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Wilkes-Barre home damaged by BB gun shots

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Happy birthday to Jack Youngblood!

<p>There&#8217;s a lot of differences between Niclas Andersen&#8217;s hometown of Grums, Sweden and Wilkes-Barre. Or North America in general.</p><p>But Andersen has noticed one similarity during his time in Wilkes-Barre that makes the area feel like home - a town with 5,200 people where the town is flanked by the Swedish countryside dotted with barns and mills. Andersen makes Grums sound like a pretty picturesque place, and he&#8217;s thankful for having grown up in a small town.</p><p><strong>Player:</strong> Niclas Andersen</p><p><strong>Hometown:</strong> Grums, Sweden</p><p><strong>Type:</strong> Rural, small town</p><p><strong>Population:</strong> 5,200</p><p><strong>Distance from Wilkes-Barre: </strong>3,796 miles</p><p><strong>Tell us about Grums: </strong>A really small town but a great place to grow up. A big hockey town as well and there were a lot of guys from there that played in the NHL.</p><p><strong>Is a small town in Sweden similar to a small town here?</strong> &#8220;I guess its the same as a small town here. There are farm areas and a big paper mill in Grums. It&#8217;s a working town. A lot of people work in the paper mill. There are barns and mills around the town, and not a big downtown there.&#8221;</p><p><strong>What did you like about growing up in a small town in Sweden?</strong> &#8220;It was perfect for me. You could walk everywhere and I lived close to the rink. Even if you don&#8217;t have practice you could walk over there and skate. We were close to the school and you could walk there. It was a great place to grow up. A safe place.&#8221;</p><p><strong>What is Christmas like in Sweden?</strong> &#8220;Almost the same thing in Sweden as over here. The only thing a little bit different is the food we eat. We celebrate on Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day. It&#8217;s a big holiday in Sweden too and everyone looks forward to it.&#8221;</p><p><strong>What kind of food do you eat for Christmas?</strong> &#8220;Swedish meatballs, of course, and a potato dish. It&#8217;s really good. We don&#8217;t have the turkey though. It&#8217;s not common over there.&#8221;</p><p><strong>When Janne Pesonen played here he said reindeer with lingonberries was a popular dish in Finland. Is it liked in Sweden to?</strong> &#8220;Not really. They&#8217;re Finns so they&#8217;re strange. Just kidding. Perhaps in the northern part of Sweden they have reindeer, but it&#8217;s not common.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Any similarities between Wilkes-Barre and Grums?</strong> &#8220;Not really. Wilkes-Barre is a small town too, but not as small as Grums. Wilkes-Barre has a downtown area, a lot of restaurants and shops. You have to take a car everywhere over here. One similarity is its close to the woods like we had in Grums. You can take a walk and go out in the forest and hike. That&#8217;s great over here. If you don&#8217;t want to be around all the cars and downtown every day, 20 minutes away you&#8217;re out in the woods and can relax.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Andersen </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Andersen.jpg</photo0><caption0>Andersen </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>VIDEO</strong></p><p>To see Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin Niclas Andersen talk about his hometown in Sweden, visit the online version of this story at timesleader.com</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table class="mceItemTable" style="border:none;width:98%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;">2CHkiK378Fw </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;">YOUTUBE</p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CHkiK378Fw </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> My hometown with Niclas Andersen</p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> Tom Venesky | Times Leader</p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

My Hometown: Life is a little different in Niclas Andersen’s Swedish hometown