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Bulldogs prospect says they will 'shoot people for $100' in Hamilton


Esau.

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Hamilton Bulldogs player and Montreal Canadiens prospect Magnus Nygren doesn’t seem to like Hamilton very much.

 

In a blog post from the Swedish press from earlier this year, Nygren reportedly said the following about the city after asking to be sent back to his home club Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League last season:

 

  • Hamilton is Canada’s “most criminal city.” (It isn’t. That’s Regina and Winnipeg, by a wide margin).
  • Hamilton’s unemployment rate is 33.5 per cent. (It was 7.1 in August of this year – down 0.2 per cent).
  • That in Hamilton they "shoot people for $100.”
  • That the team “doesn’t have very many fans.”
  • That his car window was smashed out “by angry fans.”
  • That the Bulldogs’ players were “more interested in dating than playing hockey.”

 

When asked about the interview that appeared in the Swedish hockey blog FBK-bloggen while at Copps Coliseum Tuesday morning, Nygren first blamed everything on Google Translate’s system twisting his words.

 

“When I’m talking Swedish to Swedish newspaper, a couple guys from here put my words in Google translate and, the text is, you know, a new text. It’s not my words,” he told reporters. “I don’t know what text you’re meaning about but, you know, I was frustrated. It’s not normal to turn back home. I want to be here and I want to spend my year here.”

 

CBC Hamilton asked a person who is fluent in both Swedish and English to translate the blog post, who said the translation was accurate. When a CBC reporter told Nygren that, he then denied he said anything about Hamilton in an interview and blamed the Swedish press.

 

“I never comment anything about people in Hamilton, and I’m not going to comment anything about people in the city. I was living in Burlington. I don’t know how many are working there,” Nygren said. “I don’t know how many are without work. I have no idea. I’m here for playing hockey, and what happened last year is past now. I’m looking forward for this season.”

 

Nygren played 16 games with the Bulldogs last season before getting injured and then requesting to go back to Sweden. Tuesday was his first appearance back in Hamilton as the AHL team's training camp officially gets underway. The team is off to St. John's, Newfoundland this week for a series of exhibition games with the Ice Caps.

 

Nygren scored one goal and had seven assists and was a -9 with 14 penalty minutes last season. Before heading back to Sweden, he was playing top four minutes on the blueline and spending time on the top power play unit.

 

Nygren, 24, is from Karlstad — a municipality that has just about 87,000 people. His Swedish team Färjestad BK is considered one of the best teams in the SHL.

 

Bulldogs coach Sylvain Lefebvre said the team wants to help Nygren progress and ultimately make the jump to the NHL.

 

“This year is a new year. You know for him, he’s a year older, he’s got more experience now, and he knows what to expect here in Hamilton. He knows the coaching staff and some of his teammates,” Lefebvre said. “I’m sure that Magnus is disappointed that he was cut from the main camp in Montreal, but his goal is to play in the NHL.”

 

“He’s here in North America now and his goal is our goal. We want him to be a very good player for our club here in Hamilton and we want him to move up.”

 

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/bulldogs-prospect-says-they-will-shoot-people-for-100-in-hamilton-1.2782598

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Five years ago when I moved to Hamilton I would have agreed with everything that he said. Now it's only when the sun goes down.

 

 

I've lived here rather consistently since 78, and haven't experienced anything aside from the ordinary city trouble makers, which 99% of the time are just teens anyway. Not much of a threat, at least in my world. I can't think of anywhere in Hamilton I'm not completely at ease wandering around at any time of the day or night. Hess Village perhaps can be a bit daunting at night for some, but then again, it's mainly drunk chest thumping frat boys or college students - all of which are essentially visitors.

 

I've seen worse in many other cities.

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Guest Low Roller

I've definitely seen a remarkable improvement lately in Hamilton. There is significant influx of money that is helping fix up store fronts along Ottawa Street and James Street. King Street is also looking much better. Not to mention the new Tim Hortons Field which will hopefully bring some big name concerts to town. Barton remains sketchy, with prostitution and junkies still very visible, but I can't see that lasting long as the real estate values are skyrocketing and investors are flocking to Hamilton to buy up property, renovate, and flip. The Go Train extension into the core will also bring Toronto commuters. Property values are going up about 12% year over year, so now is the right time to invest for sure. 

 

The planned commercial expansion by the airport will bring more middle class jobs to the area, and the airport itself is slated to increase operations as a cheap alternative to Pearson (but still has a long way to go to compete with Kitchener and Buffalo).

