Pennsylvania Daybook

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Santa’s on his way: Military helps kids follow flight

<p>Oskar Sundqvist blew it.</p><p>He admits it.</p><p>Had Sundqvist known the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for eight days over Christmas break, he would&#8217;ve bought a plane ticket to his home in Sweden to spend the holiday with his family.</p><p>But as it turned out, Sundqvist had already bought tickets to fly his family from Sweden to Wilkes-Barre for Christmas.</p><p>&#8220;I kind of screwed up,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I realized too late that we had a long break. If the family wasn&#8217;t already coming, I would&#8217;ve gone home.&#8221;</p><p>Predicaments like that are part of life for hockey players who spend the season far from home. Usually, the Christmas break is too short for players who reside farther than driving distance to head home. The Penguins have several players from western Canada and Europe who have to adapt when it comes to Christmas. With an eight-day break this year, some are able to head home while others, like Sundqvist, are staying put.</p><p>Defenseman Lukas Bengtsson, who is from Sweden, is staying in Wilkes-Barre for Christmas but his parents and sister flew in to New York to be with him. It will be a welcome reunion for Bengtsson, who was sidelined with lyme disease for several months to begin his first season in North America.</p><p>&#8220;I haven&#8217;t seen them since I left Sweden and it&#8217;s been tough with the lyme disease,&#8221; Bengtsson said. &#8220;It will be nice to see them.&#8221;</p><p>Sundqvist and Bengtsson are also looking forward to rekindling some Christmas traditions native to Sweden while their families are in town. In Sweden, Christmas is actually celebrated on Christmas Eve, and Sundqvist said he&#8217;ll spend the day eating ham, sausage and anything else his family cooks.</p><p>&#8220;Every family is different when it comes to Christmas food. You can eat almost anything for Christmas, it&#8217;s like Thanksgiving,&#8221; Sundqvist said.</p><p>Bengtsson and his family opt for Donald Duck.</p><p>Actually, in Sweden the Walt Disney program &#8220;Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas&#8221; is popular viewing on Christmas Eve. In Sweden the show is called &#8220;Kalle Anka&#8221;, and Bengtsson is looking forward to watching it again with his family.</p><p>&#8220;Watching &#8216;Kalle Anka&#8217; is one of the traditions we usually do,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Hopefully we&#8217;ll have a Christmas tree too.&#8221;</p><p>Hailing from Prague in the Czech Republic, Dominik Simon could have made the long flight back home for a brief Christmas trip, but chose to stay in the U.S. He and his girlfriend are spending a few days in New York City and will return to Wilkes-Barre for Christmas.</p><p>&#8220;For 20 years I was celebrating Christmas with my family at home and suddenly it changes because you go overseas to play hockey. It&#8217;s a big change but all hockey players have to get used to it,&#8221; Simon said. &#8220;It&#8217;s tougher for my family than for me. Parents are used to having both kids at home and suddenly they&#8217;re home alone.&#8221;</p><p>Rookie forward Reid Gardiner&#8217;s hometown of Humboldt, Saskatchewan is nearly 2,000 miles from Wilkes-Barre but he&#8217;s not letting distance stop him from getting home for Christmas. Gardiner caught a flight last Sunday and spent four days in Humboldt before getting back to Wilkes-Barre in time for the Penguins game on Monday.</p><p>Gardiner said he was eyeing the schedule early in the year and when he noticed the long break it was an easy decision to go home for few days.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really special and both my brother and myself will be home,&#8221; Gardiner said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a good time for all of us to catch up. I feel very fortunate to be able to go home and spend Christmas with the people I care about.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Despite having eight days off for Christmas, several European-born Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin players will be staying put for the holidays. Dominik Simon, who is from the Czech Republic, is taking a quick trip to New York City and spending Christmas in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Simon1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Despite having eight days off for Christmas, several European-born Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin players will be staying put for the holidays. Dominik Simon, who is from the Czech Republic, is taking a quick trip to New York City and spending Christmas in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams file photo |For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Foreign-born players make most of holidays away from home</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Foreign-born Penguins bring home to Wilkes-Barre for holidays