Jonatan Berggren escapes near-death experience

Detroit Red Wings forward Jonatan Berggren was barely able to avoid what could have been a life-ending tragedy a week before the World Championship overseas. 

During his training with the Swedish team in Gothenberg, Berggren was nearly struck by a tram while crossing the street to the rink with teammates Joel Persson and Lukas Bengtsson. And as Berggren explains it, he didn't see it approaching until it was almost too late. 

“I had headphones on when I went to the match,” Berggren explained to Expressen.se. “It was close. I looked up at the last second and had to jump."

“First and hopefully last near-death experience for me.”

For his teammates, it was frightening to witness.

“It was scary,” said Linus Johansson.

“He was about to be run over,” added teammate Jonathan Pudas. “He (the tram driver) never had time to stop.”

Thankfully, Berggren is alive and well, and has proven to be a valuable commodity for Sweden with two goals and three assists so far in the tournament, good for second overall in team scoring. 

As a rookie with the Red Wings in 2022-23, Berggren scored 15 goals with 13 assists in 67 games played after being called up from the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins.