If the Wild want to bring Sam Bradford in to shout the traditional “Let’s play hockey!” before a game this season, he would fit right in.

The Vikings’ new quarterback is a hockey fan and hopes at some point to attend some Wild games. At least one former NHL player wonders if Bradford could actually be playing in NHL games had he taken a different career path.

While growing up in Oklahoma City, Bradford played hockey for six years until the age of 12. His last coach, when he was 11 and 12 with the Junior Blazers, was Mike McEwen, a defenseman who played in the NHL from 1976-88 and won three Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders.

“If Sam stuck with hockey, I thought he had a real shot at playing in the NHL,” McEwen said Thursday. “He was a great playmaker. He could make passes and create plays you don’t see from many 11-year-olds.’’

Bradford, who played center, really enjoyed hockey, but he liked plenty of other sports, too, and because Oklahoma City wasn’t exactly a hotbed for hockey, it was difficult at times having to travel to tournaments.

“It’s one of those sports that I really loved when I was younger,’’ said Bradford, acquired Sept. 3 from Philadelphia for first- and fourth-round draft picks. “The junior hockey in Oklahoma, though, isn’t that great, and so if I continued, it was one of those things I was probably going to have to move away, either up north or to Dallas to continue to play, and I wasn’t ready to give up football, basketball, golf and all those things I was playing besides hockey.” Related Articles Vikings sign linebacker Hardy Nickerson off practice squad

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Bradford followed the NHL closely.

“I used to get Don Cherry’s Rock’Em Sock’em tapes every year for Christmas,’’ he said. “I’d wear those out. I don’t know how it happened, but I was a huge Vancouver Canucks fan. Pavel Bure, Trevor Linden, those were my guys back in the day. … I loved hockey when I was younger.’’

Now, Bradford has taken up residence in the State of Hockey. Could his background in the sport make him more popular here?

“I think the only thing that will make him popular up there is if the Vikings win,’’ McEwen said with a laugh. “Other than that, though, who knows?’’

Nothing will endear a quarterback to Minnesota fans faster than beating the Packers, which Bradford helped the Vikings do in his debut last Sunday. He completed 22 of 31 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns in a 17-14 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Bradford’s love for hockey began rather innocently.

“I think it was just as simple as there was a rink in the area and I think he and his mother (Martha) were driving by one day and they stopped in and rented some skates,’’ said Bradford’s father, Kent Bradford.

His parents began taking him to tournaments in Dallas and other places, with games often starting at crazy hours because ice time was precious.

“I can remember playing 5 a.m. games,’’ said Kent Bradford. “They went to Albuquerque (N.M.) for a two-day tournament where they were playing games 24 hours around the clock. It was nuts. He wanted to play sports in school, and you can’t go to a hockey tournament every week. There isn’t enough time.’’

McEwen said Bradford was so busy with other sports he usually got to only one of the two practices the Junior Blazers had each week, and even missed some games. Still, he excelled when he was on the ice.

“He was good,’’ McEwen said. “He was the captain. He was a good skater, he wasn’t a great skater. But he was just a great playmaker. He was a really good puck handler and pass handler. He could really see the ice. He could read a situation really well. He was a smart hockey player. I really think he could have been a pro.’’

Bradford is a pro, of course, just not in hockey.