As he makes the transition from the life of Hockey East into Big Ten play, Ludvig Larsson is enjoying his status as the first graduate transfer in the history of Penn State men's hockey.
He arrived in Happy Valley after earning his bachelor's degree in business finance at Merrimack College. At Penn State, Larsson is currently earning his master's in International Affairs with a concentration in international business and economics.
Larsson mentioned the easiest part of the adjustment to life at Penn State has been maintaining a similar schedule to the one he had at Merrimack.
"What I really like with the graduate program here is that classes are during the day," Larsson said. "At other schools, classes are at night, so that made it a lot easier for me to have a similar schedule than I had at Merrimack.
"I love the campus, even though sometimes it can feel pretty big, a lot bigger than Merrimack. I kind of had to figure out the bus system, but otherwise things are going great."
Even with a program as young as Penn State's, Larsson made it clear that the reputation of "Hockey Valley" precedes itself as he gets ready for games in Pegula Ice Arena this season.
"I know the Pegulas built this arena to be the loudest in college hockey and I'm pretty sure they did a good job with that," Larsson said. "I've heard it's the best student section in college hockey. We definitely have the best hockey experience. It's a perfectly sized arena for college hockey."
Larsson also represents another first for Penn State hockey as the first Swede to suit up for the Blue and White in program history. Raised in Malmo, Ludvig comes from an athletic pedigree.
He played alongside his brother Alfred at Merrimack, while his mother Anna-Karin was a track and field athlete in Sweden, and his father Karl-Erik played hockey professionally in Sweden for seven seasons.
The athleticism even extends a generation earlier to his grandfather, Pev-Erik Larsson, who earned an Olympic bronze medal in cross-country skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympic Games in Italy and even became a World Champion in 1958.
"They had a huge influence," Larsson said. "My dad played hockey and bought me a pair of skates when I was very young. He wanted to put me down that path. My mom being an athlete helped because she understands how much work you have to put in.
"She put me into a lot of different sports when I was younger because she understood how important it is to be an all-around good athlete. My grandpa was also an Olympian at cross country skiing which helped too."
While on the ice he has made the adjustments to an American-sized rink, Larsson identified with the learning curve that he once encountered, which younger European players on the team have had to make as they adjust to the smaller rink size.
"The rinks are bigger in Europe obviously with the Olympic-sized ice," Larsson said. "At first, I wasn't used to how close the boards were to each other. We never usually stop on skates, just curl around because the rinks are so big.
"With a smaller rink you have to defend differently. A lot of stop-starting and north-to-south skating, rather than the east-west style of play because puck possession is big in Europe."
Individually, Larsson is concerned with a different type of adjustment. Hockey East play has a knack for being a tough, physical conference, so the aggressive style of play that Penn State emphasizes under coach Guy Gadowsky is something that Larsson keeps in mind.
"We played a very defensive style at Merrimack," Larsson said. "We play very aggressively, very fast here and we love to play offense and score goals. I think I've been adapting pretty well thus far."
Speaking of Gadowsky, the head coach also likes the element of leadership that Larsson can bring to the table as a graduate transfer.
"Ludvig has three years of playing experience at Merrimack in Hockey East and as an older player will bring added leadership on and off the ice. He is great on face-offs and will be able to play in a lot of different situations for us."
With that said, Larsson simply wants his on-ice play to do the talking, as he adapts to a new team while understanding his role within the program.
"I didn't want to step on anyone's toes," Larsson said. "But I still feel like I'm an older guy, I've played for three years. If there's ever anything I can help someone with, I try to help him based on my experience.
"I'm not trying to be the leader necessarily because I'm a new guy and I need to earn respect. But once the season goes on, I'll continue to become more of a leader."
