David Briggs: How a top Red Wings prospect mistakenly showed up in Grand Rapids ... Ohio

Oct. 20—Give Jonatan Berggren this: When the heralded Red Wings prospect was assigned to join the franchise's top minor league team last week, he did end up on the farm.

Just not quite the right one.

No, rather than driving to Grand Rapids, Mich. — the bustling, brewery-filled home of the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League — the 21-year-old Swede followed his GPS to another riverfront Grand Rapids.

The one in rural northwest Ohio (population: 993).

Mr. Berggren went looking for one barn — as arenas are known in hockey parlance — and discovered many more.

"I was like, 'When is the city coming?'" he said with a laugh.

Alas, it was not.

Instead, before Mr. Berggren knew it, he found himself in the middle of the Applebutter Festival — yes, the beloved annual celebration that swallows Grand Rapids' quaint downtown just so happened to coincide with his stop here — and the star of the most delightful viral story of the hockey season.

Call it the Tale of Two Cities (named Grand Rapids).

Well, one city and one ... small cave?

Here's the Google translation of Mr. Berggren recounting his unwitting visit to Ohio to the Swedish newspaper, Aftonbladet, which introduced us to the story: "I've read about Grand Rapids [in Michigan], and it's supposed to be pretty big. But this looked like a village.... Once we entered Grand Rapids [in Ohio], we were met by farmers. We checked it out and there are only seven hundred people living in that small cave."

Hey now!

In the interest of clarity and, more important, adding a bit of levity to these sober times, I reached out to Mr. Berggren for the scoop.

He could not have been a better sport.

Indeed, there were parts of the newspaper story that had been lost in translation. Believe it or not, he did not suggest that we Ohioans live in a cave — proof that he's not a Michigan fan — or say his mix-up "felt a bit like in that movie, Stupid and Stupider."

But the rest of his relatable misadventure in a new land was all too true.

To quickly set the scene, Mr. Berggren — the 33rd overall pick of the 2018 NHL draft — is in his first season in North America after beginning his pro career in Sweden. He went to training camp with the Red Wings hoping to catch on in Detroit.

But, naturally, the young left wing needed more seasoning. He was assigned to report to the Wings' top farm team in Grand Rapids, a city of about 200,000 about 150 miles northwest of Detroit.

Moving day was Saturday, Oct. 10. Mr. Berggren packed up his rental car and punched "Grand Rapids" into the GPS on his phone.

He had heard his new home was about two hours from Detroit. His GPS said it was a little closer, about 90 miles away, but he didn't think much of it. How many Grand Rapids could one country really have?

"This has to be right," he remembered thinking.

And so he set off, down I-75 to I-475 to U.S. 24. Without Lloyd Christmas to set him straight — You'll have to excuse my friend! — he kept going, likely thinking only that he was making good time until ... wait a minute, where was everyone? As he approached Grand Rapids, farmland stretched into the distance.

He then arrived at his destination, where he found not a hockey arena — nor a stoplight — but a tiny Victorian village in the throes of a festival.

"There were so many people, and the road was closed," Mr. Berggren said. "I was like, 'This can't be right'.... The first thought I had was that my phone was broken. So I turned off my phone, turned it on again, and typed in the arena's name."

After the GPS recalculated....

"It said it was three hours away," he said. "I was like, 'Oh, my God!'"

Robert Trame, president of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, could sympathize with his predicament. As the owner of the Grand Kerr House — a gorgeous 19th-century mansion that now operates as a bed and breakfast — he has told more than a few prospective guests over the phone, "Wait a minute, I think you've got the wrong Grand Rapids."

"If they ask, 'How close are you to Lake Michigan?' that's usually a good tipoff," he said.

Funny thing is, he added, the Ohio village changed its name to Grand Rapids in 1868 to eliminate just these kind of mistakes. Previously, it was Gilead, a bit too similar to Mount Gilead, Ohio.

"The post office changed the name because of confusion with the mail," Mr. Trame cracked, "so they decided to pick a name that no one would ever confuse."

Fortunately for Mr. Berggren, it was but a small and scenic detour, and he said he was able to smile about it the next day. So did his teammates, friends, and family.

"I think everyone had a good laugh," Mr. Berggren said.

He might also look on the bright side. At least he didn't end up in Grand Rapids ... Oregon.

First Published October 19, 2021, 4:44pm