Tomas Holmstrom

Tomas Holmström (born January 23, 1973) is a Swedish professional ice hockey left winger currently playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL), where he has won four Stanley Cup championships. He is sometimes known as "Homer". =Playing career=

Holmström was first noticed by Red Wings scout Håkan Andersson in 1993 during a national team selection camp, where Holmström missed the cut, then again the next year while playing with Boden where his coach, Niklas Wikegård, told Andersson that Holmström was the team's best player.He was drafted 257th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft and has played for the Red Wings since 1996 with the exception of the season lost due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout where Holmström returned to Sweden to play for his old team, Luleå HF in the Swedish elite league Elitserien. On April 7, 2007, Holmström scored his 30th goal of the 2006–07 season against Chicago Blackhawks, achieving the first 30 goal season of his career.

Holmström scored 12 points during the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in 11 years. On his day with the Cup, he had his cousin's daughter baptised in it. He was inducted into the Piteå Wall of Fame in 2006.

=Playing Style=

Holmström is known for standing in front of the goal to screen the opposing goaltender to try to tip in goals. Because he has to withstand hits from pucks as well as his opponents in this position, he wears several extra pads to protect his body. Holmström is known to many fans in Detroit by the nickname of "Homer." He acquired the nickname "Demolition Man" while playing in Sweden (where he was also called "Holma").

=Trivia=

In a recent issue of Sports Illustrated, Holmström said that he wears three similar gray shirts (one before warm-ups, one during warm-ups, and one during the game), but says that he cannot mix them up because of their purposes.