A Day In Stockholm With William Karlsson And Oscar Dansk

Following their first season with the Golden Knights, Sweden natives William Karlsson and Oscar Dansk took time to reflect on their summer in Stockholm and give insight into their offseason training for the Golden Knights in Stockholm series, presented by Las Vegas.
Every summer, players focus on getting bigger and faster to keep up with the rest of the league. Finding a balance between improving fitness, becoming a better player on the ice and enjoying some down time is something that players focus on during each offseason. For the second summer in a row, Karlsson and Dansk turned to trainer Henrik Petre to prepare them for another season of hockey.

"He's a professional through and through," Petre said of Karlsson. "He always has a high work ethic and he brings it to practice every day."
Petre has been working on increasing Karlsson's maximum strength and improving on his already stellar explosiveness. When he works with Dansk, the workouts are more tailored to his mobility and Petre thinks that the Vegas netminder has the potential to be a highly successful NHL goalie.
"He's doing great, I'm really happy for him," he said of Dansk. "He's really ambitious with his training and, like William, he brings it to the table every day."
On a typical training day, Petre will create a work out for them that mixes on-ice work with off-ice programs. Days where they spend more time on the ice, Petre gives Dansk and Karlsson simpler training in the gym.
"We had a skate this morning that was a little more strenuous," Dansk said of Monday morning's workout. "We worked more on smaller stuff and kept it less intense here in the gym because the ice was tougher today. You've got to balance it, so your body is fit later on."
Working out together is nothing new for the two Golden Knights. Dansk said that he's known Karlsson since he was 10 years old and their hockey journeys have been intertwined since they came to North America. They both started their professional careers in the Columbus Blue Jackets organization and both landed in Vegas at the start of the 2017-18 season. Having Dansk around is something that helps Karlsson get through some of the more tedious parts of the offseason.
"He's a great guy, he's really funny," Karlsson said. "It makes every day worth coming here to the gym."
Though he has his regimen for training, Karlsson likes to spend his summer days going with the flow and seeing where the day takes him. As the Golden Knights forged through the playoffs all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last season, the offseason got shorter and shorter. While 29 other NHL teams envy Vegas for making it to the final round, those clubs got to spend more time decompressing from the season and preparing for the year to come.
Despite the shortened summer, Karlsson feels that his mix of training and down time has put him in a good place only a month out from training camp.
"It's been a short summer, but I think I've done a lot in this short amount of time," Karlsson said. "I'm excited to go back soon and get the season going."
Following the workout, Dansk and Karlsson had lunch together and walked around Stockholm. Taking time to enjoy the city is a luxury for all Swedish players that skate in the NHL. Since the NHL implemented the bye week, teams have been able to vacation for a few days during the season, but those seven days don't give many players the chance to travel overseas. For Dansk, getting back to the familiarity of a city that he loves makes the offseason worthwhile.
"[Stockholm] is a chill city, the people are really welcoming," Dansk said. "There's very beautiful weather, especially this summer. It's easy, pretty mellow and it's a simple city to walk around in."