A homecoming for Hedman

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman has a surprise for his teammates when they visit his home country next fall.
Exactly what that surprise is, Hedman's not divulging, at least on the record.

And we're not telling because, hey, who wants to get the hulking 6-foot-6 blueliner on their bad side?
"It's going to smell, I can tell you that much," Hedman said with a grin. "And it's food. It's a specialty in Sweden. I don't like it personally."
Are you going to introduce your teammates to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Victor? Except, instead of a cute, cuddly animated cartoon character with a luminous red-bulb nose, will this one be filleted and roasted and accompanied with a bit of au jus or maybe a rich red wine demi-glace?

After all, Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia are well-known to serve reindeer meat, considered a delicacy in those countries. That has to be it, right?
"Oh no, no, no," Hedman replied. "That's candy compared to this."
Lightning players might be wise to slip a bottle of Pepto-Bismol into their equipment bag before this long-distance road trip.
Early Thursday morning, the National Hockey League announced Tampa Bay will travel to Sweden to face off against the Buffalo Sabres in a pair of regular season games at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm November 8 and 9 as part of the 2019 NHL Global Series.
The Lightning will be heading to Europe as a team for the second time in franchise history. The Bolts visited Prague for the 2008 NHL Premiere and played two games against the New York Rangers, losing both by a 2-1 score.
Hedman and fellow Swedish defenseman Anton Stralman will get an opportunity to compete in two regular season NHL games in their home country along with Rasmus Dahlin, Johan Larsson, Lawrence Pilut and Linus Ullmark of the Sabres.
"That's going to be very special," Hedman said. "Some of these guys, (Steven Stamkos) I've played with over a decade, been together with this group for a long time. (Tampa) is my second home. To return to my home country with this organization means a lot to me. I think it's going to be great that it's not the opening games but in the middle of the season. There's going to be four points there for the taking. First and foremost, we go over there to win those games, but at the same time, it's going to be nice to spend some time in Sweden. I haven't been home during the season for a very long time, so it's going to be awesome."
Hedman is from Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, a six-hour car ride north of Stockholm the capital, and he returns there in the summer once the NHL season is complete. His parents still live in Ornskoldsvik as does most of his family. He's expecting the ticket requests for the Tampa Bay-Buffalo games to be substantial.
"I was jealous of guys that were fortunate enough to go over and play (international games)," Hedman said. "Once I heard the rumors, I started really pushing for it. For me to have this opportunity, it's going to mean a lot. You're probably only going to get this once in your career to go back home and play with my team who I've been with for over 10 years. It's going to mean a lot for me to go home and play with these guys."
The Lightning and Sabres will be playing at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, a distinctive building that, from the outside, looks like a cross between the giant golf ball at Epcot and R2-D2 from Star Wars.
Inside, the environment will be raucous and loud. A section of fans will be playing drums throughout the game, Hedman said, while the rest of the fans will be standing for the duration.

"It's an unbelievable atmosphere," said Hedman, who added the venue conjures negative memories for him as it was the site of Team Sweden's quarterfinal round loss to the Czech Republic at the 2012 IIHF World Championships. Sweden has since won back-to-back gold medals the last two World Championships. "Swedes love their hockey. I'm pretty sure they're going to be pretty excited about this one."
And Hedman's excited to show his teammates around Stockholm.
"Such a beautiful city, great food and people are very nice there," he said.
Speaking of food, sure you don't want to give your teammates at least a hint what they're in store for?
"I don't want to make them too nervous," he laughed.