 

All in all the working class should diminish and middle class should increase as the GTA finally absorbs Hamilton. This is definitely the place to be for capital growth and opportunity.  

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While I won't argue a lot of folks who work in Toronto have made Hamilton home due to lower housing/renting costs and a reasonable commute, I don't see it becoming part of the GTA anytime soon. I've been hearing how that was going happen since the 80s.

 

Every few years or so, there is all this talk about how investors and money are going to bring Barton street alive again. Every time it fails. Barton st. needs some parking before anything will take off there. Relying on the minimal allocated street spots and side streets for parking hasn't worked out in the past and that won't change regardless of what opens there. "Barton Village" comes to mind, as an example of the last time investors were revitalizing the area - all that happened was flower pot medians and locally owned small businesses (some decades operating) were forced out due to increased rents. Now that area is mostly boarded up. Drugs & prostitutes are an issue like every medium to large city in Canada. But Barton street still no where as bad as King or Main street between James and Wentworth in my opinion. But overall, that sh!t isn't that bad compared to a lot of cities I've been to or lived in. 

 

James and Ottawa street have always been progressive & community driven areas, and typically in much better shape than other areas regarding business. In recent years Hamilton residents have been the ones really revitalizing, investing and promoting those areas mainly, and to great success in my opinion. King st. in the downtown core has seen some new life, but overall it's still declining. Even a decade ago it was in better shape.

 

The decline of the steel mills is what hurt Hamilton the most in my opinion and is still recovering from that.

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Guest Low Roller

Once the Go Train line is extended then Torontonians will definitely arrive since housing prices are completely ludicrous elsewhere. I'm hearing the term GTHA term (Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area) thrown around a lot lately. 

 

Barton Street is just a sad place, especially Barton "Village". My wife, a lifelong Hamiltonian, occasionally worked at the Dell Pharmacy on Barton by the hospital, and she absolutely abhorred that area because of the high sketch element. Barton used to be the heart of the Polish community in the 70's and 80's, obviously centered around the church there, but now there are a lot of vacant shops along the street. My in-laws still bemoan the state of Barton. They are involved in the Ottawa Street BIA, and the "Sew Hungry" food truck rally they organize is incredibly successful, bringing lots of money to the area on an annual basis. They were also offered seven figures for their building on Ottawa Street from several investors, so there is definitely an upward trend in commercial properties in the area. James Street is benefiting from the Supercrawl festival as well.  

 

Obviously the process of shifting from an industrial city to a commercial city takes time. Some people will move out to look for opportunities elsewhere, others will move in. I'm hearing that the health services sector is really taking off in Hamilton, and the hipster scene is making Hamilton into Toronto's Brooklyn, so those are two demographics in a state of growth.

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Guest Low Roller

Ha. I thought you had a mail order Russian Bride.

 

The only price I had to pay for my gorgeous wife was to move to Hamilton. It's a slow adjustment for me, that's for sure.

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Guest Low Roller

Where do you live in Hamilton? I am picturing Upper James/Upper Wentworth south of Stone Church in the newish suburbs or Hamilton's Kanata...

 

X gets a square.

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  • 1 month later...

I've heard the mayor of Hamilton, on several occassions, refer to the region as GTHA. I'm impressed with what's been going on in Hamilton over the past five or more years (the city has always been a music hotbed). Some of the downtown neighbourhoods and streets are becoming more and more vibrant, and you can see there's still lots of blocks available for the city to grow. I'd easily live in the area around the GO station, amongst other urban areas (I won't live in the burbs). My wife wants to live in Dundas, but the commute is too far, although I do like the town as it somewhat resembles Toronto's Leslieville. Hamilton really needs to clean-up Jackson Square for the downtown to really take off like it should, and deserves. I hate that fucking lifesucking battleship of a Jackson Square Mall too, even though Buffalo's famed Anchor Bar recently moved there. How are the wings Roller, Esau? Oh, and Go Tiger Cats!!

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I hate that fuÇking lifesucking battleship of a Jackson Square Mall too, even though Buffalo's famed Anchor Bar recently moved there. How are the wings Roller, Esau? Oh, and Go Tiger Cats!!

 

Pretty much agree with you there. Jackson Square/Eaton Centre is a disaster. To be honest, I don't know what can be done about the place aside from plowing it under and building something new. It's obviously not working, and hasn't in many years (decades even).

 

As for the Anchor Bar, as much as I enjoy wings, I haven't been. I've heard it's expensive, but the food was great.

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