Pär Lindholm: "A gold with Skellefteå is at the top of the wish list"

When Skellefteå won Swedish Championship gold in 2012 and 2013, Pär Lindholm was not in the squad.

First he was loaned to Allsvenskan Sundsvall and the following year he spent in Piteå in HockeyEttan.

Lindholm has admittedly played a large part in Skellefteå's heyday, but the 29-year-old has "only" four Swedish Championship silvers on the merit list.

- It is a pity that I have not been allowed to participate in the gold, but at the same time I am happy to have the chance to compete for gold every year.

It has been close, but we have not reached all the way when I have been with, he says to SVT Sport.

Skellefteå stamp on Tre Kronor

There is a Västerbotten friendship that permeates Tre Kronor's World Cup squad in Riga.

Pär Lindholm is not only accompanied by teammates Jesper Frödén and Andreas Wingerli, but also by Jonathan Pudas and Oscar Lindberg, with whom he previously played in Skellefteå.

- It is of course fun to play with as many people as you know and have played hockey with before.

You may feel a little safer when you are in such an environment so it's just fun.

How do you see Skellefteå's journey and investment?

- It feels incredibly positive.

You are on the way up and it feels like the whole organization is doing a good job.

You make good choices in the management staff, with the development of players and the whole bit.

I have a hard time seeing that Skellefteå will be bad in the future, but this only points upwards, says Lindholm.

"It's in the potatoes"

About 20 km from Skellefteå is a small village with about 400 inhabitants called Kusmark.

Not only good potatoes are grown there, but also good hockey players.

Both Pär Lindholm and Nashville's Viktor Arvidsson have made it all the way from the small village's outdoor rink to the world's largest hockey scene, the NHL.

- They say it's in the potatoes, hehe.

It is good arable land and you get a lot of nutrition.

I do not know, maybe that's why, Lindholm says with a grin.

- When I grew up, we were many who played sports and had fun together.

We were a pretty tight bunch who were on ice together many times in our youth so it is very fun that Viktor has made the same journey.

Signed on just before the World Cup

This spring, Lindholm returned home from the NHL and signed a four-year contract with Skellefteå until 2025.

But there was a KHL clause in the contract and just before the World Cup, the Russian big club Ak Bars Kazan came up with a good contract offer which Lindholm accepted.

A one-year adventure in the KHL awaits the season 21/22, and after that Lindholm has three years left on his contract with Skellefteå.

- It is the club in my heart and definitely something I care very much about.

Now I am going on an adventure in Russia for a year and then back and it will be very fun in the future as well.

Is the dream of the NHL still alive or is it Skellefteå that applies then?

- You should never say never, but of course it feels like Skellefteå is what matters.

I absolutely believe that it is.