The tragic accident happened during a training match between Mora and Brynäs in October 1995. In the third period, Andreas Olsson was tackled and lost his balance. In the case, his skate went up and hit Bengt Åkerblom across the neck.
Andreas was there quickly and tried to stop the bleeding, but the carotid artery had been cut and Bengt’s life could not be saved.
Almost 30 years later, he talks about the words from Bengt’s parents and former partner Helena who helped him through the tragedy.
– Both Bengt’s parents and Helena told me that I shouldn’t feel any guilt, and that has helped me a lot, says Andreas Olsson.
– To hear it from those who were most deeply affected, it was incredibly important.
Helena Thorslund Gallacher was cohabiting with Bengt Åkerblom when he died. After the last fatal accident in England in November, she asked Andreas for the first time how Bengt’s accident happened. Photo: Jonas Lindkvist
Today he is a coach for Mora’s J18 team. There it is a “total non-issue” if the players should use neck protection.
Every year, half the team is moved up to J20 and there is a new cohort from below that starts at the hockey gymnasium in Mora. Before each season, Andreas explains to the players why the neck protection is such a central issue for him.
– I tell you what happened and how it happened. I get very emotional when I talk about it and I think it’s a way of showing partly how important it is to me and partly that this coach also has feelings.
In his job as a coach, he is constantly reminded of Bengt’s accident. Several times a week, he sees sequences that could end the same way – but don’t.
– I live in an environment where I have to face the same situations without the same tragic outcome. I see Bengt’s shirt every day. I may never have really left that world, somehow.
Image 1 of 2 Bengt Åkerblom’s shirt number 24 hangs from the ceiling in Smidjegrav arena. Photo: Jonas Lindkvist Image 2 of 2 Andreas found a similar situation when he was cutting video material from the team’s last match. “It was just such a tackle that I got, but then the guy behind is a little further away and manages. I played the tackle back and forth a few times. It was exactly the same, that situation is not unusual,” he says. Photo: Jonas Lindkvist
At the same time, it never existed some doubt for Andreas to continue with hockey.
– No, I was born for this. I’ve been on the ice all my life.
He has long fought for his players to never forget how important it is to wear neck protection. After the tragic fatal accident in the British league, he now hopes that no one will forget.
For Andreas, it is a leadership issue and an association issue – the players should not be allowed to step out onto the ice without neck protection.
– It is extra important in this ice rink and in this association that it is managed in a neat way, to respect Bengt. And me too to some extent actually, says Andreas Olsson.
Read more:
The death of her partner in the ice rink changed everything for Helena
“Emerged in a tragic way – but at the same time just as important”
Demand for neck protection after the deaths – but the NHL is waiting
2023-12-21 06:08:33
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