Herman Liv’s father was at one time viewed as a goalie of the future for the Detroit Red Wings. Netminder Stefan Liv was selected 102nd overall by the Wings in the 2000 NHL entry draft. He won a IIHF World Championship with Sweden in 2006 and three Swedish League titles.
Liv spent the 2006-07 season with Detroit’s top farm club, the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins. Tragically, he was among those who lost their lives 12 years ago when the plane carrying the KHL Lokomotiv Yaroslavl club crashed shortly after takeoff.
Herman is carrying on his father’s legacy, and carrying his father with him every time he skates out between the posts. Just 16, he’s currently tending goal for Sweden in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup U18 tournament. And he’s already posting a candidate for save of the season.
Facing Czechia, the Swedish net was under pressure. Liv was on the far post when a rebound off the back boards came out on the other side of his net. The puck wound up landing on the stick of Czech defenseman Adam Benak, who found himself staring at a gaping cage.
Benak shot. Liv flung himself across his crease like a soccer goalie and snared the puck in his trapper while in mid-lunge.
“The rescue is awesome,” former NHL goalie Johan Hedberg, Liv’s goalie coach at Orebo, told Swedish website Aftonbladet. “The wit, eye and instinct are top notch.”
Liv Like Father, Like Son
Only five when his father died, Herman is continuing to carry on his dad’s legacy. He wears the same number one as his dad and there’s a portrait of Stefan adorning his goalie mask.
“When I play, I want my father to be with me,” Herman explained to isport.cz. “I think about him all the time.”
Herman is often referred to as Stefan 2.0. Not only is his game similar to the way his father was stopping the puck, there’s also a stark similarity in how much he looks like his dad.
“They are incredibly similar in appearance,” Swedish coach Johan Rosen said. “You really see Stefan in Herman.”
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