Christmas with the Comets
December 17, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release
With Christmas less than two weeks away, we caught up with some of the Utica Comets players to see if they had any special Christmas memories or traditions.
The Utica Comets roster carries four players - Joacim Eriksson, Peter Andersson, Henrik Tommernes and Nicklas Jensen - who hail from Sweden and Denmark. Overseas, Christmas is still widely celebrated, but with slight differences here and there. In Denmark, Nicklas Jensen explained that Christmas is primarily celebrated on December 24th - what is considered Christmas Eve here in the States. They implement many of the same traditions, such as opening presents, decorating the tree, eating big meals with family, and partaking in outdoor activities in the snow. Comets defenseman Henrik Tommernes also explained that his family is split up between Sweden and Germany, so he experiences a blending of traditions around Christmas time. He explained that most of the time, his family all comes to Sweden and celebrates together, which he looks forward to every December.
Comets defenseman Yann Sauve, who hails from Montreal, talked about some of his favorite Christmas activities to do back home, such as ice fishing, having snowball fights with his relatives, skating on the lake near his family's house and riding four-wheelers through the snow. His favorite Christmas movie is Home Alone.
After asking most of the players what their favorite Christmas gift ever was, it seemed that most of our Comets looked back on their childhood memories to recall their favorite present. Yann Sauve's favorite gift was a remote control car and forward Cal O'Reilly's favorite gift was a racetrack car set that his parents set up the night before to surprise him on Christmas morning. Goaltender Joacim Eriksson said that his favorite Christmas gift was his German Shephard, Bianka, while forward John Negrin explained how his grandfather hid his new scooter outside for him to discover while searching for presents in the morning.
When asked about their least favorite gifts, most players struggled to answer, apparently appreciative of each and every gift they've received over the years. The general consensus was that players weren't too fond of opening wrapping and finding socks and underwear - things that "you can get any time of the year," according to defenseman Frank Corrado. "Gift cards. I hate gift cards," Corrado added, claiming that they take up too much extra space in his wallet.
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