Ice Hockey World Championships | This is how Mikael Granlund commented on his rare outburst

Ostrava

The lions first star Mikael Granlund trained on Thursday in a black shirt, i.e. as an extra attacker on the ice of the Ostrava arena.

The Lions will face Sweden in the World Cup quarter-final starting at 21:20 tonight, but Granlund is not in the bag. The captain of the lions received a one-game suspension for his outrageous trick in the final game of the first series.

Granlund hit Switzerland with a cross stick Andrea Glauser to the neck area.

After Thursday’s practice, Granlund, 32, returned to the media for the first time since Tuesday’s stunt.

Granlund stepped into the interview area with a relaxed attitude.

Let’s go back to Tuesday night. What happened in that situation?

“Nothing. A normal hockey situation, which happens a lot of times. It was a bit of a confrontation and both were hit a couple of times, or once, and then the racket from the next one hit the neck area. It’s a very unfortunate situation that it happened that way. Total damage, of course,” Granlund said.

“But nothing. It’s hockey. The club has never been raised in such a situation before. That’s a pity.”

Granlund’s the trick was very rare for him. Before his fatal club strike, Granlund seemed nervous about Glauser’s tackle from the previous game situation.

However, the Lions skipper did not admit that he had gone on a revenge trip.

“Such situations happen all the time in hockey, that we try to give back a little. It’s completely part of hockey,” announced Granlund.

Do you regret what was done?

“Not that situation. Like I said, it’s hockey. Of course, it’s sad what the end result was and that the club got out of hand. I’d like to be playing. It now became a one-game ban, even though it was an injury.”

“This is hockey and life. There’s nothing more to it.”

Could you wait for the ban?

“Well, it was time… I didn’t know what to expect. Everyone knew it was a total disaster. No matter which way the stick goes up, it should probably be banned. Can not do anything about. That’s what happened.”

Granlund was on the train with the Lions on the way from Prague to Ostrava when he heard about the ban imposed by the IIHF.

Granlund apologized to Glauser immediately after the match.

“After the game, I talked to a few of those guys, and they said that the guy is fine. I apologized for the situation. Fortunately, nothing happened. Everyone knows that it was accidentally hit,” said Granlund.

There was no need to apologize to your own team.

“No, here we are together as a team. 20 guys are playing again in the evening. As in everything, we go together. Today is another opportunity to do something nice.”

It is said that there has been no positive feedback from the teammates in Granlund’s direction.

“Nothing. Ice hockey is about shit. If you don’t do it like that and it goes like that on purpose, then nothing can happen. A very sad thing. The guys are ready for tonight’s game.”

The captain’s the message to Leijon was concise, even though he is not in the box on Thursday night.

“Let’s play our game. I have really good vibes about this job. We know the challenge is tough, but it’s one game. Let’s see how the game goes. We try to support the team”, said Granlund.

Watching the semifinal match from the stands is a new situation for Granlund. The range of emotions has been quite diverse after Tuesday night’s trick.

“It’s a strange feeling that I’m banned from the game. I don’t know, I guess I’ve never been suspended before. Nothing. Like I said, this is hockey, and things happen. As I said, it’s really unfortunate and sad that it happened that way. That’s what life is about.”