Ohlund ready for a new challenge

After 11 seasons playing and living in the Pacific Northwest, defenseman Mattias Ohlund took his hockey career to the opposite corner of the NHL map this season.

But it's not just the 33-year-old's profession that moved to the Tampa Bay area. His whole life was about to change after he signed a seven-year free agent contract on July 1.

So as the time to start a new chapter in his career began to get closer, he wanted to make sure everything else in his life was in order. Ohlund, along with his wife and two children, arrived in town well ahead of the start of training camp.

With schools to enroll in, doctors and pediatricians to locate and all the other ancillary issues that come along with moving to a new area, Ohlund wanted to be sure everything was in order at home so when the time came for camp to start he could fully concentrate on hockey.

"They all enjoy Tampa now, and I wanted to make sure they have what they need back home. And they do, so my focus right now is to make sure to prepare as well as I can for Oct. 3," Ohlund said.

That date represents Tampa Bay's season opener in Atlanta, when Ohlund's Lightning career will officially begin. And although it has been less than two weeks since training camp started, Ohlund is easily acclimating himself to his new surroundings.

And for the first time in quite a while during his NHL career, he has a new level of excitement.

"I'm in a good place, and I'm excited every day about getting up and going to work," he said. "There is an excitement that I haven't felt maybe in a few years. It doesn't matter what you do, sometimes you need a new challenge, and I felt in the past few years at some point - I didn't know exactly when - I needed something new. I'm definitely ready and looking forward to it."

Coming to a team that dressed a league-record 23 defensemen last season, Ohlund is expected to serve as an anchor for a young blue line that includes several players under age 26, including Andrej Meszaros, Paul Ranger, Victor Hedman, Matt Smaby and Matt Lashoff. With the experience he brings with his 770 career games, Ohlund immediately becomes the leader, and he has been wearing an "A" during preseason games as one of the alternate captains, a role he will likely hold once the regular season begins.

"A guy like him, when he comes in, it's almost like instant respect," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said. "When he speaks, people listen. He doesn't have to prove himself, he's coming in here as a guy who people know what he is capable of doing because of what he did in Vancouver."

It hasn't taken long for his new teammates to take notice.

"He's a smart player, defensively he plays hard, and even in practice he plays hard," captain Vinny Lecavalier said. "He's a solid defenseman that has the mentality to play well defensively but also score and make some great passes. Overall, he's just a real good defenseman."