Before a capacity crowd of 1,000 and against a team that normally plays in the Swedish third division, Peter Forsberg's comeback game in Sweden on Wednesday was nothing like the NHL, and after the game, the NHL seems far, far away.
Forsberg played the whole exhibition against KB 65 as a wing on a line with former NHL players Jeff Ulmer and Andreas Salomonsson, but he didn't go at full speed and seemed uncomfortable on the ice.
Despite Modo scoring seven goals in the game, Forsberg's line didn't produce any points, and Forsberg, who already has declared he won't attempt to play in the NHL this season because of a chronic foot injury, missed a lot of passes.
Afterward, a disappointed Forsberg told reporters that he didn't get the answers he was looking for.
"This wasn't fun at all," he said. "I have to go home and evaluate this. I don't want to go into details, but it didn't feel as good as I hoped it would."
Modo plays its next game in the elite series on Feb. 12, at home against Skellefteå. After Forsberg announced his intention to return to Modo, the game at Swedbank Arena (capacity 7,600) in Örnsköldsvik sold out in a couple of hours. Now, the crowd might not get to see Forsberg play.
"It's doubtful," Forsberg said. "Right now, I don't know if I will play in the Elitserien (elite series) at all."
Forsberg said he will continue to practice with Modo, hoping that the foot that has troubled him for so many years will improve.
"I have to be honest with Modo and the guys on the team," Forsberg said. "If it doesn't work out, if I'm not 100 percent, I can't tell them on game day."
Anders Rönmark is a freelance hockey reporter in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.