Get to know… Christian Folin

MONTREAL - A quick look at Christian Folin's social media accounts -

After a recent practice, we sat down with the six-year NHL veteran, who joined the Habs' fold in early February following a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Here's what we learned…
He's a loyal supporter of Arsenal FC
CHRISTIAN FOLIN: I grew up watching a lot of soccer. They had a Swedish player, Freddie Ljungberg, that dyed his hair red in the middle, and I think that's kind of when it started. Him and Thierry Henry and a couple of guys like that, they were my favorite players. I really like them because they're bringing up young guys from their Academy, like 16-year-olds, all the time. I always felt that it was pretty cool, being able to watch these 16 and 17-year-old players play and make a lot of money. I watch the games as often as I can. From time to time, I wake up Sunday mornings at 7:00 a.m. and watch the games. I'm a pretty intense follower. I've never been to a game before at Emirates Stadium, though. I've always wanted to go. They play from August to April, so it's kind of tough to go with the hockey season. My plan is to go one of these years. My dad actually played professional soccer in Sweden growing up, so I played soccer until I was 15. I was choosing between either soccer or hockey, and when I chose hockey, my dad told me - "You would've been a better soccer player." He's eating that up right now.

He's a budding DJ
CF: The last few years, I've really gotten into the music more and more. Two of my friends are actually pretty good at it, and they released a song, so they've shown me a little bit how to DJ this summer. For this year in Philadelphia, I bought a mixer, so I've been doing a little bit at home. It's so hard, but it's fun. It's good when you're home in the afternoon and you have a couple of hours, you just turn it on and you can just play with it. It's definitely a lot of fun and I listen to a lot of music, too. I'm not great at it by any means, but it's just so much fun to try and do, especially when you have friends over and they can teach you a little bit more. It's definitely a good hobby, something else to do to kind of get your mind off hockey a little bit. But, I listen to a lot of house music, mostly. All the big names, Avicii and all those guys. I like all kinds of music, but house is the biggest one for me right now. I was at Tomorrowland [an electronic dance music festival] a couple of years ago in Belgium. It was an unbelievable experience for four days. When I look back at it, it's something really cool that I've done.

He shared a cool moment with Taylor Swift, so to speak
CF: I kind of faded away from that kind of music. It was more back in the day when I was in Juniors and college [at the University of Massachusetts Lowell]. I tweeted at her once and I got a favorite, so that was pretty cool. I enjoyed it. When I first came over here, I was 18 and she was really big at the time. All the guys in the locker room would always play it, so I tagged along with that and became a fan. I've been to a couple of shows. I've been to one in Boston and one in Minneapolis.

He has his fair share of sweet ink
CF:I played with Matt Dumba for a couple of years in Minnesota, and he was really into it. We went and got my first tattoo and it kind of spun off from there. This past summer, I got the bottom half of my arm done. We'll see if I'm going to get the other one done this coming summer. I'm still thinking about it. I started with a fish, actually, and I grew up fishing a lot in the summers, so it's basically an ocean theme. I grew up on the West Coast of Gothenburg. Every summer, I used to go out and fish with my dad and my grandparents, so it's in the back of my upbringing, being on the ocean. I wanted to pay a little tribute to that. There's also the compass and I've got two lighthouses on there. We used to fish around the lighthouses, so it's a good kind of light and I'm representing home a little bit.

He believes joining the NCAA ranks provided him with a huge boost
CF: I loved college. It was unbelievable. It was a great time. For me, playing back home in Sweden, we had just our parents in the stands, basically. Then you go to college and there are five or six thousand people at the games cheering. It was perfect for me. I had those two years to train and play those games. It really helped me develop and take the next step for the next level.

He comes from a hockey family
CF: My brother, Niklas, is playing back home in the Allsvenskan [the second-highest League in Sweden behind the Swedish Elite League], and my youngest brother, Ludvig, is playing in Sweden, too. My parents actually used to live in Maryland for a little bit for four years, but they moved back to Sweden this past summer. My dad works for Volvo, and they had a factory in Maryland, so he worked there for a while.

He clearly has a great sense of humor
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