Westfield State University junior defenseman Tom Sköld will create a new highlight for the Owls' program, as he will be the first Owl to skate in the 2023 Winter Universiade (the World University Games) as a member of Sweden's national team this January.

Sköld joins current Washington Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette as the only other Owl skater to represent his country in international competition, as Laviolette played for the US Olympic Team in the 1988 Calgary, and 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics after graduating from Westfield State.

"It's a huge honor and I'm very happy to be in this position," said Sköld, a native of Jarna, Sweden. "I've never been a part of an international game but I've been to one or two national team camps but never really made the final cut."

"It's a great opportunity for him," said Miele.   "He's excited to represent his country and it is great for our program."

The FISU World University Games is a celebration of international university sports and culture. With several thousand student-athletes competing in each event edition, the FISU World University Games is among the world's largest winter multi-sports competition.

"I didn't know it was kind of like this size until I found out later on," said Sköld. "I know there's a lot of different countries involved, some countries that you wouldn't expect to play hockey. I know Japan's part of the Universiade and Korea's there too, so it's a little surprising but it looks like fun. I looked up the last one where they played in Russia, there's good hockey, good quality of players who show up. It's going to be fun."

"It's going to be fun meeting athletes from tons of different cultures and places," added Sköld. "I can say there will be Japanese people there, China will be there, Ukraine is participating this year, you've got people from Brazil, I think, who are going to participate as well, it's a huge cultural shock, kind of like a cultural bomb. Looking forward to seeing new stuff and meeting some new awesome people"

The games run from January 12-23.   Sweden will play in Pool B, one of two six-team pools, with the preliminary games at the Roos House Arena at SUNY-Canton, in Canton, N.Y. with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals and championship game on Jan. 21 and 22 at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid.

Sweden will meet Canada, Czech Republic, Japan, Latvia, and Ukraine in the preliminary rounds, beginning with Czech on January 12 at 9:30 a.m. 

The chance to play at the Herb Brooks Arena in the semifinals and finals isn't lost on Sköld, despite being born 19 years after, and more than 3,700 miles away from the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team's 'Miracle on Ice' win over the Soviet Union and subsequent gold medal.

"I grew up watching that movie [Miracle] so obviously there is a little extra oomph in it," said Sköld with a grin.  "That's a very big carrot dangling in your face to make it to the finals and play there.  It's a very historical arena, and Swedish hockey is based on the Soviet style of play, so there's both good and bad with it"' he chuckled.

Johan Kling, who played on the Swedish team as the last Universiade winter games held in Russia in 2019, has taken the reins of the team as head coach for Lake Placid. 

He said that one of the interesting part of the games is that "You never quite know what or who to expect from the other teams," noting that Canada is likely the team to beat in their pool, and that each team had their own processes for getting together and preparing for the tournament.

Kling sought out Sköld and other Swedes playing in the U.S. based on the level of hockey and proximity to the games.

"I wanted to get in touch with all the players already in the United States in the NCAA D1 and D3 system, I figured it would be easier to recruit players for Lake Placid who are already in the U.S.," said Kling. "They are good players, and I looked at their numbers."

"I was happy to get Tom committed right away, and he was excited to be a part of it and he was a name that some of the other players could reach out to," said Kling.

 "He's a solid two way defenseman, and he has some offensive skills as well," said Kling when asked for his evaluation of Sköld's game. "Everything looks good on film and on paper, but we haven't had our full group together on the ice yet.  Tom has a good hockey IQ, and he will be a captain for us as he has experience playing defense on the smaller ice sheet in the U.S., and we are going to need his experience to help with the guys who are used to playing on the bigger Olympic sheets."

What does Sköld think his best attributes are on the ice?

"I would say stability. I'm a defenseman. I'm Swedish, so I like to skate and move the puck. I would say my idols would be Rob Blake and Ryan McDonagh, I've modeled my game after them. And a little bit of [Niklas] Lidstrom too, he's Swedish so that's kind of the guy you look at, right? I've really enjoyed watching Lidstrom growing up and then Ryan McDonagh later on when he played for Tampa Bay …  I like to be well rounded"

"He has been a solid guy in the lineup for us, he's an offensive-type defenseman, we use him on the power play, and we'll miss him while he's there," said Miele, noting that Sköld would miss four games for the Owls if Sweden makes it to the Gold medal game. "It's a hard opportunity to pass up, and I know he's excited to represent his country."

Sweden will have all their players arrive by January 9, then spend two days on the ice as a team before the first game.   Kling said that some teams will have had more practice opportunities together, but that almost all would have players coming in last-minute from their various university teams depending on team and academic schedules.  He expressed concern with the seven-hour time differential for the players flying in from Sweden, but said they would all have at least a few days to adapt to the time change.

With the players coming from varied backgrounds, Kling said that he expects the overall level of hockey "To be around the NCAA Division III level or better," as players will come from the Canadian junior leagues, overseas universities, American NCAA Division I and Division III programs, as well as European minor professional leagues.

"This is the first time that it seems they have reached out for so many players from the Division III level that I can recall," said Miele.  "I know in the past there have been some Division I players, but I am sure it is going to be a high level of hockey."

Sköld, who is staying in the States over the holiday break, looks forward to the time with his teammates.

"Yeah of course yeah, being able to speak Swedish again is always nice. English isn't my first language so it's a little choppy from time to time. I've enjoyed it over here as well, but it's definitely nice to go back and see some of the guys that I've known from before coming over here. I'm looking forward to it".

Sköld has been well traveled in his hockey career, coming first to Canada to play in high school, then for junior teams in Vermont and Boston.

 "It's a funny story, I was scouted to come over and play in the North American region. I was found in a small tournament in a really small community - I think they are like a village of less than 10,000 people - and I was loaned in from a team cause they had some injuries, so I went with an older team, and a guy found me there and decided 'you should come over and play high school and see where that would go.'

"I was given the opportunity to play high school in Canada," said Sköld. "I went on to play prep school hockey, and then after that, I was found in a tournament in Montreal by the Vermont Lumberjacks, played there for a year or two, then got traded onto Boston…"

Sköld transfered to Westfield State after one season at Becker College, where he played for former Westfield State assistant coach Mike Young.

"It was during the covid year, due to covid I wasn't able to enter the country until the spring semester," said Sköld, who got in seven games in a limited schedule at Becker in the spring semester of 2021. "So, I was a little bit worried… I went over there and thought I played pretty well, then the school shut down due to financial reasons, then I had an opportunity to come here, I know Bob called me a couple times already interested."

Sköld says that he looks forward to playing hockey professionally after his career at Westfield State, noting that part of the original reason for coming to Canada and the US is that the NHL and other top professional leagues are based in North America, but that there are also professional leagues in almost every country in Europe.

Sköld totaled three goals and six assists for nine points with the Owls during the 21-22 campaign. So far this season, Sköld has a goal and an assist, playing in nine games after missing a little time early in the season to an injury. 

"I had a little bit of a shaky start with the injury, but I feel like I bounced back quickly and it's coming together now," he said.

The Owls are 5-5-1 heading into the holiday break with much of the conference schedule still in front of them.

While Sköld said he hates the idea of missing time with the Owls, the University games represents a huge goal for him.

"We're aiming at medals for sure, why even go if you don't want to win.  That's always been a motto for Swedish national teams … we're looking to win.  I can say that with a full heart.  We're going to do our best. We've got a pretty tough group, we have Canada in our group.  So we'll see where we end up but we are looking to win."

Release courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information