The 26-year-old Norwegian was often in Tampa visiting his grandparents during his upbringing.
There, he developed a liking for the city's hockey team.
They had an extremely good team back then with stars like Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, and Nikita Kucherov. So, it's actually that way, says Casper Ruud to TT.
Just Hedman, who has been in the club since 2009 and has won two Stanley Cups, has the tennis star's great respect.
He's the kind of man you'd take with you to war. Then you take those who are strongest and give the most, and then you think of him right away.
"Incredibly good"
I've never met him, but from what you've seen, he's a very good team player. Then he's incredibly good defensively.
Before the season, the 34-year-old Swede became the team captain in the club – after Tampa Bay's icon Steven Stamkos left after 16 years.
If there was anyone who should get the "C" on their chest, it was the Swede, according to Ruud.
He's been here for many years, and was really the top candidate.
Besides Hedman, there is further Nordic influence in Tampa Bay's defense, in the form of Ruud's compatriot Emil Lilleberg – who played in SHL with Oskarshamn before moving to North America.
"Had a little dream"
A little special that he ended up in Tampa, where I haven't gotten to see him live yet. But I think he plays very well.
Besides the players in his favorite team, he has a soft spot for Norway's best ice hockey player of all time: Mats Zuccarello, who now plays with Minnesota.
I had a little dream that he would come to Tampa somehow. But he stayed in New York Rangers for many years, where we saw many fun matches when they met Tampa.
+ Quarterfinals
Eastern Conference: Toronto–Ottawa, Tampa Bay–Florida, Carolina–New Jersey, Washington–Montreal.
Western Conference: Winnipeg–St Louis, Dallas–Colorado, Vegas–Minnesota, Los Angeles–Colorado.
The first matches are played on Saturday evening.
+ Reigning champions: Florida Panthers.
+ TV: Viaplay.
