Johan Franzen

Status: Detroit Red Wings right winger

Ht: 6-foot-3 Wt: 222 pounds

DOB: Dec. 23, 1979 In: Landsbro, Sweden

Hockey Inspirations: "I read all the biographies when I was a kid - Wayne Gretzky, Borje Salming, Peter Forsberg. So I guess those would be the first ones who come to mind."

First Hockey Memory: "My first memory is breaking my first stick. We had our little ice surface close to where I lived - we skated down the hill to the ice and played there. I had one of those mini sticks that you put on the wall. And I remember still when I broke my first stick with a slapshot. It was huge for me. I could go to the next level stick-wise and get a bigger one. Yeah, it was something special."

Nickname: "Only ‘Mule.’ "

Favorite Movies: "I hate these kinds of questions (smiles). Can't come up with one."



Musical Tastes: "A mix. I hate these questions (smiles). I never have an answer for them. I should write this at home instead. I listen to everything."

First Job: "First real job was at a window company. Big one in Sweden."

Current Car: "BMW."

Favorite Meal: "Steak."

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: "Vanilla. With chocolate sauce."



Greatest Sports Moment: "Stanley Cup."



Most Painful Moment: "Painful moment...maybe the year before, when we lost to Anaheim. Wasn't fun at all. And last season - being out with ACL."



Favorite Uniforms: "Red Wings and Rangers."

Last Vacation: "Peru."

Closest NHL Friends: "(Niklas) Kronwall, (Henrik) Zetterberg."

Funniest Players Encountered: "Oh, I gotta think of my team because I don't know anyone else...say Chris Osgood."

Toughest Competitors Encountered: "It's hard. Let me think about it. (Niklas) Hjalmarsson, Chicago."

Most Memorable Goal: "Maybe first hat trick in the playoffs against Colorado."

Embarrassing Hockey Memory: "I hit the ref once. (With a shot?) No, with my body (laughs). When I was a kid (age 12). Got suspended. That was embarrassing."

Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: "Golf, tennis."



Personality Qualities Most Admired: "You can trust them. Trustworthy."

Mark 'Scoop' Malinowski is the author of "Heavyweight Armageddon: The Tyson-Lewis Championship Battle" and creator of two websites: www.thebiofile.com and www.Tennis-prose.com.