SAN JOSE – Filip Bystedt’s blond hair was a little longer than usual when he arrived at the start of San Jose Sharks training camp a couple of weeks ago, having let it grow for the past two or three months. After Bystedt decided he needed a haircut, his Swedish countryman, veteran Alexander Wennberg , recommended a local barber shop for the 20-year-old center. “It’s a little tough.
I was deciding to go really short or just like this,” Bystedt said of the haircut, which ended up as more of a modest trim. “I was a bit scared, so I went with this one.” It’s a small example of an experienced player like Wennberg, who signed a two-year contract with the Sharks in July as a free agent, helping Bystedt, a similarly built player who also left Sweden for the United States at about the same age.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Wennberg turned 20 just before he began his first full season with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2014-15. The 6-3 and 210-pound Bystedt, selected 27th overall by the Sharks at the 2021 NHL Draft, is set to play his first entire season in North America, likely starting the year with the Barracuda of the AHL. “He’s helped me a lot from faceoffs to a bit about the North American game,” Bystedt said of Wennberg, “and then just talking off-ice, just normal stuff, like living and where to go.
” Bystedt, Wennberg, and all the Swedish players in camp have bonded in recent weeks. “I was 19, too. It’s so different,” Wennberg, now 30, said of his arriv.
