Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell share a powerful off-ice moment in Sweden no one expected
Photo credit: NHL.com
Fellow Swedes Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell spent the day in Sweden visiting the Childhood Cancer Center in Stockholm, spending time with sick kids.
Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell spent Thursday afternoon at the cancer center at Karolinska University Hospital, a day after Nashville forwards Filip Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly also visited.
What this opportunity allowed Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell to do
The players' visits were part of Hockey Fights Cancer Month and afforded both teams an opportunity to interact with young patients while in Stockholm for the 2025 NHL Global Series Sweden.
For the two Swedish-born players, it meant a little more. It's rare that Karlsson and Rakell can participate in community events like this in their home country, so the afternoon was especially personal for them.
"To be able to do this in Sweden -- I haven't done this in, I think, my 17-year career -- for me is really cool," the 35-year-old Karlsson said. "Obviously Sweden means a lot for us. We're still prominent people here, even though we don't spend as much time here anymore. So it's fun to see how engaged and how well known we still are in this community, in this country, even though we don't see it on a daily basis anymore.
"For us to just show up as ourselves and give them a few moments of smiles and some other thoughts is ... it's hard to put words on how much it means for us."
"For us to just show up as ourselves and give them a few moments of smiles and some other thoughts is ... it's hard to put words on how much it means for us."
The Penguins and Predators are in Stockholm this week, with games set for Friday and Sunday at Avicii Arena.
An example of why this moment was so special for one teenager
While visiting the hospital, the Penguins made one family's day, surprising a teenage goalie who is battling cancer with four tickets to Sunday's game, leaving her and her family shocked.
Karlsson spent time at an art table with one young girl, bonding over Perler beads, a favorite in his own home.
He and Rakell handed out stuffed purple Hockey Fights Cancer bears, foam pucks, and signed Iceburgh mascot plushes, who was also in attendance, by the way.
"It means a lot to us," Rakell said of the whole experience. "Anytime that we have a chance to come in and be ourselves and just spend some time with these kids and their families, to put a smile on their face, obviously they're going through some really tough times, things that we can't even imagine what they're going through. So if we can brighten up a small part of their day, it means a lot to us as well."
Reminders of the Predators' visit were still on display, including two spin-art pieces signed by Forsberg and O'Reilly. Karlsson and Rakell added their own creations, with Rakell's featuring a bold swirl of black and yellow.
It wasn't all arts and crafts. During Nashville's visit the previous day, O'Reilly brought his guitar in and serenaded kids with an impromptu concert in the playroom, yet another heartfelt touch to an already meaningful week.
In the end, both teams were able to prove that the impact they had in Sweden reached way beyond the ice, creating unforgettable moments with families who needed them most.
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