It is Rögle’s second chance to win a first Swedish championship. Adam Engström is keen to point that out; it’s not about himself, it’s all about winning the cup.
Patrik Bexell: Playoffs in the SHL, and first finals coming up. How is the pairing with Brandon Davidson, playing on the off-side, and what has made that tick?
Adam Engström: Playing on the off-side is nothing weird to me now. I played there a lot, especially in Djurgården [in the Juniors]. Also, the last year here I played off-side. So I like it, and playing with Brandon. He’s really good defensively. We both know what we’ll get out of each other. We do simple stuff in our own zone. And then , yeah, we create stuff in the offensive zone, too. I think we match each other really well.
Do you feel that you built up the defensive-zone aspect of your game this year?
Yeah, I really think so. I struggled a little bit in the zone at the start of year, as did the team. As the team did better, I also think I did much better in the D-zone. Now, at the end of the year, I got better and better there. So, yeah, I think my defence has gotten better since the start of the year.
You also had a lot of partners over the season.
Yeah.
Finally getting a partner that you can rely upon and also play with for a month or two, not just a couple of games here and there, how much does that help?
Of course it helps, but it really doesn’t matter. You’re a pro, you should be able to handle playing with everybody. Of course, as you get to know the partner a little bit better, what he does on the ice all the time, I think we built up a good trust with each other during the playoff here. So yeah, it is good.
Playoffs here will start at a quarter-past-nine in the morning for Montreal fans. What should they look for in your game, and maybe in the stands as well?
I don’t think you should look so much at me now. I think it’s more important for the team now.
First, it’s the second final for the club. It’s huge. We have an opportunity here to take the first gold for the club. It’s going to be awesome.
How is the confidence in the group? You haven’t lost in the playoffs yet.
Yeah, the confidence is really good in the group. We have fun every day. We have really good practices every day here, so yeah, it’s fun to get to the rink every day now.
