GENE'S BLOG: Home Away From Ekholm

A Monday morning skate that's followed by a flight.

It's generally the routine for the Edmonton Oilers when they are jetting off to a North American city for a road game. If it's a getaway to the Eastern time zone, the team likely won't skate and fly on the same day. If it's the same time zone or just an hour ahead, they hit the ice before they hit the tarmac.

This departure from Edmonton will feel a little different for the Oilers. It's their first road trip of more than one game, but it will really feel different for Mattias Ekholm as he's heading back to Nashville. 

It's where it all started for the bearded blueliner. In 2009, John Tavares was the first-overall pick in the NHL Draft. Evander Kane went fourth to Atlanta, while Edmonton used their top pick on Swedish ice hockey player Magnus Pääjärvi-Svensson. If you moved to the fourth round of the draft, which was held in Montreal, Nashville used the 102nd-overall selection to take Mattias Ekholm.

He was a big, bruising blueliner who was playing for Mora IK in the Swedish Elite League. Following the Draft, he joined the Predators for their development camp. He returned to Sweden and stayed there until coming back to North America for two games during the 2011-2012 season. There was a return trip overseas, where Ekholm won the Börje Salming Award as the Swedish Elite League's top defenceman. Then came the lockout in 2012-2013, so it wasn't until a year later that Ekholm made it in Nashville.

Along the way, he married Ida Bjornstad. They had two kids. He had one trip to a Stanley Cup Final and one letter – the letter 'A' – added to his sweater. It was in his 10th season in Music City, USA that he went from guitar country to Oil Country. February 28th was the exact date in 2023 when Ekholm and a 2023 sixth-round pick were sent to Edmonton for a 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 fourth-round pick and 2022 first-round pick Reid Schaefer.

It was no small deal for one big blueliner. Losing Barrie was a blow, he was as popular a teammate as there was on the Oilers. Not an easy move to make, but one deemed necessary by Edmonton. It also wasn't easy on Ekholm and his growing family. His wife was pregnant and for a decade, Nashville was their home. 

His truck didn't break down and his dog didn't run away, so this wasn't the predictable end to a country song; instead, the start of a new tune and town for hockey.

From day one, Mattias Ekholm fit the Edmonton Oilers. His experience, his style and his game were the right combination for his new team. It was hard to leave Nashville, but it was easy to arrive in Edmonton. The Oilers are a team on the verge of something, and to get where they want to be, the 33-year-old had to be a part of it. He teamed up with Evan Bouchard and it brought the best out of him. His impact was immediate. 

The fairytale finish wasn't there for the Swede and his squad in 2023. However, unlike some deadline rentals, Mattias Ekholm didn't depart after the playoffs. He did the exact opposite. His family spent the summer in the Alberta capital where his third child was born. He has three more seasons as an Oiler. For a man born on May 24, 1990 – the exact day when the Oilers lifted their last Stanley Cup, Mattias could be a big part of the next Cup here in Edmonton in what is now his home away from Ekholm.