Vejdemo: 'It's nice to be so close to him'

MONTREAL - The time difference in Stockholm has never presented a problem for Roland Vejdemo when it comes to tracking his favorite NHL prospect.

The father of Canadiens hopeful Lukas Vejdemo estimates watching "90 percent of all matches" his son plays as they happen, even in the middle of the night.
So when the 24-year-old Swede registered the first goal of his NHL career on March 10 against the Nashville Predators at the Bell Centre, Roland was completely glued to his TV set, as per usual.
It was some time after 2:00 a.m. in Scandinavia.

"I was screaming so loud," recalled Mr. Vejdemo, after seeing Lukas bury a perfect feed from Dale Weise past goaltender Juuse Saros in the third period. "I thought I was going to wake up the neighbors."
What did Lukas think about Roland's reaction to the marker?
"I would have liked to see him on camera. That would've been fun," joked the former third-round selection, who appeared in seven games with Claude Julien's contingent this season and 47 contests with the AHL's Laval Rocket. "It's an NHL goal, though, and I've been working for that for a long time. It was a special moment for him, too."
That kind of support is priceless, of course.
Lukas knows he can count on his father's encouragement, even from 6,000 km away.
"He usually sets an alarm and wakes up to watch. He has been into hockey since I was growing up, following my journey all the way. It's different now when I play in Canada and he can't come to games all the time, but still he's so into it. He's a real fan," praised Vejdemo. "But I can always talk to him. He's always there. It's nice to be so close to him and know that he's really following me."

That sense of exhilaration from scoring with Montreal has been pushing Vejdemo extra hard during his training sessions since returning to Sweden.
The Djurgardens IF product often thinks back to putting that puck home to the delight of the Habs' faithful in attendance.
"I can still live a little bit on that goal. That was almost the last thing I did over there before the season ended. It's like a motivator now in the summer when you go into the gym and you're working out. You have that with you," explained Vejdemo, regarding the Canadiens' final tally before the NHL went on pause. "When I'm working in the gym or skating, I remember it. That motivates you a little bit extra."
During his downtime, Vejdemo has been playing his fair share of golf and helping with the construction of a brand new swimming pool at his dad's place.
He also recently completed some coursework online towards earning a business or economics degree down the road.
"I was studying consumer behavior. I did that during the season, too. I think it's good for me to do something else besides hockey, even while we're playing," said Vejdemo, who has earned 60 of the 180 credits necessary to obtain his diploma. "It's nice to get your thoughts away from hockey a little bit and still use your brain. Now when I had some more time here, I could really dedicate it to that."

Vejdemo has clearly been keeping himself busy, so "the days go by pretty fast".
But his primary career objective is always on his mind.
"I got a little bit of a taste of the NHL. That was my goal before the season, to play some games with Montreal, and for sure I want to get back there and take the next step," concluded Vejdemo. "After that taste, I want to play there. That's my goal."