For many athletes, an injury can be a set back to their professional careers. Particularly for hockey players, some injuries requiring surgery can keep them off the ice for months. Such experiences can be very discouraging, especially for young hockey players with big dreams. It’s an experience Fredric Anderberg is all too familiar with.
“It started when my brother I were fighting like always,” Anderberg tells HP.
What started as a common battle between siblings took a turn for the worst as six year-old Fredric’s older brother accidently crushed his elbow during the brawl. However, it wasn’t until after Fredric had the cast removed two months following the injury, that he noticed a problem with his elbow.
“I noticed that my elbow was on the wrong side of my arm, you almost need to see it to understand,” Anderberg recalls, “I stopped playing hockey for almost two years, not because I couldn’t play, but because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to play as well as the other kids.”
It took a while for Fredric to gather up the confidence to skate once again, but when he did he hit the ice harder than he had left it. “I set my first goal in my life” Fredric tells, “It was to be better than my brother, who was a very talented hockey player.”
The Swede admits that rejoining his teammates wasn’t as easy at first: “At first I really sucked, so I started to practice more than all the kids my age and everything eventually fell into place,” he said.
Ever since regaining his confidence at eight years old (and never losing it again), Fredric Anderberg has become a hot flame not just in Swedish junior hockey, but on the world stage as well. After a successful J18 Allsvenskan series with the SDE HF J18 team at the age of 15, Fredric went on to join the Swedish national U16 team, where he didn’t disappoint—scoring two goals in three games.
Anderberg moved onto the Djurgården J18 team, where he continued to grow and show great potential in both the J18 Elit and J18 Allsvenskan series. But it didn’t stop there, on his second time around with the national team, he didn’t just join his teammates, but he led them as their team captain: “I took my place and got down to work,” Anderberg said.
On his second year with the national team, the adamant leader put up an impressive six points (five goals and one assist) in the three games he played with the national team.
A distinguished leader, Fredric Anderberg acknowledges the drive behind his leadership, “I want to be a big part of the team and bring lots of enthusiasm and leadership to the team,” he said.
Set to play more games with the team and participate in the Ivan Hlinka tournament, his hot trail was cut short in February by a shoulder injury forcing him into surgery. Having struggled with his shoulder in the past, the surgery was setback, but also a cure to the problem as a whole:”It was very hard missing hockey for a few months, but I knew that getting surgery was the necessary thing to do,” reflects Fredric, “Thinking in the long run, I did the right thing.”
Forced to the sidelines for almost seven months, Fredric admits it wasn’t easy watching his teammates on the ice without him, “It was hard to see the guys on the team winning and losing, and not being able to be a part of it,” Anderberg tells, “It’s very sad watching from the benches.“
Sitting out for the second time in his life, Fredric Anderberg was a much different person than the six year old with the injured elbow. “I never felt like giving up,” says Fredric as he describes his feelings during the frustrating months, “It was very hard because I missed many games I would’ve wanted to play and be a part of, but you can’t look back on your life and live in the past.”
Anderberg rejoined his Djurgården team for the J18 Elit series with a stronger than ever performance, but then took it to the next level as he joined the Djurgården J20 team in the SuperElit series.
Now playing for the Djurgården J20 team and being one of the youngest players on the team, Fredric doesn’t feel discouraged to back down from being a leader: “I think some are just born with it,” he tells HP, “you want to take a big role on the team, and you just go and do it.”
Upon recovering from his injury, it didn’t take too long for Fredric to skate with the national team once again. More dynamic than ever, he joined the national U18 team and went on to play in the World Juniar A Challange (WJAC-19) in Canada.
“Playing on the national team is very big,” Fredric tells about his experience representing his country for the past three years, “You’re nervous and you want to play as best as you can for the national team, but it’s fun.”
He describes the experience almost as a reward for a well fought season, “It’s like a bonus; if you play well for your club, you get to play for the national team and it’s always a great opportunity and very fun.”
Even with all his success up to date, he sets goals for himself during this important year. “I put up three goals for myself every year and work to achieve them,” Anderberg tells HP, “my goals this season are to do well in the NHL Entry Draft, work towards the U18 World Championships, and take my team to the playoffs.”
Eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft this year, Fredric is looking to showcase more than just his leadership and strong work ethic: “my strengths are my speed, my skating, and my shot,” he said. Ultimately, he combines his strengths to put the puck in the net and get the job done, “I think of myself as a power forward with the skill to score goals,” he tells HP on a self-evaluation. Not only is he a threat on the offensive, but on the defensive as well since he is perseverant on both sides of the rink, “I’m a two way forward who works hard wherever I am on the ice,” Anderberg says.
“I think my game is similar to Scott Hartnel,” comments Anderberg, “I look like him on the ice, always working hard on both sides of the rink on the offensive and the defensive.”
It doesn’t stop there for Fredric, he continues to develop his game everyday at practice, “I want to be stronger, so I want to gain some weight and try to be even faster,” Anderberg says.
Looking forward to the NHL Entry Draft in a few months, Fredric has a lot to offer an interested team: “I have my strong skating to offer, as well as my willingness to give it my all: hitting, shooting, getting rebounds and standing in front of the net, just being a hard working forward,” Anderberg explains.
Healthier than ever, Fredric is looking forward to not only becoming part of an NHL team in the near future, but also to playing a leadership role within the organization that gives him the opportunity. “I’m not looking for anything special, just a good team management and some good guys,” comments Fredric when asked about possible favourites at the NHL Entry Draft, “With good guys we can develop a good group, and I think a good group is the start of a good team, and of course I’d like to take part in helping that group develop into a good team.”
Fredric Anderberg has had a strong start to 2012; getting past his injury and becoming better acquaintanced with his J20 team, his trail has been re-ignited. It shouldn’t be long before his trail sets North America ablaze. As a young, but perseverant individual, Fredric Anderberg is the result of hard work and dedication, and an example of the success it brings.
