New Warrior Jonas Jerebko is one of the tallest players on the roster, listed at 6-foot-10.
Now imagine him on skates.
Hockey was his favorite sport when he was growing up in Sweden.
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SIGN UP HERE The Pistons drafted Jerebko in 2009, and at that time, Detroit was a hot spot for Swedish athletes who played for the Red Wings. Legends such as Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Lidstrom were on a roster that was about one-third Swedish. It was a sweet moment in time for Jerebko to have countrymen in his new city.
Jerebko shared a hockey story with me at practice (lightly edited for clarity):
Last time I skated was the lockout year (2011). I was supposed to go to practice with the Red Wings, but they told me the wrong time so I came an hour late, but they were there … (Jonathan) Ericsson and (Niklas) Kronwall and Zetterberg were waiting there for me, so I was out there skating. And I was doing pretty good!
My slap shot was really, really good. I was out there having so much fun. I remember, because it was during the lockout, that I was in good shape and I was coming off an injury. I thought, ‘Should I skate, or should I not?’ but I was like, this is too much fun …
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I remember being out there for like an hour straight, hitting slap shots and skating. And then the next day, I woke up and I thought I had broken both my wrists from shooting slap shots. I hadn’t shot a slap shot in 10 years! For five days afterward, I couldn’t even shoot a basketball. I was like, should I go to a doctor?
I grew up playing hockey and golf, so I have a real good slap shot. But … it’s been awhile. I would love to do it again.
Jerebko said he doesn’t aim his slap shots to score on a goalie in a specific spot. Instead, he laughs at himself for “shooting as hard as I can and hoping for the goal.”
Jerebko wants fans to know one more thing. His name is pronounced Yoo-nuss Yerr-ebb-ko. But the hard “J” that Americans pronounce is OK with him.
