For Ludvig Larsson, the decision to play hockey in Sweden was an easy one.
Larsson was Penn State's first graduate transfer in 2018, and the program's first Swede. Racking up 25 points in 39 games before leaving the program, the forward spent the first year and a half of his pro career bouncing between the AHL's Binghamton Devils and the ECHL's Adirondack Thunder.
Playing for the minor league clubs of the New Jersey Devils organization wasn't all that he imagined. The instability was difficult. Unlike college hockey, where he'd be with the same team all year, Larsson was sent up and pushed down between the two teams. It was hard to bond with teammates and form connections.
"I felt stuck in the position I was in," Larsson said. "I felt like I was put in a spot where I would play in the East Coast the following year most likely, and that's not what I wanted to do. I didn't want to get stuck in that league… sometimes you're stuck in a position where people just see you in a certain way. I wanted to try something new, try to find that love for the game again."
Now playing for Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), Larsson has the stability and connection he was craving. More importantly, he's rediscovered his love for the game.
"In the United States, they have affiliates all the way through – in three, four layers with the NHL, AHL, East Coast and then SPHL. In Sweden, that's not really the case where they have affiliates. When they sign contracts and they pick out the team, that's usually the team they will play with the majority of the year," Larsson said.
The structure of teams in the SHL, where players typically play for a full season together, is something Larsson said helps build camaraderie. Teams, and their families, form deep bonds. The connections players form with their teammates helps to increase the team's success on the ice.
And Rögle BK has had a lot of success.
The team is currently ranked first in the SHL, and they most recently won the Champions Hockey League (CHL). The CHL is comprised of 32 teams from 13 leagues across Europe. Teams can qualify for the league by being, at minimum, the fifth-ranked team in the regular season. 125 games are played through the course of August to March, alongside the team's regular-season games they play in their own leagues.
With one championship under their belt, Larsson and his squad are aiming to win the SHL Championship and become double champions. Playing in his home country has given Larsson the professional success and opportunity that he felt he was lacking while playing in the United States.
But, more importantly, Larsson's return to Sweden has meant he is surrounded by family and friends. Their encouragement means everything to him.
"The team I'm playing for right now, is located an hour away from Malmö, where I grew up," Larsson said. "My parents have season tickets, my friends are able to come see me play… it means a lot to have that support."
Larsson's girlfriend, Johanna Näsman, joined Larsson in Sweden in January. Of all the things that Penn State has given Larsson, Näsman is at the top of the list. The two met at Penn State, and many of their relationship milestones happened at Pegula Ice Arena.
"(Pegula Ice Arena) was where I met his mom when she came and visited. When he met my parents, it was also at a game," Näsman remarked. "I think (the arena) is kind of a bonding point for both of our families."
She and Larsson were introduced by a mutual friend at Federal Taphouse, and Näsman graduated from Penn State in 2020 with a B.S. in Nursing. Before moving to Sweden, she was an operating room nurse at Penn Medicine, specializing in orthopedic and otorhinolaryngology (ear, nose and throat) surgery.
While being back in Sweden has been valuable for Larsson both professionally and personally, it's also been a homecoming for Näsman. Näsman was born in Malmö, the same city that Larsson is from. The two never met before their meeting at Penn State, as Näsman moved to the United States when she was just 2 years old.
"My grandparents' house is actually two blocks from where Ludvig grew up, and where his parents live," Näsman said. "Ludvig's hockey career brought me back to my roots, and now I am close to my extended family which I've never experienced before. I've never lived close to my grandmother, and now I see her once a week."
Näsman's presence is invaluable to Larsson. She's currently an operating room nurse in Sweden, and is studying to take the Swedish board exam to further practice in the country. It's something Larsson is extremely proud of.
Larsson's career in Sweden has allowed him and Näsman to be together. Due to the instability he faced when playing in the United States, it's likely he and Näsman would still be in a long-distance relationship if he continued playing there.
"That's kind of the big advantage of being in the Swedish system now," Näsman said. "He signed a contract with this given team and we have an apartment in this town and we know that he's not going anywhere. We're here. I have a job here."
Looking back on his time at Penn State, Larsson can't imagine being where he is today, both professionally and personally, without having stepped foot inside Pegula Ice Arena.
"That was my last year of development before I jumped out to become a professional hockey player, so it's a very important year and I had my best year in college when I was at Penn State," Larsson said. "That's something I will be forever grateful for, that they wanted me to transfer there. Penn State was definitely a springboard for me to jump into professional hockey."
Being the program's first grad-transfer, Larsson was an important addition to the program and was the team's "test subject," for bringing more graduate transfers into the program.
"He's an older guy who had played college hockey, and really he was our litmus test," head coach Guy Gadowsky said. "It just worked out so well with the team and with professors on campus – that's why we are comfortable having more transfers, because of the great experience we had with him.
"He played our style… played fast, a skilled guy, really good in the face-off dot. He did a lot of really good things that we valued already."
While Larsson has enjoyed the success he's had so far in his career, he has his eyes on the future. He feels his development has advanced under the Swedish system. His skating has improved, and playing a less physically demanding schedule has increased his chances of staying healthy.
Due to his time in Sweden, and because of both the physical and mental development he has undergone, Larsson doesn't discount returning to the United States to further his career in the future.
"I feel like I still am becoming a better hockey player," Larsson said. "I am not satisfied with where I am. Obviously I've come a long way in my career, but the NHL is my dream, and that's still my dream to be able to reach that level."
