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SCRJ striker Pontus Aberg, 29, has a close bond with his daughter Molly, 6.
Nicole VandenbrouckIce hockey reporter
Suddenly a flock of seagulls circles around Pontus Aberg and his daughter Molly. The two walked to the marina in Lachen SZ and brought bread to feed the birds. You can sense immediately that there is a close bond between the 29-year-old and the lively six-year-old.
The Lakers forward is spending as much time with Molly as possible. But that was – and is – not always easy. Flashback, late 2015: Aberg had only been dating Molly’s mother Ellinore for a few months when the then 19-year-old became pregnant.
At the time, Aberg was in Nashville’s NHL organization but only played in the AHL with Milwaukee. When he is on his way to an away game, Ellinore texts him that she is expecting a child. After the initial shock, the newly in love but young couple is looking forward to the future as a family. But the circumstances are challenging.
Mother quits job and moves to Aberg
Aberg is chasing the NHL dream, making his 2016-17 debut with the Predators but mostly playing on the AHL farm team and often away. “I lived out of suitcases,” he says over a hot chocolate. “I didn’t know exactly what to expect as parents and what to expect as a father.” After another year together in Milwaukee, the couple separates. “It was the best for everyone,” he said on The Athletic at the time. Today the Swede no longer likes to talk about it.
Ellinore returns home – Molly stays with her dad. But Aberg does not want his little one to be looked after by a nanny. So he asks his mother Anette for help. She quits her job as a massage therapist in Stockholm and lives with her son for the next two years to take care of her granddaughter. Because in 2018/19 the second-round draft (2012, Nashville) at the Anaheim Ducks made the breakthrough in the NHL.
Aberg is convinced that he owes his development, both as a player and as a person, to his daughter Molly. “She helped me focus on hockey instead of life around it. She helped me to always be happy.” If the young father wants to spend an evening with his teammates, his mother makes it possible. But Aberg is doing his best to balance hockey and fatherhood.
Reunited at the Lakers
It becomes more difficult when he moves to the KHL in Chelyabinsk in 2020 or then to Boleslav in the Czech Republic in 2022. Molly lives in Stockholm with her mother or grandma Anette and only comes to visit. “That was hard. When she’s gone, I miss her. At that age you miss so much in your child’s development.”
That’s why his move from Boleslav, where he canceled his contract, to Rappi-Jona SG makes his life perfect again. Because Molly has been living with him in Lachen since Christmas. He can take her out of the 1st class for three months without losing her place. The SCRJ player diligently practices reading and arithmetic with her. The fact that they can be reunited is also made possible by Aberg’s new girlfriend Isabell (20), whom he met during his season at Timra (Sd) 2022.
“Had nothing to lose”: Lakers Swede Aberg on his miracle box(01:01)
National League 22/23
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