Frycklund: The only Italian-Swede has Lombard roots

Eleven players with dual nationality are on Italy's men's Olympic team. Surnames like Die Perna, DiTomaso, Pietroniro, DiGiacinto, Mantenuto, or Saracino suggest that these players have a connection to the host country of the Games. But if someone spells their name Seed, Bradley, Gazley, Petan, or Frycklund, Italy suddenly seems very far away. However, this isn't the case.

They all have an ancestor born after 1862 who held Italian citizenship. None of the descendants have ever returned to Italy with an Italian passport. Of course, ancestry must be proven with documents. A passport can be applied for at a consulate overseas or after arriving in Italy, which, in the best-case scenario, takes only a few weeks. These rules, combined with the fact that millions of Italians have emigrated to the USA and Canada since the end of the 19th century, should explain the large number of Italian-Canadians or Italian-Americans. Indeed, ten of the dual citizens on coach Jukka Jalonen's team were born in North America.

Frycklund: "A special game for me" An unusual combination, however, is provided by a Swede playing for Italy: Mikael Frycklund owes his Italian passport to his mother, who comes from Bergamo. Until her marriage, she was called Anna Miceli. Whether she is related to Angelo Miceli, the resident of Kaltern and former Bolzano player, is unknown. What is known, however, is that she grew up in Sweden and still lives there, while her siblings remain in Bergamo and will be cheering on their nephew "Michele" today at the "Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena" as he faces his native Sweden in the opening match. "It's obviously a special game for me. Also because I know several of the opponents from our youth," says the center, who is currently playing his third season with HC Pustertal.

Mikael Frycklund is one of the key players for HC Pustertal. © Max Pattis

The 32-year-old is saddened that there will be no reunion with William Karlsson. Frycklund grew up in Västerås with the Vegas Golden Knights center, went to school with him, and played on the same team. While Karlsson not only made it across the Atlantic but also played well over 800 games in the world's best league, Frycklund remained in his hometown until his move to Bruneck in the summer of 2023, spending the majority of his time with his hometown club Västerås in the second-highest league. In his last season, the father of two daughters was the most penalized player in the Allsvenskan with 72 minutes played, which he attributes to his "southern temperament" and the fact that he "always played with a lot of heart and passion for Västerås."

Italy is only a "massive underdog" Although several players besides Karlsson will miss the Olympics due to injuries, head coach Sam Hallam, who will take over Servette Geneva next fall, can count on 25 NHL players. "We are obviously massive underdogs. But I'm convinced we can even win one out of ten games. For that, we'll need a lot of luck, a terrible day from the opposing goalie, and some help from the referees. After all, anything is possible in sports. I hope we get that one game and can upset my home country," Frycklund said. <blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DUnFo9NEo06/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"> <path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"> Check out this post on Instagram A post shared by IIHF Men's Worlds (@iihfmen)

The Italian-Swede feels completely at home in Bruneck. After all, the town on the Rienz River, where he is particularly taken with the mountains, the nature, and the food, has become his second home, even though the differences between Italy and Sweden are significant. "The weather is better here, as there's more sun. Sweden, on the other hand, is a very structured country where everything is precisely regulated and things move much faster. In Italy, it's always 'piano, piano'." Frycklund confirms that Swedes are not only reserved but also easygoing people. "Just as there's aperitivo in Italy, there's fika in my homeland. It's a social ritual where people pause with friends or family, usually twice a day, over coffee and pastries."

Don't show too much respect for NHL stars The dual citizen, who, along with Marco Zanetti and Thomas Larkin (both of whom grew up in Varese), is one of three players with Lombardy roots, has no intention of pausing for breath today. It doesn't matter that on the other side are three defensive specialists – Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson, and Oliver Ekman Larsson – who, like him, were born in Sweden but each have more than 1.000 NHL games under their belts.

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Frycklund: The only Italian-Swede has Lombard roots

Dual citizens in ice hockey are not uncommon. In Mikael Frycklund's case, his Italian and Swedish roots lead to a unique experience at the Olympic Games.

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