Morning Flurries: Welcome to Sweden!

The Colorado Avalanche are now in Sweden!

(So is Matt Duchene, but that’s not something we’re going to think about - much.)

In honor of the upcoming week of Swedish festivities before two Swedish captains face off in front of a vibrant Swedish crowd, here’s all the Swedish news your brain can possibly process!

First, Matt Duchene took a moment away from sightseeing in Sweden and practicing with his new team to write a couple of heartfelt notes to Colorado, his fans, and his former teammates:

It’s been a little under a decade since an Ontario boy with an inexplicable love for the Avalanche had all his dreams come true - and he hasn’t forgotten just how incredible that dream was, even as things ended on a somewhat sour note.

In tribute, as he prepares to face his old club with his new club on the ice in Sweden, here’s a look back at some major moments in his NHL career down in Denver [Mile High Hockey]

Speaking of hockey in Sweden and the NHL - although his time in Edmonton didn’t end quite the way he wanted it to, Liam Reddox has carved out a pretty nice career over in the SHL with the Växjö Lakers. SB Nation’s Patrik Bexell sat down with him to talk about his teammate, Vancouver Canucks prospect and 2017 5th overall draft pick Elias Pettersson. [SB Nation]

Want to know just how valuable the world outside of Colorado thought the Matt Duchene haul was? Here’s a primer - and spoiler, it seems pretty positive. [SBN]

Sweden has one of the best women’s pro hockey leagues around - and one of their players, elite goaltender Sabina Eriksson of HV71, just took home a new lid:

The 24-year-old Eriksson’s elite 2014-15 performance for her club helped earn them a promotion from Division I to the top-tier Riksserien (now the SDHL), where they’ve been ever since.

So far, this year, she boasts a .919 save percentage through 12 games - but her Transformers-inspired mask is even more eye-catching.