Maven's Memories: The Youthful Life of Bob Nystrom

Because few fans are aware of the challenges Bob Nystrom and his family faced after emigrating from Sweden to Canada, I asked a few questions of the club's icon about his youth. The subjects and his replies follow:
LEAVING SWEDEN:"My father was a police officer in Stockholm but Dad had a brother in Canada who convinced my mom and dad to come over. I was four years old at the time and the family viewed it as a new adventure in life. Which it was for all of us. We first flew to Vancouver and then settled in a small apartment in the town of Coquitlam."

PARENTS OCCUPATIONS: "My father got a job with a construction company doing demolition work while my mom worked on a farm, picking berries. I remember her coming home at night so sore and stiff from the hard work it was painful for me to see. My dad actually had to help mom get into bed. Life in Canada at the start was very tough for all of us."
THE BIG MOVE:"Checking around for another job and a different place to live, my dad heard about an opportunity in Hinton, Alberta, a tiny town about 185 miles north of Edmonton in cold country. A pulp and paper mill was being built there and the company was looking for workers. My dad checked it out, got hired and we moved there."
LIVING IN HINTON: "At the time when we got to our new home, there were only about 800 people in little Hinton and just about every one worked at the mill. We lived in an attached bungalow with many other families who also worked at the mill. My parents didn't speak English very well but they soon learned. Still for a kid like me, Hinton was an absolutely great town to grow in because of the things to do. I spent a lot of my early life outdoors -- camping, fishing, hunting and hiking. Loved them all."
LEARNING TO SKATE: "Hinton was very cold in the winter so it was easy for me to find ice. I wound up skating on frozen lakes, ponds, streams and even in the streets. Eventually, the paper mill built an outdoor rink and that's where I was able to start playing kids minor hockey. Even though the winters were incredibly frigid we'd go out there and play because we loved our hockey."

