Mark Hunter had to play the waiting game but finally got his man. Anaheim Ducks first-round draft pick Marcus Nordmark has arrived in London. “It’s been an ongoing process where Marcus dropped out of the sky here,” said Hunter, the Knights general manager. “At one time he wasn’t coming and now he is. He’s got skill, speed and talent and you know and it brings real excitement to our fans and our hockey team.” The 6-foot-2-inches winger from Sweden is the latest player to join the team whose father played in the National Hockey League. “A little bit of background here too as I played with Robert Nordmark (Marcus’ father) in Saint Louis (in 1987),” said Hunter. “There’s a bond relationship there. So, it’s really kind of special where you’re going to see a young man that was part of Robert’s family and his son. It’s going to be exciting to watch him grow and get better as a hockey player.” Nordmark arrived in London four days ago and loves his early impressions of Canada Life Place and the city. The Ducks assigned him to London to get acclimated to North American size ice and to get stronger. “I want to play a lot, gain some weight, build some muscles and play hard,” said Nordmark at practice on Tuesday. “I like to play offensive and score goals.” He was a dominant force in recent Hlinka Gretzky Cup, scoring seven goals and 12 points as his country won silver. “He’s coming over here because it’s going to be a learning curve a bit,” said Hunter. “We’ve got to be a little bit patient because it’s he’s coming from a big ice surface over there and a different style of game. He’s coming to a game here that it’ll be good for him to get used to what it takes to play in North America hockey. And that’s why he’s here.” He’ll be coached by a staff which has produced more than 50 players on current NHL rosters. “Pat Verbeek (Anaheim GM), I’ve talked to him a few times and he wants him here and coached by Dale (Hunter) and Dylan (Hunter) and Ricky (Rick Steadman) and our whole staff to make him understand what he needs to do to become a professional hockey player,” Hunter said. Nordmark says he’s played in front of as many as 8,000 fans in the past, but he’s ready to play in front of 9,000 on a regular basis at home. “I’m really excited and it’s going to be fun here and probably have fun season,” said Nordmark. Nordmark is one of many Knights who have been sent back from NHL camps in the past week. The only two they are waiting on are Aleksei Medvedev and Jaxon Cover. “Meds (Medvedev) is coming in late this week,” said Hunter. “Cover I don’t know yet and I don’t have that answer. We still won’t have our full hockey club together, but we’ve got a good nucleus here now.”
