When Denmark last hosted the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Men’s World Championships in 2018, Kraken prospect and Danish native Oscar Fisker Molgaard was 13 years old. On May 9, Molgaard and his teammates will face Team USA to open group play at the 11,000-capacity Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning. You could say it’s a hockey dream come true for Molgaard, but it’s more than that.
“That's been a goal of mine since I was younger,” said Molgaard happily during a recent conversation at the Coachella Valley Firebirds training center in the southern California desert. “Back in 2018, during the Worlds, I told my parents I wanted to be a part of it when it came back to [Denmark] again in ’25. It's always been a goal I've been working towards. To finally be here and hopefully [he is a modest 20-year-old] be able to play those games. It’ll be huge with friends and family in the stands, an incredible experience.”
To that vision, Molgaard and his parents, Trine Fisker and Lars Molgaard, decided the Kraken's 2023 second-round draft choice needed to move to Sweden for more intense competition.
“There is a high difference in the level of competition at home in Denmark compared to Sweden,” said Lars Molgaard back on his son’s draft day. “In order to develop and maybe have a chance to be here today, we [all three] decided Oscar might have to go to Sweden.”
Molgaard’s father knows. He played 15 years of hockey professionally, often as a teammate of Todd Bjorkstrand, who is former Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand’s father. Forward Alexander True, a Kraken expansion pick from San Jose and former WHL Seattle Thunderbirds star and AHL Coachella Valley regular, will be one of Molgaard’s teammates.
Molgaard moved to Sweden to live with a billet family at age 14 and by 18 was living alone in an apartment in Jonkoping, a southern town of nearly 113,000, as he embarked on his rookie season with HV71 in Sweden’s top pro league. The Fisker-Molgaard family decision clearly worked to plan, fueled by his mom knowing her son’s outgoing nature: “Even away from the ice as a boy, he was somebody who always made friends pretty easily. He's easygoing, and that makes it easy for him to get to know people.”
Making Friends in Coachella Valley
After his HC71 season ended, Molgaard traveled to Coachella Valley to join the Firebirds in the customary player-development move to introduce prospects to the team, facility, and community where they will play and live. In Molgaard’s case was inserted into the lineup right away, appearing in seven games with two goals and an assist while impressing with his two-way game and attending to small details as a centerman. Firebirds coach Derek Laxdal showed full confidence in Molgaard, slotting him on the first and second forward lines. It’s telling that he appeared in that many games.
“If a player is ready to step in and contribute to the team, we'll look to get them in the lineup,” said Laxdal before Molgaard returned home April 20 to join Team Denmark. “It springboards them into the summer and the next season going forward, especially a player like Oscar. He's come in and contributed and been a solid part of our lineup.”
Molgaard said he was warmly welcomed by the players, a sign of the strong Firebirds culture in that any prospect who draws into the lineup means a teammate faces a potential healthy scratch.“It’s been fun,” said Molgaard about his CVF stint. “The boys have been making me feel a part of the team in a good way. The guys are battling for home-ice advantage in the playoffs and we’ve played important games. I've just been trying to go in and play my way. And I think that the boys have accepted that.
They have definitely been helping me get to my best level of play. In that way, we've been helping each other out there. Some of the [prospects] have been here too in the spring. They know what's all about and have been taking care of me. It makes me push for the team. The older guys, too, who have been showing me around, giving me rides back to the hotel or rink. We've been around the town getting to see the community.”
Going On the Offensive
On the ice, whether in games or practices, the 6-foot, 175-pound forward has impressed Firebirds coaches and the Kraken hockey operations group with his work habits and maturity, along with upgraded offensive skills to match a formidable defensive game.
“Being a pro for almost three years, I think I have an advantage in that way,” said Molgaard. “I like being coachable. I like listening and learning new stuff. I've been trying to learn as much as possible. Whenever the coaches have told me to do anything, I've been looking to do it to get better.”
In his mind, Molgaard has a confident view of how and where his game improved this season, in time for his American Hockey League debut and to play his best in front of the world championship crowd during the group round with hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals, which will be played in Stockholm, with Sweden also a host nation and Molgaard’s second home the past six years.
“I would say my offensive skills are stronger,” said Molgaard. “I've always been known as a two-way center man, especially my defensive skills. When I first started playing in the SHL [Swedish Hockey League], I was just trying to survive to get a spot on the team. I think what's been buried the past two years is how I have grown my offensive skills too. I can play both sides of the puck. It's always fun to be playing with the puck. That's what I've been working on a lot this season.”
