Viggo Damgaard hopes to play for Denmark at the senior level after this year's World Junior Championship, just like his father.
photo: Tim Austen/IIHF
The name Jesper Damgaard is the stuff of legend in Denmark. He played in eight straight top-level World Championships from 2003 to 2010 and another nine before that in lower divisions. He was named Richard “Bibi” Torriani Award winner by the IIHF in 2018. In 2024, he was part of another IIHF honour when Denmark received the Milestone Award for the 2002 and 2003 teams that earned promotion and has stayed up in the top level of the World Championship ever since.
Well, time marches on, of course, and now he has a son, Viggo, who is hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“I always wanted to play for the national team, so when I got the call to play here, I was so happy,” Viggo said after the team’s first game yesterday, a 6-2 loss to Finland. He has one U18 under his belt and he was also on last year’s Division I-A team that earned promotion to the top this year. He wants to achieve what his dad achieved, but right now it’s the team that matters most.
“Of course, you can't help but think about your future, but you have to live in the now and play well here,” the 19-year-old continued.
Viggo remembers watching his dad play pro in Denmark and for the national team. “He was a good player and played many games. I was always so proud when I saw him play from the stands. It was amazing.”
Not surprisingly, Viggo sees parallels to their play on ice. “We are both defencemen and are both sort of defensive defensemen. He had a good slap shot, and I think I have a bit of that as well. But he was a righty and I'm a lefty, so that's one difference.”
Viggo learned to skate with his dad. “It was a pond,” he recalled fondly. “I couldn't skate. He helped me a lot, but I feel like I was born to play hockey. I think I was about 16 when I first really thought I could follow my dad. That was the turning point in my career, and I became even more motivated to train for my goal.”
Jesper, ever the pro, knows what to teach his son—and what not to. “It's more the mental side of the game we talk about,” Viggo said. “He doesn't want to talk about how I play because that's what the coaches do. He talks about how to prepare, how to think at a tournament, that sort of thing.”
Getting that first game out of the way was important for the Danes, but their eyes are drawn to one game on the calendar scheduled for December 29. “The opening game is always fun to play, but Canada is the big country, to play against the best players in the world like McKenna and Porter Martone. The big names. It's always fun.”
It wasn’t fun a few days before Christmas when Canada walloped them, 13-2, in an exhibition game, but the young team has some motivation to lean on. It was only last May that the senior team faced Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Macklin Celebrini in the quarter-finals, and won, 2-1.
“Of course, there is hope,” Viggo said. “If the men's team can win, we can also try to win. But they have a full team of drafted players and we have one. We have hope, and if we play well like we did in the third period today, we have a chance.”
Well, time marches on, of course, and now he has a son, Viggo, who is hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“I always wanted to play for the national team, so when I got the call to play here, I was so happy,” Viggo said after the team’s first game yesterday, a 6-2 loss to Finland. He has one U18 under his belt and he was also on last year’s Division I-A team that earned promotion to the top this year. He wants to achieve what his dad achieved, but right now it’s the team that matters most.
“Of course, you can't help but think about your future, but you have to live in the now and play well here,” the 19-year-old continued.
Viggo remembers watching his dad play pro in Denmark and for the national team. “He was a good player and played many games. I was always so proud when I saw him play from the stands. It was amazing.”
Not surprisingly, Viggo sees parallels to their play on ice. “We are both defencemen and are both sort of defensive defensemen. He had a good slap shot, and I think I have a bit of that as well. But he was a righty and I'm a lefty, so that's one difference.”
Viggo learned to skate with his dad. “It was a pond,” he recalled fondly. “I couldn't skate. He helped me a lot, but I feel like I was born to play hockey. I think I was about 16 when I first really thought I could follow my dad. That was the turning point in my career, and I became even more motivated to train for my goal.”
Jesper, ever the pro, knows what to teach his son—and what not to. “It's more the mental side of the game we talk about,” Viggo said. “He doesn't want to talk about how I play because that's what the coaches do. He talks about how to prepare, how to think at a tournament, that sort of thing.”
Getting that first game out of the way was important for the Danes, but their eyes are drawn to one game on the calendar scheduled for December 29. “The opening game is always fun to play, but Canada is the big country, to play against the best players in the world like McKenna and Porter Martone. The big names. It's always fun.”
It wasn’t fun a few days before Christmas when Canada walloped them, 13-2, in an exhibition game, but the young team has some motivation to lean on. It was only last May that the senior team faced Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Macklin Celebrini in the quarter-finals, and won, 2-1.
“Of course, there is hope,” Viggo said. “If the men's team can win, we can also try to win. But they have a full team of drafted players and we have one. We have hope, and if we play well like we did in the third period today, we have a chance.”