Despite spending long hours training, professional hockey players have a lot of downtime — at least until they have kids.
While past generations might have spent that downtime by heading out to the bar, it’s not unusual to see the younger generation playing video games instead. And, with their quick reaction times and fast-twitch muscles, they can get pretty good at them.
For most young hockey players, video games are not just a hobby but a way to connect with friends. It’s important to remember that hockey players travel all over the world and can end up very far from home, so spending time in a favourite video game is the closest proxy to hanging out at a friend’s house.
“I play video games almost every day with my friends back home,” said Elias Pettersson on the 32 Thoughts Podcast this year. “We play NHL — like ‘Chel, we play 3-on-3 or sometimes 5-vs-5 — and also I play Call of Duty with my friends back home.”
Pettersson's gaming hobby didn't keep him from having a career year and he's certainly not the only Canuck to spend time playing Call of Duty. His fellow Swede, Nils Höglander, evidently also spends a fair amount of time playing Call of Duty. He proved as much in a collaboration with the Seattle Surge, a professional Call of Duty League (CDL) team that is co-owned by Canucks Sports and Entertainment.
Höglander faced off against Amer “Pred” Zulbeari, who is one of the best Call of Duty players in the world. When the Surge won the CDL 2022 Major III Grand Final, Pred was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, then was named Rookie of the Year for the 2022 CDL season.
With that in mind, it’s at least a little bit surprising that Höglander — decidedly not a professional e-gamer — managed to hold his own in a 1v1 match against Pred.
Höglander, playing under the handle “HitTheDeke,” seemed to legitimately catch Pred off-guard with how well he played, as the power forward matched him kill for kill at first. At the 2:40 mark, Pred looks legitimately taken aback, looking towards the camera crew as if making sure he’s not being pranked by being secretly matched up against another pro.
“Bro, you’ve actually got a good shot,” said Pred. “You’ve been playing more than ‘often,’ you liar.”
It’s entirely likely that Pred was initially taking it easy on the hockey player, of course, and turned it on when Höglander proved a worthy challenger. Eventually, Pred said, “Now I’m warm,” and started taking control of the match, but Höglander still put up a good fight and kept the professional gamer on his toes.
“Bro, you’re hacking, you’re actually hacking,” said Pred at the 3:20 mark when Höglander made an impressive shot, adding a moment later, “This guy’s cracked, bro.”
“Cracked,” in gaming terms, is a tremendous compliment, indicating that Pred has some legitimate respect for Höglander’s Call of Duty skills.
Perhaps the most impressive moment for Höglander comes at the 5:08 mark of the video. He manages to sneak up on Pred for a kill and you can see the professional gamer smile for a moment before his jaw drops.
“Did you just throwing knife me?” said Pred in disbelief. “Wait, what?”
In the end, the talent of Pred held out and he won the match 30-to-20, but Pred still had some sincere appreciation for Höglander’s game.
“He’s actually really good,” said Pred after the match. “You actually have a good shot, I’m not even kidding. You’re lying, you play a lot.”
“Actually, I do,” replied Höglander with a laugh.
