LIGHTS, CAMERA, SWANES

Aug 30, 2021

At one point or another, the dream of every boy’s youth hockey player in the state of Minnesota is to don a Minnesota Wild sweater. For Lakeville, Minn. native and Iowa Wild forward, Nick Swaney, he’s one step away from that dream being realized.

 

“Growing up and watching Marian Gaborik is something I will always remember,” Swaney said. “As far as Wild moments go, the [Mikael] Granlund OT winner against Colorado in the playoffs is one of my favorite hockey memories.”

 

Like so many professional players before him, Swaney has created his own game-winning moments in the driveway or on the backyard pond. There is another area where Nick spent a significant amount of time athletically aside from the hockey rink… on the tennis court.

 

“Tennis is a super cool sport and I played in high school,” Swaney said. “I watch tennis quite a bit and my favorite player is Rafael Nadal. Going to Wimbledon is on my bucket list for sure.”

 

Rumor has it Swaney’s teammate, Calen Addison, is quite the tennis player as well. Stay tuned for if we can get them on the court together.

 

“There are a lot of really good tennis players that play hockey,” Swaney said. “The conditioning and stopping and starting is great for hockey.”

 

Speaking of bucket lists, one place the former University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldog can cross off his list is Universal Studios in Florida.

 

“I’m a big fan of theme parks and Universal Studios is a place my family went as a kid a few times,” Swaney said. “Harry Potter World is very cool. I’m not a huge Harry Potter guy, but the architecture at Universal Studios makes you feel like you are actually at Hogwarts.”

 

Nick’s sister, Kaitlyn, is currently a sophomore in college and was on those trips to Universal Studios when they both were younger. Being similar in age came with all the pros and cons you would expect of a brother to sister relationship.

 

“We definitely have a bond, but at the same time we fought a little bit growing up,” said Swaney with a smirk. “She’s gone everywhere to watch me play hockey since I was little and is so supportive. I couldn’t be more thankful to have her support throughout my entire hockey career.”

 

We hope to have your support on Wednesday, Sep. 1, when Joe O’Donnell chats with Nick on Facebook Live. Fans are encouraged to join the show and participate with questions and comments.

 

Iowa Wild hockey is presented by MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. For more information, please visit www.iowawild.com.

 

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