Jayden Westerlund will be skipping his final exams of high school. And his high school graduation ceremony will have to go on without him, too.
 
Westerlund, however, has good reason in his note to teachers: He's off to represent his native country. 
 
The Grade 12 basketball all-star, a Class of 2025 commit to the Winnipeg Wesmen, has earned some grace from teachers and administrators at Vincent Massey Collegiate after he was named to the Swedish U18 men's national team that will compete in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket in Serbia in July. 
 
Westerlund was born and lived in Stockholm for the first seven years of his life before his family moved to Winnipeg. His father Daniel and uncle Johan both played professionally in Sweden and Johan suited up for the youth national team in his younger days, as well. 
 
The email inviting him back "home" came on short notice — early in May with just a few weeks before he was to be in Stockholm — but suffice to say, he had no hesitation in saying yes. 
 
"None at all," he said. "My uncle played for the youth team and it's just kind of one of these opportunities that, when it comes to you, you can't really say no."
 
That invite, however, created one minor dilemma for Westerlund: He still had a couple of months of school left, not to mention final exams and his grad. But administrators at Massey acted quickly to find a workaround that would allow Westerlund to pursue a dream.
 
"I'm really grateful that Massey has been so accommodating with my exams and (understanding that) I'll be missing my grad," he said. "It was very short notice that I told them about this opportunity and within two or three days they had it figured out. And I'm really grateful to my U of W teammates and coaches for supporting me 100 per cent as well." 
Westerlund arrived in Sweden earlier in the month to begin preparation for training camps that started on June 13. The 15-man roster will head to the Nordic Championships that features Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway and Finland June 26-July 1 and then a 12-man roster will compete at EuroBasket where Sweden is grouped with Austria, France and Türkiye.
 
"Obviously, I hope to come back a better player than I was when I left," Westerlund said. "I hope to gain some more experience and just be an overall better basketball player and take what I've learned there and apply to what I'm doing over here and help my teammates and myself and grow my game."
 
Wesmen head coach Mike Raimbault was also supportive of Westerlund taking advantage of the unique opportunity.
 
"We are excited for Jayden as he embarks on his summer with the Swedish national team and look forward to his continued growth and development," the coach said.
 
As Westerlund takes his first steps on his university career, he said he's been happy to see that the work he has put in has started to show with results.
 
"It just comes down to hard work. I feel like the work that I've put in is finally paying off and the fact that I'm going to get a chance to play at one of the highest levels means a lot.
 
"I'm super-excited. I feel like it's a great opportunity and it's one that you can't turn down. I'm excited to go back to my home country playing the sport I love."
 
You can follow Westerlund and the Swedish team at the Nordic Championship and at EuroBasket.