It was in January last winter that Emil Heineman's then-NHL club, the Montreal Canadiens, announced that the Swede had been involved in a traffic accident.
He told Falu-Kuriren that he suffered a broken arm, and said "it could have ended so much worse" after being hit as a pedestrian at a crosswalk.
"It was crazy. It's hard to explain in words, really," Emil Heineman tells TT ahead of this year's Ice Hockey World Championship in Switzerland.
“It was scary”
"I'm glad I'm standing here today and able to play. I'm grateful that it turned out the way it did. It was scary and terrifying, but I'm still grateful to this day."
He was back in action a month later. But after his rookie season with the Canadian club - the season before, he only played in four NHL games - Heineman was traded to the New York Islanders.
"They just called and said it had happened. I had heard from my agent that there were some rumours about it, but I felt more like I had a tough second half in Montreal and now, damn it, I just want some revenge."
He scored 22 goals and nine assists last season - Heineman finished third on the Islanders' goal-scoring leaderboard.
"It was really a step forward. I got to take on a bigger role and it was a good group to join," says the player.
“A powerful jersey”
His progress made many want to include the forward in Tre Kronor's squad for the Olympics in Milan in February, but that did not happen.
"I know who the players are. I thought I'd try to play as best I can and we'll see. I focused on my game. That it didn't work out - that's what I expected."
The forward made his World Championship debut last year when he won bronze in Stockholm, but he has never taken international play for granted. His first appearances in the blue and yellow jersey came with the under-19 national team.
"I actually thought before that I would never get to do it. Because I wasn't very good, it hit me that year. It's a powerful jersey and it's an honor to get to wear it," says Emil Heineman.
Born: November 16, 2001, in Leksand.
Position: Forward.
Parent club: Leksand.
Senior clubs: Leksand, Laval Rocket (AHL), Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders.
Current: Will play in the Ice Hockey World Championship in Switzerland (May 15-31) with Tre Kronor.
The Men's Ice Hockey World Championship in Switzerland will be held May 15-31.
Sweden's group B will be played in Fribourg – group A will be decided in Zurich.
Tre Kronor's matches:
May 15: Canada (4:20 p.m.).
May 17: Denmark (4:20 p.m.).
May 18: Czech Republic (8:20 p.m.).
May 20: Slovakia (8:20 p.m.).
May 22: Italy (8:20 p.m.).
May 23: Norway (8:20 p.m.).
May 26: Slovakia (4:20 p.m.).
Teams in Group A: USA (reigning champions), Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, Austria, Hungary, Latvia.
The top four in each group advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played on May 28. The host cities will each host two quarterfinals.
Semifinals (May 30) and medal matches (May 31) will be decided in Zurich.
