On a daily basis, Josef Boumedienne is a scout for the NHL club Columbus Blue Jackets.
He combines that with working as assistant general manager for Tre Kronor, which in practice means that he keeps track of how the Swedes are doing in the NHL.
- Above all, I keep an eye on our guys over in North America.
I scout them, evaluate them and provide information to the rest of the leadership staff.
How they look and who might be available for a World Cup, says Boumedienne.
No petting the stars
He does not yet want to say with whom or how many he has spoken to about this spring's WC in Finland and Latvia.
- Above all, Sam Hallam (confederation captain) and Stefan Klockare (assistant confederation captain) keep in touch with several guys.
But it's too early to ask about the WC, it's more about building a relationship with the guys.
Then you can see which ones are available.
Something that Boumedienne, on the other hand, is clear about is that there will be no petting with the NHL stars.
- I would never think of trying to persuade someone to play hockey.
It should be guys who want and are hungry.
Then everyone has different situations with family and small children, so it's not always easy to get away from the family for a month.
But persuasion is not my forte.