Tomas Holmstrom

Swedish professional hockey player Tomas Holmstrom currently plays for the Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League. Since joining the team in 1996, Holmstrom has become a Detroit fixture and can commonly be seen screening the opposing goaltender, right in front of the goal.

Holmstrom was originally drafted 257th overall in the 1994 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. He continued to play in his native Sweden for two additional seasons with the Lulea HF of the Elitserien, or Swedish Elite League. He made his NHL debut with the Wings in 1996, playing 47 regular season games and one playoff game as the Wings won the Stanley Cup Championship in 1997. He returned with the Wings to repeat as champions in 1998.http://redwings.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8460743

Holmstrom won his third Stanley Cup with the Wings in 2002. He returned to Sweden to play during the 2004-05 NHL Lockout and continued with the Wings in the years since, including winning the Stanley Cup again in 2008.http://redwings.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8460743

Off the ice, Holmstrom lives in the Detroit area with his wife and two children during the season and in Sweden during the summer. When not playing, he enjoys fishing and woodworking.http://redwings.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8460743&view=bio

Despite missing time after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia, Holmstrom played in 68 games during the regular season in 2009-10. In those games he notched 25 goals and 20 assits, plus 60 penalty minutes and 131 shots on goal.http://redwings.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8460743

His injury also held him out from playing with Team Sweden at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Fellow Red Wing Johan Franzen took his place on the team.