Swedish ice hockey: from sex toys to somersaults

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Last season, it was flying dildos that made Leksand of Sweden’s Allsvenskan hockey league a household name.

And while sex toys sailing through the air may have been a one-time (albeit memorable) occurrence, the scrappy team from central Sweden has once again found itself in the international limelight.

Taking the mantel from Leksand’s Jan Huokko, who was the object of last year’s famed ‘dildo downpour’, is 18-year-old up-and-comer Henrik Andersen.

Normally, a goal by a virtual unknown in the country’s second highest league wouldn’t draw much attention…even if  it’s a rather nifty score.

But it’s not the goal that has everybody talking.

Rather, it’s Andersen’s jump for joy after notching his first goal in the league that has catapulted this budding hockey talent from obscurity to overnight sensation.

Andersen celebrated the score, the first in a 4-0 drubbing of opposing Björklöven on Tuesday night, by not merely jumping, but more or less taking a flying leap right through the plexiglass behind the goal.

The YouTube clip of Andersen’s unintentional celebratory somersault over the boards (see below), already linked to by sports websites across North America, is certainly on its way to becoming a highlight reel classic.

If only Andersen could have matched the grace he displayed in slyly slipping the puck past the goalie when he tumbled into the crowd. On the bright side, he’s likely caught the attention of NHL scouts, although not necessarily in the way he intended.

And speaking of Huokko, he announced on Wednesday – the day following Andersen’s acrobatics – that he’s retiring from professional hockey due to a career-ending knee injury. Hopefully he’ll be able to find something to keep him satisfied during all his new-found free time.

The question now is, who will be Leksand’s next international star?

(To see the clip with a classical music soundtrack, click here)

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 11:11 am and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.