Paul Reddam, who grew up in Ontario, loves the Red Wings as much as he loves horse racing. Gustav Nyquist is one of his favorite players right now.
So as he's done in the past, Reddam named a horse after a player on his beloved boy from Hockeytown. That horse just happened to be good enough to win the 2016 Kentucky Derby — Nyquist, the pre-race favorite at 2-to-1.
MORE: Best Derby names since 2000 | Photos from Nyquist's win
Reddam has named his horses after Red Wings in the past — Datsyuk, Lindstrom, Zetterberg, Mrazek, Kronwall and Tatar among them. None of them are anywhere near as good as Nyquist, who is now two wins from the Triple Crown and unbeaten in eight starts.
Gustav Nyquist is an excellent player in his own right. The 26-year-old Swedish forward has 145 points in 211 games over the last three seasons. He's also excellent in puck possession, posting a career 54.6 percent Corsi in his career, considered well above average among NHL players.
NBC had Gustav on the broadcast before the Kentucky Derby, and he picked the horse named after him. And Nyquist (the horse) posed with the Stanley Cup on Saturday, something Gustav hasn't gotten to do yet.
Maybe one day.