Emil Andrae is off to a great start this season. The 5'9" defenseman receives a ton of ice time and has really geared up when it comes to offensive production. But looking back, it’s been kind of a bumpy ride to get there.
HV71 has gone from rock bottom to being one of the hottest teams in the league. One major reason behind that transformation is Emil Andrae, 20. But if you ask him, he would never say that.
“We had a lot of guys out from the roster before the national team break, and didn’t have a lot of confidence, either”, he says about the slow start to the season for his team.
“There were games we should have won but we lost on simple mistakes. Lately we’ve gained a lot more efficiency which has turned in to wins which has given us the confidence to play another type of hockey. And of course we’ve also got Niklas Hjalmarsson now”, he adds with a smile.
The three time Stanley Cup champion Niklas Hjalmarsson decided to bow out after the 2020/21 campaign with the Arizona Coyotes, but felt the urge to lace up again. With the state that HV71 was in, one can imagine that GM Kent “Nubben” Norberg crossed his fingers more than once for that comeback to happen. And it did.
“He has come in to the group with positive energy and a competitive attitude, and that wears off on the rest of us”, Emil says. “He set’s the bar high and people listen to him when he has something to say. Plus he is a great hockey player both offensively and defensively.”
Gave up his number – no big deal
For Emil Andrae, the entrance of Niklas Hjalmarsson seems to have given him a push in the right direction. In the five games the NHL veterans has played, Emil Andrae has had no less than seven assists. But another notable thing has also changed.
“Yeah, I knew he has always played in the number four jersey, so when I understood he was serious about a comeback I asked if he wanted it, since that was my number”, Emil says laughing. “And he said yeah, I kind of do. So I gave it to him, it wasn’t a big deal for me.”
We will get back to that point streak, but first let’s back up a bit. Even though he’s young, Emil Andrae has had kind of a roller coaster ride so far in his carreer. It all started in the small coastal town of Västervik where he grew up with his parents and older brother Carl.
“My big brother was my idol growing up, I followed him everywhere. Since he started playing hockey, I did too. There’s been a lot of street hockey outside of our parents house back in the days”, Emil says with a smile.
Västerviks IK was at that point, and still is for that matter, a pretty small club, but with a competitive men’s team.
“They were fighting in the top flight of the third division when I was growing up, and finally managed to advance to the second tier. I was at basically all the home games, and watched a lot of SHL hockey, too. I didn’t have a favorite team, but watched a lot of games with Linköping and HV71, the two closest teams from Västervik.”
When the level of hockey back home in Västervik no longer was challenging enough, Emil Andrae played as underaged in J18 Elit with Oskarshamn - and even got to make his senior debut in Allsvenskan - before jumping onwards to HV71 when he turned 16.
“I knew a lot of guys on that team from the tv-pucken tournament, and it was also close to home, so it felt like a good choice and I haven’t regret it.”
”That obviously sucked”
Why should he? During his time in HV71 he has turned in to captain for Team Sweden at the World Junior Championships and of the most intriguing prospects of the SHL. But it hasn’t been all fun and games. The 2019/20 season ended in horror with a play out series between HV71 and Brynäs, a matchup in which Brynäs came out on top.
“Yeah that obviously sucked”, Emil says truthfully. “I mean I wasn’t one of the key players on that team, but had lived in Jönköping for a couple of years and knew how much HV71 meant for a lot of people.”
As a rule, almost all SHL contracts are terminated when a team is relegated to Hockeyallsvenskan. For a while, Emil Andrae had the choice of moving to another SHL team, or tagging along for the Hockeyallsvenskan journey with HV71. He chose the latter.
“There was interest from a few other SHL teams, and for a brief period I thought hard about what to do. But after meeting with Johan Hult and Fredrik Stillman it felt like a no brainer to stay with HV71. I knew we were going to have a strong team and that I would have every chance of playing big minutes.”
Looking back, that might have been just what Emil Andrae needed. Over the course of the season, he scored just short of a point per game, and HV71 gained promotion right away.
“I really enjoyed that season”, Emil says. “I learned how to play men’s hockey and received a lot of trust from the coaches. Unfortunately I was injured at the end of the season and watched the last games with one arm in a cast.”
Stiff upper lip
Yet another example of the ups and downs of a hockey carreer. Just like when he recently blocked a shot with his mouth, causing him to have nothing but liquid food for some time.
“I took a wrist shot to my upper lip and it cracked brutally, it took over 30 stitches to patch it together. I had to mix everything I ate for five days, which was really rough. I’m glad I got better relatively fast.”
As mentioned earlier, Emil Andrae has a nice point streak going in the SHL. In fact, he broke in to the record books the other week, when scoring four assists in HV71’s 6-2 victory against Rögle. No defenseman in HV71 has scored more than four assists in one game.
“I didn’t think about it during the game, but it’s really cool afterwards. Even more so since my coach Fredrik Stillman also has had four assists in one game. But I didn’t notice him playing me less late in the game so I would’t score another assist, haha.”
With the halfway mark of the SHL in sight, it’s no exaggeration that Emil Andrae is having a breakout season. Despite his smallish frame, he has the attention from North America, being drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers.
“I talk a lot with their European scouts. They’ve been over here watching a few games and keep up with things. Right now my only focus is playing my best here in HV71 and we’ll see where it leads. Hopefully I will get the chance to play in North America, that’s my goal”, Emil Andrae says.