Tomas Holmstrom: A Goalie’s Worst Nightmare

On November 16 & 17, the Detroit Red Wings will face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden as part of the 2023 NHL Global Series. To commemorate this historic event and pay tribute to Detroit's Swedish connection, each week leading up to the Global Series, we will feature a Swedish Red Wings story in our series, 'How Swede It Is' presented by JP Wiser's. Each story is a testament to the dedication and resolve between the players and the Red Wings to build upon and maintain a tradition of excellence between Swedish hockey and the Red Wings. We continue our series with forward Tomas Holmstrom.

Tomas Holmstrom never thought much about playing in the NHL.

"I was playing in the league under the Swedish Elite League and in 1992-93, I got the chance to move up to a better team in the Elite League in Sweden," Holmstrom said. "There was a scout for Washington that saw me play with that team and told me that I was going to be drafted. I thought I was going to be a Washington Capital, but it ended up that the Detroit Red Wings took me in the 10th round (257th overall - 1994 NHL Entry Draft). My goal at that time was to first play in the Swedish Elite League and maybe even break into the Swedish national team before I would get the chance to go to the NHL.

"Until they drafted me, I had no idea that the Red Wings were interested in me. I didn't know that much about the team except for a few of the players like Steve Yzerman, Dino Ciccarelli and Keith Primeau; who was a tough boy. I knew that they were a good hockey club and one of the Original Six teams. I didn't know much more than that."

Unbeknownst to Holmstrom, Detroit's European scout Hakan Andersson was aware of him and though he liked certain aspects of his game, he wasn't sure if Holmstrom's build would hold to the rugged NHL style of play.

"He was actually at a camp when he was 17 years old for the Under-18 team. He may have turned 18, I don't know," Andersson said. "He was there at a camp, he was small, but he was tenacious and he kept going to the net and he battled. But he was about 5-foot-10, 165 pounds. Then a couple years later, I stumble across a friend of mine who was a coach up north, had him on his team, and I said, 'Oh, I know that little shrimp.' He said, 'No, no, no, no. This kid is 6-feet, 190 pounds.' This was two, three years later. So, I said, 'Oh, that's interesting.' So that's how I stumbled on him."

It took a few more tune-up seasons in Sweden before the Red Wings brought Holmstrom to North America for the 1996-97 season. And when he arrived, his Red Wings teammates were intrigued by "The Demolition Man," a nickname a Swedish broadcaster gave him because his game was fearless, abrasive and extremely physical.

"All we heard about, he had this nickname, "The Demolition Man," Kris Draper said. "I remember him coming over here, his first training camp. It's at Joe Louis Arena and sure enough, Homer being Homer, probably had no idea who anybody was on the Detroit Red Wings. He took a run at Stevie (Yzerman) in a scrimmage game. All of a sudden, I was on the bench, Joe Kocur stands up and basically said, 'You'll never ever do that again.' Homer just kind of looked him off, like who are you? It was kind of a double-edged sword for Homer; taking a run at Stevie, not smart, and then basically looking off Joe Kocur, that probably wasn't even smarter, but that was Homer.

"He came out and he had that attitude that he just didn't care. If you're not on his team, he's going against you. If you're on his team, your teammates are going to love you. Just remember him coming over, he always found a way to get the job done. Homer is one of my favorite teammates."

Where Holmstrom really excelled was in front of the opposition's net. His battles with the opposing goalies and defensemen were an exercise in futility because no matter how many times they hacked, whacked or leveled a cheap shot at him, Holmstrom was an immovable object. He stood his ground.

"When people watch what I do on the ice, they probably think that I have to be crazy. But I don't think anything about it," Holmstrom said in 2006. "I go in front of the net and I do my job. I want to set screens so my teammates can score goals or I can get a tip. If I can provide a screen and my teammate can score, I feed off that. I feel like I deserve a lot of the credit when that happens, because you can't really score a goal from the blue line if you don't have that screen."

Former Red Wings general manager Ken Holland still marvels when asked to describe what Holmstrom's game brought to the Red Wings during their unprecedented era of excellence.

"He would go to all the hard areas in the blue paint and who could forget Nick Lidström on the power play, Nick Lidström shooting the puck from the point and Homer tipping the puck home? They made beautiful music together, they were best friends on and off the ice," Holland said. "In the Stanley Cup playoff runs and the championships from 1998 and on, Homer was a really, really good regular-season player and he was even more important in the playoffs because of his desire and determination to win puck battles in the corner and to get to the blue paint, screen the goalie, tip pucks and create havoc around the other team's front of the net.

"He's one of seven Red Wings players to play 1,000 games in a Red Wing uniform. He became a really important player on the Red Wings for his entire career. One of the great late-round picks of the Red Wings in the history of the franchise."

Drop the mic, Kenny!

Tickets, Fan Travel Packages Available for NHL Global Series in Sweden

Red Wings fans can inquire here about fan travel options, including packages that include airfare, hotel accommodations, tickets to both Red Wings games, ground transportation, sightseeing, select meals and more.