LAS VEGAS — Liam Ohgren never, ever imagined he’d experience the hustle and bustle of the “crazy city” that is Sin City for the first time by making his NHL debut Friday night against the defending Stanley Cup champs.
That’s because he had other championship aspirations on his mind and figured he’d be getting to touch the Le Mat Trophy next month.
“I expected to play there … until May,” Ohgren said of his pro team in Karlstad, Sweden.
Farjestad was the best team in the Swedish Hockey League throughout the regular season. But the playoffs were another story, with ninth seed Rogle stunning Ohgren’s squad in a four-game first-round sweep.
That bitter disappointment led the Minnesota Wild to invite Ohgren to North America so he could play the remainder of the season with AHL Iowa. The 2022 first-round pick was never promised an eventual stint with the big club, so he was surprised when Iowa coach Brett McLean called him into his office after his third AHL game and told him the Minnesota brass felt he was ready to go to Vegas for his NHL debut.
“That was pretty insane,” Ohgren said.
It was 4 or 5 a.m. in Sweden, and he first tried his girlfriend, Juni.
She didn’t answer, so he called his father, Andreas, a personal trainer who as long as Liam can remember has trained some of the NHL’s best Swedes — guys like Nicklas Backstrom, Gabriel Landeskog, Niklas Kronwall, Patric Hornqvist, Jesper Bratt, Johnny Oduya and Rickard Rakell.
It could explain why his son is absolutely jacked, Wild coach John Hynes cracked Friday morning.
Shockingly, despite the early hour, Ohgren’s father “answered, actually,” Ohgren said, laughing.
Then he called his mom, Teresia.
“She picked up maybe after two calls,” Ohgren said.
And Thursday night, Ohgren’s parents, girlfriend, soon-to-be-stepdad, Linus, and his 17-year-old brother, Noel, an outstanding hockey player who skates for Djurgardens in Sweden, arrived in Las Vegas to take in Liam’s first NHL game inside the always lively T-Mobile Arena.
From left, Liam Ohgren’s girlfriend, Juni; brother, Noel; and parents, Andreas and Teresia. (Michael Russo / The Athletic)
Ohgren’s rookie solo lap came with the traditional showgirls dancing along the glass in the visitors’ end zone, the Drumbots — the Golden Knights’ popular drumline — banging away high above the opposite end zone and his family snapping photos left and right. Ohgren even spotted his younger brother and threw him a puck from warmups.
“I’ve trained NHL players for 16 years and now my kid’s doing the rookie lap,” Andreas Ohgren said with a twinkle in his eyes. “It’s just going to take a while to realize it’s actually true. Just unreal.”
Not often you get to do your rookie solo lap with Vegas Showgirls trying to distract you. Here’s the first of many games for #mnwild rookie Liam Ohgren pic.twitter.com/45K6I9LwTl
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) April 13, 2024
Ohgren, 20, debuted on the left side of a line with fellow rookie Marat Khusnutdinov and eight-year pro Vinni Lettieri. In a 7-2 loss, Hynes said Ohgren was a bright spot, looking solid in 14 minutes of ice time. Ohgren even got a spot on the No. 2 power-play unit with Marcus Johansson, who not only lives in Karlstad where Ohgren played pro hockey but has known Ohgren since he was a kid.
Andreas Ohgren also trains Johansson. In 2015, when Liam was 11 and Noel was 9, the Ohgren family traveled to Washington to take in a Capitals game and spent Christmas with Backstrom and Johansson.
Now 33, Johansson was an NHL teammate of one of those little boys.
How weird was that for Ohgren?
“Probably worse for (Johansson),” Ohgren said, laughing. “It really is crazy. I’ve gotten to spend time with a lot of NHL players and train with some of them, and I’ve looked up to (Backstrom and Johansson) since way younger than that.”
Said Johansson, “I knew that his dream was to come here one day and it’s fun that he’s coming to our team and he’s a great hockey player and a great kid. It’s fun to follow his success and fun for him to get the first one.”
NHLers Nicklas Backstrom, left, and Marcus Johansson, right, pose with a young Liam Ohgren, center left, and Noel Ohgren, center right. (Courtesy of Liam Ohgren)
Ohgren chose to play for Farjestad last summer after his original team, Djurgardens, lost in the qualifier finals in its attempt to get back into the SHL. But his season there got off to a tough start when he injured his back training last summer. In the fall, the Wild flew Ohgren to Minnesota, where he says he was diagnosed with stress fractures in his back. The good news is he didn’t require surgery, returned to Sweden, continued his rehab and eventually debuted, scoring 12 goals and 21 points in 26 games.
He also captained Sweden in what was his third World Junior Championship. He’s a well-decorated international player, captaining Sweden in other tournaments as well.
“We didn’t know exactly what it was, so I got (to Minnesota) just to figure out exactly what it was and what we needed to do,” Ohgren said of the injury. “I’m happy that we didn’t need to do anything, that it was just time it needed. So, I took maybe about three months and then I got back.
“I’m really happy that I chose Farjestad as a team. They helped me so much, and they’ve been so great to me. I got back to world juniors, which was an unbelievable experience to play at home. Then I finished the season with Farjestad. I think I played really well at the end, and unfortunately we got out of the playoffs pretty early. But overall a great season.”
Hynes liked what he saw from Ohgren in Thursday’s practice. He sees a good skater, somebody who is strong on the puck with elite hockey sense. He’s got offensive instincts. Hynes said he looks forward to watching his adjustment these final four games of the Wild’s season.
Regardless, just like with Khusnutdinov, Jesper Wallstedt — who shut out Chicago last weekend and will start in San Jose on Saturday night — and even inexperienced Declan Chisholm, Hynes feels these test runs late in the season will prove valuable heading into next training camp.
“You come in and you see multiple things,” Hynes said. “You’re seeing a guy like Kirill (Kaprizov), how he practices, the fitness level he’s at, for example. You’re around other guys in our room where you see the professionalism that they have day in and day out. And then I think you see some of your strengths and weaknesses as a player of really what is it really, truly like to play in the NHL and then what areas do I need to really improve on.
“In my experiences when guys have had that opportunity … I think you really get a sense of where you truly are and how hard the league is and how good it is and I think that sometimes can ignite players for their training and getting themselves to the next level.”
That’s what Ohgren is hoping for in this trial run — a sneak peek into the NHL game and lifestyle so he comes to camp in September ready to make the team.
“I think even if I didn’t get to play an NHL game, I think it was good to get over here and learn how it is over here and play on the smaller ice,” he said. “It’s a very different game over here, so I think it’s been a great time for me and it will be great for me to prepare for next season.
“I’m going to do everything I can to make the team next year. I think I’ve developed a lot this year and feel like I’m taking steps every time. So, I am going to do everything I can.”
Ohgren’s entire family will travel to San Jose for Saturday’s game. Ohgren’s mom, her fiancé, Linus, and his girlfriend also plan to attend Monday’s game in Los Angeles.
“This is just amazing,” Teresia said.
Andreas said there was a “weird kind of excitement slash nervousness” for the family heading into Friday’s game.
“I just posted a picture on Instagram from when he was 2 starting off and it’s been a dream for him ever since,” Andreas said. “Now he’s going to be on the same ice with his idols and all these stars I’ve trained. And Noel, give him a few years, and he’ll be here, too.”
(Top photos of Liam Ohgren with the Wild and at age 2 courtesy of Wild and Andreas Ohgren)
