“Am very Swedish that way” – Johnny Oduya connects with family roots to grow ice hockey in Kenya
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Johnny Oduya
Former ice hockey defenceman Johnny Oduya visited Kenya some time back to conduct business, play a little hockey and reconnect with his African roots. The 40-year-old, who played for numerous teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), was born and raised in Sweden.
Oduya returned to his late father’s village in the East African nation’s Karachuonyo region for the first time in more than 30 years without knowing what to expect. The Stockholm-born intended to explore his family’s history, something he didn’t have time to do while winning a couple of Stanley Cup titles with the Chicago Blackhawks (2013, 2015), a silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and playing in 850 regular-season and 106 playoff games from 2006-18.
“It was a little bit, ‘How will it be after so long, will you feel things that feel a part of you?‘” he said, as quoted by NHL.com. “It felt very natural in a lot of ways, even though I haven’t been part of the culture for most of my life. I grew up with my mom in Sweden and I’m very ‘Swedish’ that way.”
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“Want to show a different way of hockey”
Johnny Oduya had 190 points (41 goals, 149 assists) in 850 regular season games and 28 points (six goals, 22 assists) in 106 playoff games. The retired Swedish player represented the Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers
“I want to show a different way of hockey,” he said. “It’s the most traditional sport, and probably the most segregated sport we also have in the western world. I’m trying to open up that space. That can be more dynamic than what it is. We need that to attract different types of people to the sport and grow it.”
“That’s the reason why we want to succeed with all of this,” Oduya said. “Not so much for selling clothes. For me, there’s a bigger purpose connected to that.”
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Sachin Arora
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