NHL Stars Play for Charity in Sweeden

From NHL.com.

The professional hockey community always has been very active in charitable endeavors. Combine the opportunity to get together with old friends and teammates on the ice in exhibition games with the chance to raise money for worthy charities and you have Sweden’s Icebreakers team.

The brainchild of NHL superstars Peter Forsberg and Markus Naslund, the Icebreakers were founded in 2002. Through his participation in country music star Garth Brooks’ Teammates for Kids organization in the United States, Forsberg suggested forming a similar organization in Sweden, where such large-scale celebrity charities weren’t quite as common.

He and lifelong friend Näslund had little trouble recruiting a team of fellow Swedish NHL players and players from Elitserien (the Swedish Elite League). Forsberg and Näslund both hail from the small city of Örnsköldsvik, which lies in the Swedish län (extended county) of Västernorrland.

Through the establishment of an organization called Hockeyproffsens Stiftelse (The Hockey Pros’ Foundation), for which Forsberg provided the start-up funding, the Icebreakers raise money for children’s charities and hospitals throughout Västernorrland, which also includes the cities of Sundsvall, Timrå, Härnosand, Sollefteå, Kramfors and Ånge. A host of other Swedish NHLers also contributed their own money to the foundation and time to the Icebreakers.

“It feels unbelievably good and stimulating to work for this cause,” says Näslund. “It’s an incredible joy to experience the reaction and gratitude we get from the sick children.”

Click here to read more about the Icebreakers and the organizations they have helped.