Freeway - Icebreakers

The NHL-pros’ fund for young people in Västernorrland

A number of NHL-players and former NHL-players from Västernorrland has started an organization for young people in Västernorrland with Peter Forsberg as the most famous name. He is the best hockey player in Sweden and one of the best in the whole world. He comes from Örnsköldsvik and his home team is MoDo hockey. He started to play in NHL in 1994 and he has played there until the lockout this year.

It was a busy Peter Forsberg I met in the ice hockey arena “Kempehallen” in Örnsköldsvik. I wanted to ask him some questions about his charity organization “The NHL-pros’ foundation for young people in Västernorrland”.
Icebreakers is the charity hockey team they play in and put the profit into the fund. About two years ago Peter Forsberg and Markus Näslund formed this foundation for children in Västernorrland. They are about 14 former NHL-players and they all donated a voluntary amount of money to the fund to have as start capital. Every year they play a couple of games and they put the profit in to the fund. The money they raise they give to children in Västernorrland who they in one way or another think need it. The committee, which consists of five members with an industry leader as the chairman, decides who will get the contributions. When I ask who can get a contribution he tells me that you can apply for them on their website.

This is not the first charity Peter has been part of. He has also raised money for charity in the USA. He and his ex girlfriend arranged a charity dinner and all of the profit went to children in need. Last year it was he and two of his teammates in Colorado Avalanche who arranged the dinner. They raised 3 million SEK and could through that give six different charity organizations 600 000 SEK each.
Because of the lookout in NHL they couldn’t arrange a dinner like that this year.
-But maybe again next year, says Peter Forsberg.

Peter Forsberg

Markus Näslund

Niklas Sundström

Daniel Sedin

Henrik Sedin

Andreas Salomonsson

Per Svartvadet

Hasse Jonsson

Henrik Zetterberg

Fredrik Modin

Anders Eriksson

Mattias Timander

Mattias Kallin

Samuel Påhlsson

Peter Forsberg says that charity in the USA is a big deal, they don’t have the same tax-system as we have in Sweden, and therefore charity of all kinds are pretty necessary there. The most of the NHL players do some kind of charity, and there is nothing unusual with donating larger amounts money. Peter thinks that Sweden has got a lot to learn from that. Dropping the taxes on charity donations could maybe help increasing the charities in Sweden.