"First of all, he's an incredible athlete," Cooper said. "Guys are blessed with skill and maybe not size. Some are fast but don't have the skill and all these things. Well, he's got it all. He's got size (6-foot-6, 229 pounds), he's got strength, he's got skill and he's got speed, so now you're one step ahead of the game already. And then he's a competitor, he wants to win. He wants to get better, and he cares. When you have all those attributes, there's a pretty good chance you have a good hockey player on your hands."
The Global Series will be the 12th and 13th NHL regular-season games played in Sweden and 11th and 12th at Ericsson Globe. Along with Hedman, Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (Lidkoping), forward Victor Olofsson (Ornskoldsvik) and goalie Linus Ullmark (Lugnvik) are natives of Sweden.
"It's going to be very special," Hedman said. "That's a cool experience for us to play against one another. I just hope [Ericsson Globe] is going to be painted in white and blue. We have to be sure that we're ready to go; and for me, I just have to treat it like any other game. Don't put too much thought into it, just go out there and play my game."
Playing the games scratches the surface. Cooper cited the importance of the Global Series to promote hockey in Sweden and reach out to fans on a personal level. The Lightning are in Stockholm to earn four points, but the event means something to Hedman, who returns to his roots with a chance to open new doors.
"Growing up, I didn't have the opportunity to see the NHL as much as kids can nowadays," Hedman said. "Both TV and obviously us coming over [are] going to help promote them and even more kids, hopefully, can dream of becoming an NHL player. I'm just looking forward to going back there, seeing kids and friends and family in the stands. Hopefully we can make their dreams come true watching an NHL game."