Carols, pastries, a note from mom among Predators' Christmas traditions

Somewhere in the snow-covered Swedish wilderness, Filip Forsberg is on a snowmobile.

He’s much younger — years from becoming a star forward for the Nashville Predators — and he’s got Christmas on his mind.

Whizzing through the forest, not far from his grandmother’s house, the snowmobile carries him and his family to the perfect spot to find the right tree. There’s plenty to choose from, but only one tree will do. They’ll know it when they see it.

When it’s found, the saws come out. Not long after that, it’s in his grandmother’s house, decorated, with presents underneath.

Christmas traditions among the Predators players imbue timeless holiday scenes — cutting down a tree, watching a movie, sharing a meal.

Here are some of our favorites.

Michael McCarron’s Christmas note

Every year, after getting home from Christmas Eve church service, Michael McCarron would have two things waiting for him on his bed: a new pair of pajamas and a note from his mother.

The pajamas were standard issue, but the note was the real gift. It was his mother’s chance to recall her favorite moments from the year and express unadulterated pride in her son.

Even now, at 30 years old, McCarron looks forward to his mother’s Christmas note.

“I don’t know if I’ll be getting pajamas (this year), but I already got the note,” he said.

Juuse Saros’ Finnish meals

When goaltender Juuse Saros thinks of Christmas, he thinks of traditional Finnish meals. The centerpiece is a baked ham, usually served with mustard, but there’s plenty on the menu.

“Potato casserole, carrot casserole, smoked salmon . . . all kinds of different things,” he said.

The meal, usually served on Christmas Eve, is punctuated with traditional Finnish desserts. In addition to piparkakut (similar to gingerbread), Saros enjoys pastries like joulutorttu — a plum jam pastry, usually baked in the shape of a Christmas star.

Justin Barron’s mini-stick tournament

Growing up in a hockey-obsessed neighborhood in Halifax, Nova Scotia, defenseman Justin Barron always looked forward to the mini-stick tournament hosted nearby.

Justin and his brother, Winnipeg Jets forward Morgan Barron, would participate in the indoor tournament every year. Unfortunately, they were never on the same team — the rest of the participants wouldn’t stand for that.

Teams would play for several hours on Christmas before deciding a winner and parting in the evening.

“It was sick, there was a bracket and everything,” Barron recalled.

Similarly, coach Andrew Brunette played in an annual ball hockey game in his neighborhood. He was the only ball hockey participant who eventually made it to the NHL, but he insists he was the second-best player every year.

“My dad would play, too, so he would dominate the game,” Brunette said, laughing.

Roman Josi’s carol singing

Roman Josi remembers opening plenty of presents. But the defenseman also remembers a hard rule set by his grandmother: Before anything could be unwrapped, they had to sing Christmas songs.

No one touched anything before carols.

“My grandma always made us do that,” Josi said. “Some Swiss songs, but also Christmas songs.”

Don Cherry’s ‘Rock’em Sock’em Hockey’ on repeat at the O’Reilly house

For years, hockey legend Don Cherry produced an annual highlight video in December, just in time for the holidays. “Don Cherry’s Rock’em Sock’em Hockey” was the most anticipated release in the O’Reilly house.

“My brother and I would be so pumped to get that every year,” O’Reilly said. “All the highlights, all the playoff series, all the sickest goals. We’d watch it every Christmas, sometimes we’d get it the night before.”

Back when Ryan and brother Cal took in the highlights, it was being released on VHS.

“We would watch it through,” O’Reilly said, “then hit rewind and watch it all over again.”

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Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Carols, pastries, note from mom among Predators’ Christmas traditions

Carols, pastries, a note from mom among Predators’ Christmas traditions

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