Former soccer star Zibanejad happy he chose hockey instead
Budding Senators star Mika Zibanejad nearly missed out on an NHL career in order to chase his soccer dreams. The Swedish athlete faced a crossroads in his career at just 16 years old when he had to choose between a professional hockey career or a professional soccer career.
Zibanejad obviously picked hockey, but he told the Ottawa Citizen that it was not easy giving up on his first love.
"I remember starting with soccer before hockey,” he said to the Ottawa Citizen. “I was playing soccer because my dad came from a soccer background and it’s quite big in Sweden, as well. It’s a mix between soccer and hockey. I always loved soccer and then hockey came in my life and kind of changed things up a bit."
Zibanejad told the Ottawa Citizen he still plays soccer when he goes home for the offseason, and he named himself as one of Ottawa's best players at kicking the soccer ball around before games.
But Zibanejad, who was drafted sixth overall in the 2011 NHL Draft, has shown steady improvement as a hockey player in the past three seasons. He played a career-high 80 games for the Senators this season and registered career high totals in goals (20), assists (26) and points (46). So while Zibanejad might always wonder what would have happened had he chosen soccer over hockey, he is still doing pretty well for himself athletically.
(h/t Ottawa Citizen)
Photo by Jean-Yves Ahern - USA Today
