Erik Granqvist, 51, enjoys working with JVM.
What could be his last with Viaplay.
– My contract expires after the season, says the TV profile.
Erik Granqvist.
Photo: MAXIM THORE / BILDBYRÅN
Erik Granqvist and Niklas Jihde during the premiere of Börje last fall.
Photo: HENRIK MONTGOMERY / TT NEWS AGENCY
Erik Granqvist lights up when he starts to think that the Junior crowns will play the final at home.
– Wow! Fantastic! The 04-05 generation is an incredibly good generation, this means so much for the team, but also for Swedish ice hockey in general. This success is so long awaited. Swedish ice hockey has needed new idols for young girls and boys for a while now, that you can dream of becoming a new Jonathan Lekkerimäki. I think it is crucial for our sport, says Granqvist with emphasis in his voice.
Sweden has advanced via the group stage, quarter- and semi-finals to the final meeting of the tournament where the USA is the opposition. The matches, including the memorable semi-final against the Czech Republic, have been broadcast on Viaplay, which owns the JVM rights together with SVT.
In Viaplay’s studio, Erik Granqvist has camped together with pair horse Niklas Jihde and expert colleagues Valentina Lizana, Mattias Norström and Håkan Södergren.
– We have an enormous sense of team that we have built up over ten years. Everyone contributes with their top qualities. We are different people, but everyone gets to be part of the gang – just as it should be in a well-functioning team.
Something happens in Granqvist’s eyes when he gets to talk about Niklas Jihde.
– I love Niklas Jihde more than anything else in this world, except for my family of course. Jihde as an anchor in the studio is like having Noah Östlund, Mika Zibanejad or Sidney Crosby as a center. Superb game sense and perfect passes all the time.
In the Viaplay studio in Scandinavium with Niklas Jihde and Håkan Södergren during the JVM semi-final against the Czech Republic.
Photo: JESPER ZERMAN / BILDBYRÅN
Their relationship has grown strong since Granqvist’s entry on the channel in the 14/15 season. They worked with JVM back then and have since been followed during the World Cup, World Cup and most of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The experience in Gothenburg is among the coolest Granqvist has experienced during his years as a TV expert.
– This fabulous atmosphere in Scandinavium and the success of the Junior crowns are at the top for me together with the World Cup gold in 2018 and the World Cup in 2016, where the young superstars led by McDavid, MacKinnon and Matthews gave us a taste of the hockey of the future.
Hopefully we survive
When Expressen meets Erik Granqvist in Scandinavium, he tells us that this will possibly be his last JVM with Viaplay. His four-year contract expires after the season.
– This JVM has been absolutely phenomenal and if this were my last year at Viaplay, it would be a magical ending. Imagine if it becomes gold at home. It doesn’t get any bigger than that.
For almost a decade, Granqvist has sat in the expert’s chair, but he has not actually let go of the coaching profession completely during these years. Behind the scenes, he has helped both Swedish and European goalkeepers.
– I have been a goalkeeper coach and mentor to several goalkeepers for many years, not many people know that. I have done that undercover, that I coached top goalkeepers in Europe. They simply want a second opinion, in which case I have contributed feedback. It is very stimulating and educational in every way.
If the career does not continue in front of the television cameras, the 51-year-old Bodenson is open to working as a goalkeeping coach again.
– It may happen that I go back and coach full time. I have to be grateful for every year I get to be in ice hockey. I have had the privilege of playing the world’s best ice hockey at Viaplay, both at junior and senior level, for so many years. This is my dream job, but I am well aware of how the industry works.
How worried are you about Viaplay’s future?
– I pray and hope that it will be resolved so that we can continue to cover the NHL, JVM and the men’s WC. These are tough times, everyone knows that, but Niklas and I have said it to each other: We will take one tournament and broadcast at a time. If this is our last championship, then we will give it our all. We want to make it as good as possible for the viewers.
Have you started talking to the Viaplay management about extending the contract?
– Now there has been a huge amount with everything else, what happened during the autumn. I myself have thought that I will give my all in every broadcast, so we will see in the spring what happens with me and Viaplay. Hopefully we survive.
Would you consider working for TV4 or SVT if that opportunity arose?
– I am humbly grateful if I get to work with hockey. Of course I want to continue working with Jihde and the gang. If I continue as a so-called expert in television, then I am grateful for that, otherwise I will work as a coach.
Granqvist during a match in Catena Arena. He lives in Ängelholm.
Photo: NICLAS JÖNSSON / BILDBYRÅN
Since you live in Ängelholm, it’s easy to start thinking about Rögle, have you talked about anything?
– I spoke to Rögle several years ago when I was about to sign a new contract with Viaplay. Then we had a good dialogue. When I went from coaching to television after my years in Rögle and Färjestad, I wanted to prioritize my family and my son Jonathan, I wanted to have more time with them. I thank life every day for taking that step.
Friday evening, Sweden can win its third JVM gold in history. Since SVT broadcasts the final, Erik Granqvist will get to fully assume the role of supporter.
– It will be as awesome as it gets. I hope for the whole team, the coaches and the players, but also for Swedish ice hockey that it will be a gold medal now. It would be so incredibly important for everyone involved, concludes the TV profile.
2024-01-05 18:58:51
#profile #leave #Praying #hoping
