After spending a year in the south playing Division-I hockey, sophomore Joakim Broberg has taken a very different path to St. Thomas than most other student-athletes.

Following a stint playing junior hockey in his native Sweden, Broberg was recruited to play at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, where he played for one season before deciding to transfer to St. Thomas last summer. In doing so, he became the program’s first ever European player. Broberg said the change is welcome.

“It’s nice here,” Broberg said. “Compared to my experience at Huntsville, this feels more like home with the Scandinavian culture. The southern mentality was a little bit different just people-wise.”

While attending high school in Sweden, Broberg played for Linkoping Hockey Club, a junior team in Sweden. In 2012, Broberg’s team won the national championship.

“It’s a really skilled league, but it’s developing more towards the American style. Just looking at the World Juniors for the past five, six years we have been in the finals a lot,” Broberg said. “We’re learning how to play North American style because they’ve been implementing that into junior league style.”

Broberg said his first year in the states was a unique experience. After a year in Alabama, Broberg decided it was time for a change and chose St. Thomas after hearing good things about the school through word of mouth.

“It was the combination of high-class hockey and strong academics. At the end, it just felt like a perfect fit for me,” Broberg said.

Not only did Broberg adapt to a new culture, but he also learned how to play a different style of hockey than he played in Sweden.

Broberg, however, enjoyed the changes.

“It’s fast-paced, it’s physical and obviously I’m a big guy, so I like to hit,” he said. “Combine that with skills and it’s fun.”

Since joining the St. Thomas hockey program, Broberg has been using his old playing style to his advantage.

“The rinks in the U.S. are a lot smaller than he’s used to,” freshman Ben Myers said. “One thing he would always reference is that everyone seems more crammed together, but him being a big-bodied guy definitely plays to his advantage.”

Coming into the season, Broberg said he was in good physical shape and was ready to use his experience on the ice. In just the fourth game of the season, however, Broberg injured his knee, forcing him to miss the team’s next four games.

“I thought I lost a couple of weeks getting used to everything because I was newer to St. Thomas, and I had only played four games until getting hurt,” Broberg said. “It was more frustrating mentally because while I was injured we went through a rough patch and lost a couple games.”

Not only has the Swedish forward made an impact on the team, but St. Thomas has made an impact on him.

“When I came to North America, I really had a mindset of just getting a degree and then just trying to play pro, but it has changed with the mentality I’ve found here. Especially in the locker room with the team having a focus on getting good grades,” Broberg said. “It has changed my values.”

Coach Jeff Boeser said upon leaving Huntsville, Broberg had the decision between St. Thomas and Gustavus. He is now planning to play as long as the team wants him here through the next couple years, Broberg said.

“He’s a really smart, big, strong kid,” Boeser said. “He came on really strong at the end of the year, and I think he’s got a great future with us at St. Thomas.”

After graduation, the Swede is not sure whether to return to his hometown, Lidkoping, to get a job in the states or follow his goal of going pro.

“I could maybe get a job, but it’s a little different for me being an international student,” Broberg said. “Some days I just want to focus on school and getting good grades and focusing more on a career and my major, whereas some days I think hockey is really fun (and) maybe I should give that a try before anything else. As of right now I’m not really sure.”

Eric Bromback can be reached at brom0030@stthomas.edu.