GOLDEN BOY
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. Defenseman Niklas Kronwall on Sunday became the first Grand Rapids Griffins alumnus to win an Olympic medal, earning gold thanks to Swedens 3-2 win over Finland.
Kronwall enjoyed a brief but wildly successful tournament since leaving the Griffins and arriving in Turin earlier this week. Today, he scored a brilliant power play goal at 13:24 of the second period to break a 1-1 tie and give Sweden its first lead of the game, adding to the assist he earned in Fridays 7-3 semifinal win over the Czech Republic. In two games, Kronwall logged two points, a plus-two rating and eight penalty minutes.
On Feb. 11 just 15 days ago Kronwall was assigned to the Griffins by the Red Wings and played with the club that night, helping Grand Rapids to a 4-2 win over Peoria. The American Hockey Leagues outstanding defenseman and a First-Team All-Star as a member of the 2004-05 Griffins, he was expected to be a top-four defenseman for Detroit this season. However, he suffered a knee injury in training camp that sidelined him through the end of January. Now working his way back into form, he has contributed three assists in three games since his return to the Red Wings on Feb. 1.
Kronwall is among five former Griffins who participated in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, joining Julien Vauclair (Switzerland), Pavol Demitra (Slovakia), Konstantin Shafranov (Kazakhstan) and Aigars Cipruss (Latvia). In addition, Jason Spezza was a member of Canadas taxi squad, while Michael Hackert was selected to Germanys team but did not see action.
No stranger to international play, Kronwall helped Sweden to a fourth-place finish at the 2005 IIHF World Championship in Austria, earning a spot on the tournaments all-star team alongside the likes of Jaromir Jagr, Joe Thornton and Rick Nash.
Kronwall enjoyed a brief but wildly successful tournament since leaving the Griffins and arriving in Turin earlier this week. Today, he scored a brilliant power play goal at 13:24 of the second period to break a 1-1 tie and give Sweden its first lead of the game, adding to the assist he earned in Fridays 7-3 semifinal win over the Czech Republic. In two games, Kronwall logged two points, a plus-two rating and eight penalty minutes.
On Feb. 11 just 15 days ago Kronwall was assigned to the Griffins by the Red Wings and played with the club that night, helping Grand Rapids to a 4-2 win over Peoria. The American Hockey Leagues outstanding defenseman and a First-Team All-Star as a member of the 2004-05 Griffins, he was expected to be a top-four defenseman for Detroit this season. However, he suffered a knee injury in training camp that sidelined him through the end of January. Now working his way back into form, he has contributed three assists in three games since his return to the Red Wings on Feb. 1.
Kronwall is among five former Griffins who participated in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, joining Julien Vauclair (Switzerland), Pavol Demitra (Slovakia), Konstantin Shafranov (Kazakhstan) and Aigars Cipruss (Latvia). In addition, Jason Spezza was a member of Canadas taxi squad, while Michael Hackert was selected to Germanys team but did not see action.
No stranger to international play, Kronwall helped Sweden to a fourth-place finish at the 2005 IIHF World Championship in Austria, earning a spot on the tournaments all-star team alongside the likes of Jaromir Jagr, Joe Thornton and Rick Nash.