New in Blue | Oliver Bjorkstrand

[Music] Hi and welcome to another episode of New and Blue. I’m Gabby Shirley here with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Oliver Bjorkstrand and Billy Mileck who is a zoo educator here at Busch Gardens. [Music] Mom is hungry. Yeah. We have learned plenty about these two giraffes. Now it is time to learn a little bit about you. Okay. We’re obviously on a safari ride. Have you ever been on a safari prior to today? I have. Uh honeymoon was in South Africa, so me and my wife in South Africa. We didn’t get to see the animals, but obviously they’re out in the wild and so on. So I’ve experienced it and it’s uh yeah, it was super super cool experience. Can you tell us what animal is your spirit animal? Oh, I’m not the biggest guy on ice, but I kind of find a way to get get around. So, I don’t know. It’s a snake a bad thing. Not in a not that I’m a snake, but like just kind of how they get around. I feel like I don’t know. Sneak by guys somehow. That’s pretty good. Now, is that um indicative that you are not afraid of snakes? Because I know a few people even on our Tampa Bay Lightning team and staff that absolutely hate snakes. No, I’m terrified. Uh I’ve seen a few in in Tampa now, the black ones. Um, yeah. I I don’t want to get too close. I just Yeah. They They freak me out a little bit. Yeah. So, don’t come into my house. All right. I could ask you many more questions about Africa, about animals, but we are switching to Denmark, which is where you were born and raised. Can you pinpoint one major difference between living there and living here in the States, whether it’s really big or kind of small and silly? You don’t need as many things in. I feel like you’re a little bit more of a minimalistic in Denmark. Um, in the States, you come over here, you see everything’s a lot bigger and so on. I mean, Denmark’s a small country. I guess honestly, a big thing is when you have a kid in Denmark, they if you go to a cafe, you’ll leave your kid sleeping outside of the cafe uh in the wagon. So, uh that’s very unique to Denmark. I think they do it in Sweden and Norway, too. But yeah, you don’t see that in the States as well. Yeah. You would get in trouble. Yeah. No, you leave him outside, you go have a cup of coffee, let him sleep, and uh yeah, you enjoy your time. Yeah. Do you speak Danish? Yes, obviously. I speak Danish. Um, I mean I I I lived there for 17 years from my childhood and then I came over here to to pursue hockey. But yeah, I speak it. I’m trying to teach my my son Danish. He’s picking up on it. Um, so yeah. Can you say something for us? What do you want me to say? Anything? Anything? Tampa. Okay. What was that? I just said we’re here at the the zoo and we’re looking at some giraffes, learning about it. Yeah. I love it. Yeah. What are some traditional Danish dishes for lunch? A lot of times, uh, so in Denmark is it’s very popular like a a basic meal would be I think it would be called rye bread essentially, but it’s made in a little bit different way than in the in the states. Um, so that’s what I would do. But then then you would put a lot of meats on it. Um, some mayonnaise and and toppings and so on. It’s called uh in Danish it’s called Sarple. But that’s that’s that’s a very like classic meal you’d have on a daily basis. Um yeah to fill you up. Other than that I’d say um Christmas there’s a a certain way to make a pork pork roast in a sense some potatoes and sauce and stuff like that. Are you seeing what’s going on right here? The giraffe is interested in Gabe Marte’s camera. I can’t. You okay, [Music] Oliver? According to my research, the most popular sports in Denmark when you were younger were soccer, handball, and bad mitten. Did you dabble? Uh, a little bit of soccer. never got into handball, but and Bmonson was more of like a just like a hobby thing, but all I mean I knew that all three are huge in Denmark. They love it. We’re all good at it. So, very cool. All right. So, your dad, he’s often credited with changing the culture of hockey over there in Denmark as a player and then as a coach. He introduced you to the sport. What’s the biggest lesson you learned from him? I feel like he kind of helped me push push those limits and making sure you you compete and you battle and you don’t um take take the ice off on the ice. So, um whenever I have a stretch where that’s happening, I feel like he’s he’s a good voice. Yeah. So, he’ll let me know. I read in a few different places that his will to win is unmatched. Do you also possess that competitive nature? Yeah, I mean I I definitely when I show it, I definitely got it from him. Um, yeah, when he came to Denmark and played hockey from the States, he uh, yeah, he’s he’s a competitor. He he always wanted to win. I don’t think it mattered if his team was winning 7-2, he still tried to score. So, he kind of had that mentality and and him and a group of guys who came to our club in um, in Hearning back then in the was it 90s or late ‘ 80s? They kind of helped push that kind of culture especially within our city. So, um, yeah, it’s a foundation within the club. Now, Oliver, you are also a dad. Your son Otto is 2 and a half years old. What would he think of all of this activity, the ride, the animals? Good question. I think he’d enjoy it. I mean, we try to expose him to a lot of the stuff like this. Um, we’ve been to some zoos and stuff like that, and as he’s getting older, it’s like each month he he starts getting into more and more things, but um, all this stuff is super fun for him. Now, I assume he will be in the building for some games, at least for the start of them. Yeah. How excited are you to return to the team healthy this year? Yeah. Uh really excited. It’s It’s hard being out, especially at that time of the year. So, um I can’t wait. It’ll be fun to see my my son on the glass hopefully in warm-ups a few times. I know he likes it. He likes getting the puck and it’s an easy way to kind of bond over it and so on. He he’s starting to understand it more and more. So, it’s a special part about u having a son and playing hockey and all that. Does he recognize you on the glass? Uh yeah. So, it’s getting better and better. Uh in the beginning, obviously, you have the cage on, you’re in a new environment. It’s like, does he get it? Does he not get it? But I he really is starting to understand it and I think throughout a whole summer now, even getting older, I think he’ll understand it even more. So, it’ll be fun, you know, seeing him on the glass and getting excited hopefully. Awesome. We will be looking forward to capturing some of those moments. Thank you so much for joining us here today. And to all the fans, thank you so much for watching this episode of New and Blue.

Reporter Gabby Shirley caught up with forward Oliver Bjorkstrand at
Busch Gardens for this edition of New in Blue.

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New in Blue | Oliver Bjorkstrand

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