We meet up with Adam Engström at the fromagerie in Ängelholm, the best spot for cheese and their famous shrimp salad over lunch (it is tough for a kid from Gothenburg to concede, but this is the best shrimp salad in Sweden). Engström looks visibly bigger and a lot more comfortable than in our last meeting. He has grown in more ways than one during his first season in Laval.
As we sit down the first topic of conversation is the biggest change for the season, and the answer is a bit unexpected. “Moving as far away as Canada, being that far away from my family, was difficult. While I adopted to the ice reasonably fast the things off the ice took longer to adjust to. It wasn’t until December that I felt I was finding myself comfortable. When everything was working as normal. Everything goes faster, sure, but I adjusted to that quickly. It was other things that took time.”
Gustav Lindström was an important part of the adjustment, not only because he was a Swede but also because of his experience in North America. It did help that Adam had spent two seasons in Rögle as it helped prepare him for a life on his own. He knew how to set up a bank account, pay the bills, and find an apartment.
One thing that fans usually talk about is the adjustment to the North American ice and Adam concedes that it was an adjustment. Part was the speed but also the constant forechecking. Getting hit two to three seconds after you have released the puck was different. He is adamant that he isn’t against it, but that it took some getting used too.
He feels that he played some of his best hockey in the playoffs. He likes the physical aspect of the game. “I used my body better, I threw in an extra hit if I could. I felt I was getting more into the game as I got a bit more physical.” We laugh a bit when I remind him about a scrap with Emil Sylvegård from last year’s playoffs in Sweden.
When asked about playing with David Reinbacher, as it seems they did find some chemistry, Engström explains that “we both like to hold onto the puck and we both skate well. We trust each other because we are a similar kind of players. We know what the other will do because it’s what you would do.” When asked if his German from high school got used, he laughs and says “only the bad words, they were the only ones I remember.”
Looking back on the full season in Laval, Engström quickly points out that “it was important to win the regular season and Pascal Vincent was a big part of that. He had a solid gameplan be he is also a good, smart coach. He get the messages across in a very good way. He also builds a team and makes sure that everyone is involved. Even if we were a young team it felt good and he helped me a lot in my development and adjustment to the North American game. Vincent had a good game plan and I think we executed that well, which led to the regular-season and playoff success”
Adam then moves on to highlight another coach who was equally important: Daniel Jacob, Laval’s defensive coach. “He is a lot like Max [Bohlin, defensive coach in Rögle]. He uses video and shows me the details on where to improve, always giving feedback, always helping you to improve. They are very similar in their approach to coaching and I really like that approach so it became an important part of my development. Especially considering that I wanted to improve on my defence to make the path to the NHL as smooth as possible. We can’t all be Lane Hutson,” Engström finishes the sentence with a laugh.
It becomes a bit of discussion with regards to Laval Rocket and the playoffs against Charlotte. In the end it’s sort of settled with the conclusion that they were a bit more heavy, older, and got away with a few more calls. “There was a chance if we could have had it 2-2 going into the third where it could have changed, but as we went down 3-0 in games it felt like a mountain to climb.” He points out the fact that the experience was valuable as not many of the players had gone on a deep playoff run in professional hockey before.
Engström sees some resemblance between Laval and Rögle: both teams have passionate fans, so the arenas are (more or less) always sold out. The difference is the culture; it gets loud in North America, but you don’t feel the constant chants as in Europe. It’s different, and liking one thing doesn’t mean that you think the other is bad. “I loved playing in Ängelholm, and I love playing in Laval.”
It seems that Engström has followed all the teams in Montreal during the season. He went to the Habs’ home games against Washington in the payoffs, he gives a shoutout to Trois-Rivières on its championship and mentions that while the Montreal Victoire had a solid season it was a bit disappointing for them to go out in the semifinals.
He has also followed Rögle in its disappointing season — “It was a lot of turnover but we should never lose to Malmö in the playoffs” — and Djurgården (his team growing up). “It was great that Stockholm got a team back into the SHL, the final series against AIK was fantastic.”
When asked what he thought about another Montreal prospect, Filip Eriksson, Engström gives his own insights to Eriksson’s usage “I liked him. He had a varied game, was really important for the team.” He then continued to quiz me about Eriksson’s season and what happened to the player, clearly taking an interest in the future of his fellow Swede.
Having looked at the past, it was time to look to the future. Engström is in Ängelholm to partake in Rögle’s training. “This is my base for the summer, I will go back home [to Stockholm] for a week or two, but this is home now. I will partake in Rögle’s off-season training and then when they get on the ice [in late July/early August] I will work on things alone on the ice with Max [Bohlin] and maybe get a practice or two with the team as well, but mostly individual ice training towards the end. I need to gain a few kilos I have a program with me to follow, but focus is essentially to get better in every aspect of the game.
“My aim is to get to camp and make is as difficult as possible for the coaches, to make it as good as possible. I don’t expect to make the team at that moment, but of course it’s what I want; if I get to play for Laval that’s not a bad thing. I will play as hard as I can and work for a call-up down the line. At the moment I don’t have a set goal for the NHL next season, but rather to get better to develop my game further and to become an NHL defender in the long run.”
As we leave Adam mentions another goal for the summer: his current handicap as a golfer is 0.5. “I need to get to scratch, that’s another goal for the summer.”
