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Wings' European players embrace Thanksgiving tradition |
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Although many of the Detroit Red Wings hail from countries where Thanksgiving is not celebrated, that hasn’t stopped them from joining in on the party.
“We don’t have it,” said left-winger Tomas Tatar, who’s from Slovakia. “Here I learned about it. You bring the family together, have a really nice time, have a really nice dinner.
“It’s a really good tradition here in the U.S. I’m really happy I can be part of it.”
Tatar doesn’t have to ponder long before coming up with his favorite part of the Thanksgiving celebration.
“Turkey,” he said. “It’s a great meal.”
Right-winger Gustav Nyquist, one of seven Swedes on the Red Wings roster, is another who’s become a big fan of the big bird since moving to North America, but naturally, being a Swede, he thinks the smorgasbord of food available during the day is the best part of the day.
“You don’t have to feel bad about how much you eat,” Nyquist said.
Even though there’s no Thanksgiving holiday in their homeland, Detroit’s Swedish contingent planned their own celebration for Thursday.
“A few of the Swedes will go together and do our own little Thanksgiving thing,” Nyquist said. “We don’t have Thanksgiving in Sweden.
“I guess now that we’ve been here for so long, we enjoy the holiday as well. It’s a good holiday. Maybe not for us Swedes, because most of our families are back in Sweden, but it’s always a good thing.”
Detroit coach Mike Babcock, who gave his team the day off Thursday, isn’t surprised at how his players have embraced the holiday.
“They’ve been here a long time, a lot of our guys,” Babcock said. “They get together and have a nice meal.
“I’m not sure if it’s a nice, big turkey like the one that I would like, with the kind of dressing my mom made, but I’m sure it’s a nice meal.”
For the Wings’ Canadian players and staff, who celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada last month, the day offered them a chance to turn two.
“Yeah, I double dip,” Babcock admitted. “Every time I get a chance.”
This year, Babcock will be celebrating Thanksgiving without his family. They will be in Fargo, N.D., where his son Michael Jr. is a forward with the USHL’s Fargo Force.
“My son’s in Fargo so my wife and two girls went to Fargo,” Babcock said. “They like him better than they like me, so I’m all by myself.
“Poor guy, can you imagine? I think a lot of our coaches are by themselves just because their families are somewhere else.
“We’re going to New Jersey (Thursday) night (for Friday’s game with the Devils). But I bet you there’s a way to get a meal somewhere.”
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