Malmo's Martin Filander talks Sweden, player development and d-man Linus Lindstrand Cronholm

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-30-2018


The first thing I asked Malmo Redhawks assistant coach Martin Filander about defenseman Linus Lindstrand Cronholm was whether they spelled his last name with a 'K' or a 'C'. Not that it mattered too much, but the fact that there was some uncertainty showed that the fourth round draft pick by Buffalo was a bit obscure. At least to most hockey fans in North America. Filander replied with a chuckle, "for us it's a 'C' but I saw somewhere where it was a 'K' and I don't know where that came from."  (A quick note, Cronholm said at Sabres development camp his family spelled it with a 'C' but the government spelled it with a 'K'.)

Filander was in a rather jovial mood when I talked to him this week as Sweden's soccer team just  earned a berth in the World Cup Round of 16 with a 3-0 win over Mexico. That win coupled with a 2-0 loss by Germany sent Sweden to the next round while Germany, the defending champ, went home after the group stage for the first time in 80 years. Such a win for a nation of 10 million with less resources than most nations is huge and Filander was quick to point out that there's been an emphasis in Sweden to focus upon home grown talent and groom them for a future in sports or coaching or in the business world.

"In general, I think we know we can't afford to lose kids from sports," he told me, "we need to keep them in sports as long as possible and that way we get more sponsorship. Some of them will be the future leaders of our companies, some will be the future leaders of our teams as coaches and some of them will actually be the stars we need.

"That's kind of our mentality. Sometimes when we look at other countries with their enormous of talent and resources we may feel a little jealous about it," he continued, "but sometimes those countries might have the tendency to veer away from their path and try a new one if it doesn't work. We need to work with what we've got and actually develop everyone. It's a big difference in mentalities and possibilities."