This isn’t 1st time Henrik and top pick are sharing a locker room
THE relationship between Henrik Lundqvist and Lias Andersson is a prime example of the circle of life. The Rangers, though, are probably more interested in whether their first-round draft pick can make the team this year at center.
“Oh, I remember Lias running around our locker room with a hockey stick in his hand when he was 4, 5, 6 years old,” Lundqvist, who was a teammate of Lias’ dad, Niklas Andersson, for four years back home with Frolunda of the SEL, told The Post. “For me, it is so cool to have been there for the start of his journey and now to be with him in the NHL.”
It is at least equally cool for the teenager, who said Lundqvist was one of his idols while growing up.
“I wanted to be a goalkeeper when I was little and played goal until I was 10 or 11,” Andersson said. “I remember I always saw [Lundqvist] with his gear on, and I would be running around throwing tennis balls around the room.
“I looked up to him. He and Joel [Lundqvist, Henrik’s twin brother] and my dad were the players I watched and learned from. I think playing goal helped me, because it was good for eye-hand coordination and helped with my flexibility.
“I stopped when I thought it was more fun to score goals than be able to stop them.”
Coach Alain Vigneault and management believe the seventh-overall selection who was obtained from Arizona as part of the exchange for Derek Stepan could well be ready to become the team’s first, firstrounder to make the leap directly from the draft into a Blueshirt since goaltender Dan
Blackburn in 2000-01. Andresson began to show why they have that hope with a productive preseason debut, collecting an assist on Neal Pionk’s overtime winner to finish the 1-0 win against the Islanders on Monday night at the Garden.
“I expect him [and 21st-overall pick Filip Chytil] to compete for a spot on the team,” Vigneault said of the center, who got 16:10 of total ice time, playing at even strength between Michael Grabner and Pavel Buchnevich while adding 5:16 of power-play time on the second unit. “From what I’ve seen, I like Andersson’s skill set, I like the energy he brings, and I love the way he interacts with his teammates.
“He’s always in there asking questions. I remember when Marty [St. Louis] came here, Zukey [Mats Zuccarello] was like a little pest, following him around, wanting to know what Marty did, he’d stay on the ice shooting pucks with Marty, and I see the same type of personality as far as asking questions.
“I hear that back with his teams [in Sweden], Lias was always a captain and a leader. I believe he’s got a real good personality and is a real good person.”
Niklas Andersson, a winger selected by Quebec in the fourth round of the 1989 draft, recorded 82 points (29 goals, 53 assists) in 164 games with five NHL teams. He had his best seasons with the Islanders from 1995 through 1997. But, according to both Lundqvist and Lias, the apple on the ice didn’t necessarily fall right next to the tree.
“He doesn’t play like his dad,” the King said. “Lias [5-foot-11] is a little bigger and more physical. Nik was all about speed; he was so quick on his feet. Even though I haven’t seen Lias that much, he looks like a very smart player. That’s something he did get from his dad.”
The son, who lived in Chicago for a couple of years while the old man played for the AHL Wolves from 1998 through 2000, agrees that he is breaking the mold.
“He was a little guy [5-9], more laid back than I am,” Lias said. “But to be around him and learn from him was of course very special. It means a lot to me.” Lias, who will turn 19 on Oct. 13, was a fixture on Sweden’s national junior squads. He is regarded as a mature, intelligent player who has an uncommon grasp of the game at both ends of the ice. The Rangers have had him penciled in as an NHLer since they drafted him.
“My goal, of course, is to make the team,” Andersson said. “It’s a faster, stronger game over here, smaller ice, tighter corners so it’s more of pace over here. It takes a couple of weeks, but I feel I’m getting more used to it.
“To be here, to be around these guys, it’s been a dream of mine. It’s unbelievable.” It is also the circle of life. “When I was coming up in Sweden there was a group of older guys who mentored me,” Lundqvist said. “Now it’s me in the position to be a teacher. And for Lias to be here with me, it is very cool.”