PARENTAL SUPPORT:"Mom and dad always would come out to watch me play in the games. I remember them standing in the snow drifts around the rink with the temperature about ten-below-zero. (I'm not so sure that I'd do that as a parent.) But my folks never missed a game and in due time the pulp mill built an indoor arena where we could play on a regular-sized rink."
GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT HOCKEY:"The new arena was about a mile-and-a-half from my house. After a practice I'd walk home from the rink with all my equipment on and in a pair of boots. Part of the walk was across a field, which wasn't too bad, but then there was a wooded area. I was always afraid that a bear or a cougar would come out of the woods and kill me. Needless to say, I walked fast!"
TRAVELING TO GAMES: "Sometimes our team had to travel out of town and, fortunately, my parents had a big station wagon. It could carry me and three teammates and we'd pile in with our equipment and off we would go. My dad would drive us to wherever we had to go; always with at least a couple of teammates who needed a ride."
THE CAR RIDE AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE: "During those rides, my teammates and I learned some of the best lessons we ever could learn. For example, we learned respect, courtesy and values; not to mention the importance of good sportsmanship. We learned how to win and also how to lose although I must admit that I hated losing even then as a kid."
HIS PARENTS AS HOCKEY CRITICS: "My parents encouraged my hockey career at every turn; but each in his and her different way. For example, my mom thought I played great in every game. By contrast, my dad was a little more critical. He stressed that if I'm going to play, I should play to win. Mom and dad loved hockey -- in person and on television. Matter of fact, the only time we got to eat in the living room was on Saturday night when it was time for 'Hockey Night In Canada.'"
FAVORITE NHL PLAYERS:"Since I played right wing, I liked to follow NHL guys who played that position. Bernie Geoffrion of the Canadiens was one of my first idols because he had a big shot and scored a lot of goals. Boom Boom wore number five and I always wore five. The problem was that he played for the Habs and I hated Montreal; I was a Toronto fan but my sister liked the Canadiens so we'd constantly fight. (We had a rivalry then like the Islanders developed with the Rangers.) Later on I also got to like the way Vic Hadfield played for the Rangers -- he was tough but also could score. He became my role model."
1980 CUP 40TH ANNIVERSARY
1980 CUP COVERAGE
VIDEO: Nystrom Scores Cup Clincher
Bob Nystrom, Knight of Nassau
Isles Inbox: Bryan Trottier
Isles Inbox: Clark Gillies
Isles Inbox: Butch Goring
1980 Cup Coloring Pages
FATHER'S STRENGTH, SISTER'S KINDNESS: "I've worked on staying physically fit long after retirement and I guess I got that from my dad. He wasn't what you'd call 'athletic' but he was incredibly fit. His work was all manual labor and it was a good thing that he was so strong. (I was definitely afraid of dad when he got mad.) By the way my sister was a fairly good athlete, playing basketball and volleyball but I definitely felt bad for her. She was definitely in my shadow but never complained or was bitter about my parents taking me everywhere for hockey. She was unselfish and supported me in everything I did."
CLIMBING THE HOCKEY LADDER: "Our town was so small I could play hockey for a few different age groups. For instance, I'd practice with our regular team at seven in the evening and then, when we were done, I'd finish with the older team at 10. After that I'd hang around and help the rink supervisor, Mr. Favro, scrape and flood the ice with old-time barrels of water on wheels. Then there were the games; traveling to places like Jasper, Edson and Drayton Valley. And if I wasn't playing in tourneys, we'd be out playing wherever there was outdoor ice."
MEMORABLE SKATES: "I got my first pair of skates when I was five but the pair I remember best came later. At that time it was a really big deal if a kid my age could get a pair of (CCM) 'Tacks' and I wanted them badly. Problem was that they were the most expensive skates on the market -- 60 bucks then -- and my dad wasn't making big money. But my parents came through although the size they got for me was so big that I had to wear three pairs of heavy socks to make them fit."
HANGING OUT WITH THE BEST: I always wanted to be friendly with the best players and learn from them. As it happened, the best player in Hinton was a guy named Real Gamache, who was three years old than me. When we'd practice together Real would teach me a lot; or until he went on to play Junior hockey in the Western Hockey League. Eventually, I followed him to the WHL catching on with the Calgary Centennials. That's where I started thinking about making a career out of hockey.
HOW THE EXPERTS FEEL ABOUT BOB NYSTROM:
NBC BROADCASTER MIKE EMRICK:
"At 6-1, 200 pounds Bob was an Islander who was idolized by me because his was the way I thought a player should be. The measure of Bobby Ny was the type of person he was -- a physical, skilled presence on the ice and a good soul off it.
"Bob epitomized the dynasty Islanders who were so good for us in the media to work with. They reflected the class of Bill Torrey and Al Arbour. Ny was -- and is -- front and center having the kind of class that doesn't fade. When I think of Bob, I says to myself, 'This is a 'mensch.'"
HALL OF FAME BROADCASTER JIGGS MCDONALD:
"Nystrom was every bit as important to the Islanders as Mike Bossy's goal-scoring. Bobby played in a different era when toughness mattered and he was one player who kept the opponents honest. They didn't come any stronger or tougher than Number 23.
"Nobody took advantage of a teammate of Nystrom's without paying a price. The respect given him and the space he created as a gifted player was a reward for all the hard work he put in along his path to the NHL -- and the accolades he earned."
GLENN (CHICO) RESCH, FORMER ISLANDERS GOALTENDER:
"When his gloves came off, look out! Ny never lost a fight. From his rookie year on he kept developing his finesse skills and his physical development. He just kept getting bigger and stronger. In addition, his overall intensity was very impressive.
"A fight he had with Dave Hutchison in Los Angeles was one of the best I ever saw. Both players with long, blond hair grabbed each other and began trading big right hand punches; no bobbing and weaving. One would land a haymaker and then the other. Neither went down and, finally, they just got tired and stopped.
"Away from the rink, he was a nice, fun guy who liked to laugh; even if it meant laughing as himself. Above all, Bobby was fiercely loyal to his team and his teammates."