Lukas Vejdemo told me that our interview would be delayed. Someone from the Montreal Canadiens website would be calling in a few minutes before we could start. But when we finally spoke, it was easy to pick up the excitement he has about his first NHL contract.
Vejdemo told Eyes On The Prize last night that he hadn’t really understood how fast everything had happened and struggled to believe that it was actually real. He also said it was “a childhood dream coming true” in regards to the newly-signed contract with the Canadiens.
When we spoke again the next day, the excitement was still there.
It’s a different Vejdemo than the one that posted a picture of himself after the draft in a Montreal Canadiens toque:
Great to be a part of the @CanadiensMTL organization. Couldn’t wish for a better team and hockey town! #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/1BQG1gEzbQ
— Lukas vejdemo (@vejde96) June 27, 2015
He seems more confident and his voice is clear even in English – a language he didn’t want to give an interview just a year and a half ago.
It seems that Vejdemo won’t show up for development camp, which follows the same pattern as Artturi Lehkonen. Most likely due to the fact that you need a full summer of training rather than crossing the Atlantic twice and losing sleep and practice hours due the jet lag.
Vejdemo isn’t sure he’ll play in the SHL next season, and on a direct question about a possible clause to return to the SHL instead of going to Laval in the AHL he answered “no comment,” something that Lehkonen did as well when in the same situation.
Here is his interview with Eyes On The Prize after having signed the contract with Montreal Canadiens (I apologize for the echo on Lukas’s part of the conversation):
