsson said that he expected to spend much of last year in Iowa. What he didn’t expect was that it would be spent rehabilitating his shoulder and a lot of time in the weight room as he healed.
As a result, Olofsson said he is feeling pressure to show that he is ready to play at a high level.
“There is a lot of pressure because now you begin to think you have twice the amount of expectation on you,” he said. “People will ask ‘what was he doing last year when he was injured.’ So now I am thinking about how I am looking now given the amount of time off that I had.”
But there has been one advantage, he said. “I spent a lot of time working on my lower and upper body strength. Actually, I am kind of excited to see what is going to happen. I feel a lot stronger.”
John Torchetti, Iowa’s head coach, said he already thinks that Olofsson is showing that he could be ready to move up to the NHL a lot sooner than many think. Torchetti, who coached Olofsson in Traverse City, has been impressed with Olofsson’s recovery.
“He is the type of kid who could be pushing for someone’s job by Christmas,” Torchetti said. “That is how strongly I feel about him. He is a lot like Dumba.”
Olofsson said the four games in Traverse City meant “camp has already started for me” and that his initial priority was to rediscover his identity as a player.
“With these games, it was a lot about me finding my identity again – who I was as a player before I was injured,” he said. “It’s hard to look back, realize you missed a whole year and remember the times when I was feeling good and when I was playing well what kind of player was I and what was I doing well.”
The next priority was to test the shoulder to make sure it was 100 percent.
“It feels good.” he acknowledged. “This has been the first real test and it really is doing well. I have to pay attention to my warm-ups to make sure it is ready but there haven’t been any problems.”
If he returns to Iowa for the beginning of the season, Olofsson understands the challenge the club faces and expects a substantial improvement. He said the roster is changing substantially with the addition of new veterans and new young players.
“I know we have a lot of new signings and the core guys here in Traverse City really do look pretty good,” he said. “I worked out with Gabriel and Graovac in Minnesota and they look better than ever.”
He added that the expectations plus beginning the season with Torchetti at the helm should help get the season off to a much better start than in the past.
“I like the way Torch coaches, his passion and fire. My sense from last year is that they really respected and wanted to play for him. Starting fresh this season is going to make a big difference this year. “
As for his role, Olofsson said he just wants to get back on the ice.
“I just want to play games wherever it is and see from there,” he said. “I just want to play and let the rest take care of itself. My expectation is to do my best.”