How many people can say that they had a member of a winning Stanley Cup team show up at their door to hand-deliver a team-authentic hat autographed by every member of that winning team? Probably not very many, but I am one of the select few that can brag that it happened to me.
On my first day of pre-school I was introduced to the most adorable little blonde haired boy I had ever seen; and, when I noticed his leopard print moccasins, the deal was sealed. He would be my first boyfriend and our families would fall in love.
My projection was not very far off. When our families met, it was love at first sight. Our mom’s have been best friends from the first day they met and our families have become one and the same.
My first playDATE with this little blonde haired boy looked something like me playing goalie in the kitchen and his mom screaming, “Adam don’t hit Kimberly in the face with that, you’re being too rough,” and him winning over my heart by showing me these soaps that had a dead bug at their core. Grossss.
(From left: Myself, Maria (Adam’s Mom/Tommy’s Wife) and Adam on right)
After some time turning me into a tomboy and grossing me out with the soaps with the dead bug at their core, I decided that hanging out at his house would be a lot more fun if I hung out with his parents (Sorry Adam, love ya!) Adam’s father, Tommy, now the coach of The Albany Devils (the News Jersey Devils minor league team), was a defenseman on the New Jersey Devils at the time. My favorite team in the world! So, as time went on Adam spent time shooting pucks at other targets, while I excitedly took a seat next to Tommy on the couch and helped him sort through his fan mail.
While these experiences are simply a brief snapshot into how special the Albelin’s are to me, to say they have become my second family is an understatement. They ARE my family, and my lucky number has remained 6, the number Tommy once wore on the Devils. I was such a fan that when Andy Greene joined the team in 2006 and took the number 6 for the first time since Tommy had left, I tried to convince the world he was a terrible person who did not serve the number any justice. And even today, as much as I love the Devils, I secretly loathe Andy Greene for this.
So, if it hasn’t already become clear, yes, Tommy was the guy that showed up at my doorstep in 2003 with the autographed hat. He was also the guy that made my whole middle school class hate me that year because when he brought the Stanley Cup to a Henry B.Whitehorne assembly, I was the only person other than Adam who was allowed to touch it. Haters gonna hate, what can ya do?!
OK—to get to the point, finally. According to Tommy, his passion for hockey began when he was around 15. “I had the choice to either become serious about soccer or hockey, and I decided to go with hockey because I thought it was more fun to play,” he explained. “It also proved to be a really helpful distraction from all the bad things going on in my life at the time, such as my parent’s divorce,” he continued.
Tommy’s hockey journey began on the Djurgarden (a Swedish Elite league team) and continued with the Quebec Nordiques, then the New Jersey Devils, the Calgary Flames, and then back to the Devils.
–To go off on a sidebar once again, I account the day Tommy was traded to the Calgary flames as one of the worst days of my life. And no, I’m not kidding. When my mom hung up the phone after talking to Maria, Tommy’s wife, she looked at me in complete fear. “Tommy got traded to the Calgary Flames, they’re moving to Canada,” she said as she began to tear up herself. Well, talk about complete devastation. I spent the rest of my day ABSENT FROM SCHOOL crying hysterically lying in bed giving myself nose bleeds because I couldn’t imagine life in NJ without our best friends around the corner. I wish I was exaggerating, but sadly, I am not.
Adam came over the next day to play for the last time before the move, and the story I’m about to tell about that day is one we still frequently tell when our families hang out. We were in my backyard swimming in the baby pool when it started thunder storming. Naturally, my mom told us to get out because of the lightning and Adam stood there, refusing, and blurted out, “I can’t go inside, I’m moving to Canada. I’m never going to swim again.”
Well, luckily after a few years, the NJ Devils wanted Tommy back and the Albelin’s came back to us in NJ! And- if I can find it within myself to stop reminiscing on all the great memories our families have shared, you will begin to see, just as I have, how much of a rock star hockey mogul Tommy is.
In rehashing some of the most exciting moments of his career, Tommy explained that in chronoglocial order, he defines these moments as, #1 Becoming the Swedish Elite Champions in 1983, #2 Winning a World Championship Gold medal against Russia in Vienna in 1987, #3 winning his first Stanley Cup with the Devils in 1995, and #4, winning the Stanley Cup again with the Devils again in 2003.
“All were unforgettable moments that I will always cherish throughout my life,” he said.
In further elaborating on these amazing moments, I asked Tommy what he feels is more exhilarating, being asked to play on an Olympic team or winning a Stanley cup. As I anticipated, Tommy explained that this is definitely a very difficult question to answer.
“But, if I had to choose,” he said, “playing in the Olympics was definitely more on an honor for me. In the Olympics you’re playing for your country and you have the entire country standing behind you and supporting you. It’s so much more than just the competition, because you get to see everything other athletes are about; how they prepare, how they interact with teammates, and even how they eat,” he said.
After a playing career that spanned over 30 years of both domestic, international, and Olympic play, Tommy became the assistant coach for the Devils for both the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons, from there, he went on to his current position with the Albany Devils.
In speaking on the transition from player to coach, Tommy explained that he was, “Very excited, yet very nervous because I didn’t’ really know what to expect. The transition was definitely hard because I’d only known how to see the game as a player, not as a coach,” he said. “I learned that coaching is very time consuming and of course it was different preparing to get on the bench as a coach, not a player.”
While Tommy admits to missing playing because he “misses all the good times of being able to skate around and play with [his] fellow teammates,” he explains that he definitely enjoys coaching because it gives him a “sense of control.”
After making the transition from player to coach, Tommy also made the transition from coaching the NHL to the AHL. In speaking on this transition, Tommy explained that he feels, “The greatest challenge is that the skill level is not as high. It’s more of a challenge to get the players to play the kind of system you want them to. Plus, in the AHL you need to teach players more basic skills, whereas in the NHL those guys already know everything for the most part,” he said.
For young college lovers who aspire to live out a career in hockey that’s as exciting as Tommy’s has been, he offers some advice: “Don’t take anything for granted. Always be prepared and never get too comfortable.”
Additionally, he explained that his mantra to live by is “Treat people the way you want to be treated, just because it’s what [he] believes you should do.”
“I’m also a fan of second chances,” Tommy continued. “Because everybody makes mistakes in life.”
When not spending time watching, coaching, living, and breathing hockey, Tommy explained that spending time with his family is always a priority for him. “Spending time together in Sweden when we go away for the entire summer is especially fun and important to me,” he said. “I also really enjoy playing golf in my free time, it’s a great substitute for hockey.”
(NJ Devils trading card signed by Tommy)
(Left: Tommy, coaching beside Jacques Lemaire)
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