INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A member of the Missouri Mavericks is heading home to make his Olympic dreams come true, and it just may have you rooting against the U.S. men’s team.
“Of course I was really excited. It’s the biggest thing you can do as a sports athlete to represent your country,” said Henrik Ødegaard.
Ødegaard is trading in the Mav’s blue and orange for the national colors of Norway. In just a few short weeks, Ødegaard will take the ice for his home country in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
“I’m excited, really excited! But of course, I’m not nervous now, but probably when you step on the ice you felt a bit nervous, but you often do your best when you’re a bit nervous,” he said.
Ødegaard’s been working on his game and knows he’s up against some of the best players in the world. Mavericks coach, Scott Hillman, says Ødegaard will be ready for the world stage.
“He’s the hardest working person in the room, first guy on the ice, last guy off the ice every day. Always working at his game, so it’s nice to see guys like that rewarded for their hard work,” Hillman said.
Hillman says Ødegaard’s success shows just how good the competition is in the Central Hockey League.
“I think it speaks volumes about the level of the Central Hockey League and also our team. If a player can step from here to the Olympics, that shows the level and how exciting this hockey is,” he said.
At this point, Ødegaard says he’s still waiting to see if he will start for Norway, and while he says it’s good to play for the Mavericks here in Missouri…
“I’m always a proud Norwegian, I love my country,” Ødegaard said.
This story was shot and produced by FOX 4 photojournalist Patricia Holloway