With the NHL only ceasing operations for three days at Christmastime, and maybe a fourth if the schedule falls favorably, there simply isn't enough time for the Euros to get back home for the holiday. Instead, Ekholm seeks out one thing that will make him feel like he's back in Sweden.
"We have a special Christmas ham," the blueliner said of the feast he'll enjoy in the coming days. "It's funny, we actually bought them last year from a couple that lives in the U.S. somewhere, but they do them in a particular way. You have to insert salts in their veins, and that's how they become special. There's a couple that does it and they ship them out, so it's awesome."
Ham is also an important part of the Finnish Christmas, according to forward Miikka Salomaki, while Roman Josi says he always had fondue with beef and chicken growing up in Switzerland.
In the United States, of course, Christmas morning is when the gift giving commences, sometimes much to the chagrin of parents who would rather be sleeping than assembling toys at dawn.
But something Ekholm, Josi and Salomaki all say they had in common as Europeans is the Christmas rundown - particularly the fact that it's actually Dec. 24 that plays the role as the big day.
In the Ekholm household, it was always around 3 p.m. when Donald Duck appeared on the television, with all ages stopping to tune in. Then, there was an extravagant Christmas meal, followed by the arrival of Santa Claus - through the front door of the house, not the chimney - later that evening.
Josi also recalls the meal before Santa arrived, and Salomaki adds that a nice Christmas sauna would take place in the afternoon leading up to supper and gifts.
So, imagine, as a young child, having to wait all day to open presents.
"All we wanted to do was open presents right away," Josi laughed as he thought back to Christmas as a child in Bern. "And we always had to wait to sing Christmas songs. My grandma always wanted to sing Christmas songs, so we had to wait to sing the songs and then we got to open up the presents before dinner."
Once the music died down, Santa then appeared - again, through the front door, and while the children were wide awake - to distribute colorfully wrapped packages to those who could hardly wait. Then, on Christmas Day, the fun continued.
"There are no more presents or anything," Ekholm said of the 25th of December. "That's just where you play with everything."
Nowadays, the wait isn't quite as excruciating as adults, but the Europeans still enjoy this time of year, as just about everyone does. It's a period to relax and take a reprieve from the everyday grind of the NHL schedule, while also spending time with friends and family, some of whom make the journey across the Atlantic Ocean to be with their loved ones.
For Ekholm and his wife, Ida, it will be the first Christmas with their young son, William. The defenseman said he's looking forward to combining family customs of years past and forming their own traditions to carry on.
As for the Finns - Salomaki, Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros - they'll likely get together for a meal and gift exchange, although they might be in the market for someone new to sport the red hat.
"Last Christmas, I was Santa," Salomaki laughed. "It didn't go too well, but it was still a good time with the Finns."
