"I didn't grow up with the universities in the States and it was super exciting when they show up and all these people are so excited and they're screaming and yelling," Ronning said. "I'm excited for (Carly). She's looking forward to the school year."
Ronning isn't just excited for his daughter starting the school year, but for the Preds starting the 2022-23 season as well. He still follows the team and believes Forsberg is prime to take the next step as one of the NHL's elite talents.
"Re-signing Forsberg was a huge deal for the Preds," Ronning said. "He's a star in the league. Forsberg has been one of the best players in the league and one of the best talents the Preds have developed. Now that he's re-signed, he can go out and play his game and not feel the pressure now. There's a lot of talent there now and they are hard to play against."
Ronning, a 17-year NHL veteran who tallied 81 of his 306 career goals with Nashville, understands what retaining Forsberg's skill set brings to the offense.
"When the game is on the line with a minute to go and it's tied or you're down by one, you want the puck in his hands because he's got the skill to make a play," said Ronning. "He's that kind of guy. He's got the determination when the game is at that clutch point, he's a game breaker."
Before Forsberg dazzled fans in Nashville there was Ronning. After playing the first seven games of the 1998-99 season with the Phoenix Coyotes, Ronning was traded to Nashville, with Richard Lintner, for future considerations on Oct. 31, 1998.
Ronning made an immediate impact, totaling 49 or more points in each of his four seasons with the Preds. In fact, he led the Preds in scoring during the first four seasons of the franchise's existence. During his tenure, he was a part of some of the organization's most historic moments in the early years of the franchise.
"Playing in my 1,000th game there was pretty exciting," Ronning said. "I remembered when we played the Detroit Red Wings our first season. It was a stormy night in December and somehow the fans still came out. It was amazing. We ended up winning the game. That was huge because we were never expected to win against the powerhouse teams with that type of team our first year. And then opening up the NHL season in Japan and scoring a goal within the first 10 seconds."
Ronning was then moved to the Los Angeles Kings in a trade deadline deal during the 2001-02 campaign and played two more seasons in the NHL. But the impact Ronning made in the first four years of the franchise remains prominent today.
These days Ronning and his wife Ivana are traveling throughout North America to visit their four children. They will surely be making a few stops at Bridgestone Arena when they come to visit Carly in Nashville.
"I'm excited to hopefully see the fans around," Ronning said. "I'm sure I'll be coming out four or five times. It's always exciting to see a person wearing a No. 7 Ronning jersey at a Preds game still."
