Molly Keshin, Editor-in-Chief
@mollykCourant
For any student that is new to a school, it must be hard to adjust to the unfamiliar surroundings and assimilate yourself into certain teams or groups. As for senior Anton Adding, he wasn’t just coming from a different school district – he was coming from a different country.
This summer, Anton came to New Canaan as part of the exchange student program so that he could be on the boys’ hockey team, just as his father did when he was in high school. His sister and several friends have also participated in the program, and encouraged him to do the same. Although he grew up playing several sports in Sweden, Anton has been playing hockey since he was around six years old. “I don’t exactly know why I started playing hockey, but I’ve always liked to play sports,” Anton said. “I played soccer, and floorball, which is a Swedish sport. But then hockey I thought that was the most fun sport, because it’s really popular in Sweden. I like the speed of it and how you have to think fast.”
When he first arrived in New Canaan, Anton was taken under the wing of senior co-captains Harry Gelnaw, Tyler Hill, George McMahon and Drew Morris. With their support, Anton instantly thought it was easy to make a smooth transition into NCHS. “At first, I had dinner with the captains and they were so nice from the beginning,” he said. “They took me to lunch, took me to restaurants, we went to a movie, so they brought me in quickly. Everybody was so nice to me and took me in on the team and treated me like one of them. They’re great people.”
As for Drew, along with the rest of the boys, having Anton join the team has positively impacted the Rams both on and off the ice. “He’s probably one of the smartest hockey players on the team, so when a lot of the younger players see him work hard, they want to work hard too,” Drew said. “It’s also been pretty cool getting to know him outside of hockey, because it’s a culture that a lot of us haven’t really experienced before.”
Part of the reason why both his teammates and coaches feel that Anton is such a special player is because of the playing style he developed in Sweden. “One of the biggest differences between the European game and American game is skill, because they have a much bigger focus on skill in the younger ages than some of the programs here in America,” assistant coach Pat Gore said. “Anton has proven no different. His skating technique is the best on the team, and he can
really use his edges well. When the puck is on his stick he is in complete control.”
Because Anton developed his talent through focus on skills rather than more of a power-based approach in America, Harry feels that he pushes everybody on the team to be better. “He’s been a positive influence not just on the ice, but outside, because they admire his work ethic,” Harry said. “He also has great hockey IQ, so he’s able to make plays for other people.”
Along with his strength in hockey skills, Coach Gore feels as though Anton’s attitude and approach to the game makes him an even better athlete and team player. “The game of hockey can be very emotional, especially in the playoffs. One of the things we always stress as coaches is win your next shift, and do not get down on yourself over the past,” he said. “Anton is a player that never really gets frustrated or shows negative emotion, and is always focused on what’s next. Coming from high-level hockey over in Europe, it becomes something other players notice and build off of. But, my favorite thing about all of it may be
when opponents get in his face, he will respond to them in Swedish always leaving the opponent puzzled. I am not a coach who likes to see my players engage in that type of stuff, but the few times he does it, it always makes me chuckle.”
Even though Anton may occasionally use Swedish to his advantage while on the ice, he finds that consistently using the English language has been one of the most difficult parts of adjusting to life in America. “In the beginning, it was kind of hard because I had to translate from English to Swedish in my head and then Swedish to English when I speak or write,” he said. “I studied English since second grade in Sweden, so that’s like 11 years, but it’s pretty hard for me to make jokes and stuff, so I get more quiet here than in Sweden.”
Even though it did not require coming to a different country, Coach Gore feels that having an exchange student athlete on the team was a learning experience for him as well. “This was a new and unique experience for all parties involved,” Coach Gore said. “When you have such a big bulk of your team returning with high expectations, you always worry about a new player maybe messing with your unity or not fitting in. When we coaches first met him the day he arrived in New Canaan, we knew he was a special player who would put in the hard work and become a huge addition to an already strong team.”
As for Anton, he wants to continue his passion for hockey by developing his skills with the Rams, and hopefully use what he learns to help him get to the next level back in Sweden. “When I get back to Sweden, I’m going to try to play and see how my level is compared to the level in Sweden and if I could succeed,” Anton said. “If I’m not good enough, then I’ll just play for fun. I have my senior year left, so that’s going to be a lot in school. I don’t know how much time I’m going to have playing hockey because we don’t have school teams, only club teams. But I’m going to go for it, and we’ll see what happens.”
Although the coaches did not necessarily know what to expect when Anton first started playing with the team, it is nearly halfway into the season and Coach Gore feels that he has made a huge impact. “Coming into this season, we knew we were going to have a deep, experienced team, and Anton coming aboard has helped add to our depth in a big way,” he said. “He is a top six forward, and being able to put him on our second line really gives us two #1 lines that other teams have to make a choice on which line they will try to shut down. With his addition, we can confidently run four lines, while most of our opponents can only play two or two and a half. As the games go on, we have fresher legs that can make a strong push late in a game and really wear down our opponents.”
