Former Olympic Goalie Tommy Salo: “If You Have Criticism, Say It Straight To The Person’s Face”

The goaltender’s union is a tight-knit one. In the aftermath of Sweden’s defeat in the semifinals of the recently completed IIHF World Junior Championship to rival Finland, several have come forward to defend Swedish goalie Melker Thelin from online attacks. Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark appeared on Swedish TV ahead of the bronze-medal game to offer his opinions and advice. And on Swedish website HockeySverige.se, Tommy Salo has done the same.

“It is terribly bad,” said Salo. “He only lost one game during the World Junior Championship and it was in overtime against Finland.”

Salo heavily criticized the level of commentary directed at Thelin and the rest of the Swedish team in the aftermath of the game, particularly when doing so from the anonymity of the internet. “If you have criticism, say it straight to the person’s face, but I don’t think people behind the keyboards dare to do that.”

If anybody knows what Thelin is going through, it might be Salo. He had a distinguished NHL career for the New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche, and represented Sweden at eight World Championships and three Olympics, becoming a national hero when he backstopped the team to its first ever Olympic gold in 1994 in Lillehammer.

But that didn’t matter eight years later in Salt Lake City. After the Swedes had gone perfect through the group stage by beating Canada, Czechia and Germany, they were embroiled in a surprisingly close quarterfinal game against Belarus. With the game tied 3-3 late in the third period, a long shot from outside the blueline by Vladimir Kopat hit Salo in the mask and bounced into the net for the eventual winning goal.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbkxGsHfT7g[/embed]

There was no social media at the time, but the entire Swedish team was crucified in the media, with no player taking more heat than Salo.

“It can be tough to be a goaltender,” said Salo. “Even if you win the game, but let in a goal, you still get criticism. I find that a bit strange. The most important thing is that the team wins the games, which he did except for one game in overtime.

“First of all, it was a tricky shot,” Salo said about the sharp-angle goal by Benjamin Rautianen that beat Thelin on the power play in overtime. “As a goalie, you don’t expect a shot to come from there when you’re playing 3-on-4. I’m not sure that I myself would have been prepared for it.”

Salo only played five more years after his unfortunate Olympic experience in 2002, but he was already 31 at the time. He believes Thelin is a talented goalie and can have a long and successful career.

“I hope and believe that Thelin gets support from the guys and the leaders who have been there the whole time,” he said. “Also his parents and friends when he gets home. Then I think it will be okay.

“He was not bad in any way in the tournament – he should only be praised for his performance and continue playing hockey because that is what he does and likes best.”