Apparently, being selected as one of the best players in the NHL isn’t as thrilling as you would think.
At least that was the case for Seattle Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand.
In a recent video posted by the team on X (formerly known as Twitter), Seattle’s head coach Dave Hakstol calls the star forward into his office for a chat.
Hakstol asks the great Dane what he and his family have planned over the all-star break.
“We’re going to San Diego,” Bjorkstrand replies. “Hopefully somewhat warm. Get some sun. We just got an Airbnb so it’ll be easy with the kid.”
That’s when the coach asks if he can cancel his vacation.
“Can you change those plans and cancel that Airbnb?” Hakstol asks. “You might have to book a flight to Toronto.”
Bjorkstrand, looking a little confused, replies “Oh, really?”
That’s when Hakstol informs Bjorkstrand that he’ll be playing in his first NHL all-star game — and the forward doesn’t exactly seem thrilled.
“Oh, wow. OK … I didn’t expect that at all,” he said.
While he eventually did crack a smile and thank his coach for the news, many replies online couldn’t help but poke fun at the veteran’s reaction.
One commenter wrote: “This has all the energy of getting suddenly called into the boss’s office where you’re sitting there wondering if you’re about to either be fired or asked to work over vacation. Actually, guess it was the latter for him!”
Another thought that Bjorkstrand was disappointed that it was just all-star weekend that he would be spending in Toronto and perhaps he was hoping it was a trade to the Maple Leafs.
“When he heard he was going to have to book a flight to Toronto. He was hoping it was a trade! 😛. That’s why he seemed disappointed at the end. 😂”
And, in case you were wondering, Bjorkstrand did cancel the Airbnb, posting a screenshot confirmation on Instagram.
“I don’t always have the best reactions (ask my wife), but I couldn’t be more honored to be selected!!!” he wrote in the caption of a photo of his cancelled Airbnb reservation.
Hopefully the weather in Toronto is above seasonal for the Dane and his family.