In the last few years, goaltender Lars Johansson started to think his NHL aspirations were unrealistic.
Johansson had entered his late 20s. He had been in Sweden’s second division not too long ago. He had even switched his goalie style a few years back. Put it all together, and Johansson just wasn’t sure if the NHL was ever going to be in the cards for him.
“It was always like a dream to come over and try for it, but I never got an opportunity,” Johansson said in September. “I was getting older and older. It was starting to fade out a little bit, but I always had that dream.