Markus Näslund
| Markus Näslund | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
July 30, 1973 Örnsköldsvik, SWE | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Left/Right Wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Vancouver Canucks Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| NHL draft |
16th overall, 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| Playing career | 1993–present | ||
Markus Näslund (born July 30, 1973, in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden) is a professional Swedish ice hockey player with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League, where he serves as team captain. He is one of the last NHL players to continue to use a wooden stick. He is often referred to as "Nazzy" by Canucks fans, while he is nicknamed "Macke" and "Mackan" in his native Sweden.
Playing career
After playing for MoDo in Sweden's senior league as a 17-year-old, Markus Näslund was drafted 16th overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Remaining in Sweden for two more years before entering the NHL in 1993-94, Näslund continued to play for Modo alongside countryman and childhood friend, Peter Forsberg, leading the team in scoring for the 1991-92 season. Most notable in Näslund's pre-NHL career was his play in the 1993 World Juniors in which he set a tournament record for most goals scored (13) in the process of leading Sweden to a silver medal.
Upon entering the NHL with the Penguins, Näslund struggled to find his form, and was regularly shuffled in and out of the lineup during his first two seasons. His first NHL goal came against Curtis Joseph of St. Louis 13 games into his rookie campaign.
On March 20, 1996, near the end of the 1995-96 season, Näslund's most prolific with the Penguins, he was acquired by the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Alek Stojanov. This trade would later be regarded as one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history[1] once Näslund would elevate himself into stardom.
Näslund's first two seasons with the Canucks did not see significant change in his offensive output, and he was not a favourite of coach Mike Keenan. At the start of the 1997-98 season, Keenan scratched a healthy Näslund, prompting Näslund to ask the team for a trade[2], however, the request was denied.
The following season, Näslund led the Canucks in scoring during a period of rebuilding for the franchise. His 36 goals and 66 points were vast improvements over the 14 goals and 34 points from the previous season, and would serve as the starting point for Näslund's ascent to NHL stardom. This was the star that Pittsburgh hoped to see during his time with their organization. His breakthrough season would arrive in 2000-01 when, in a press conference at the Canucks' training camp held that year in Sweden[3], he was appointed team captain by general manager Brian Burke on September 15 — the first European-born captain in Canucks history. The Canucks' predecessor as captain, NHL legend Mark Messier has been cited by Näslund as his greatest influence[4], having played alongside him the previous three seasons. That year, Näslund went on to set personal highs in goals and points, and led the Canucks to their first playoff appearance since 1996. However, his 41-goal, 75-point campaign would be cut short late in the season by a broken leg, and an already injury-decimated Canucks team would fail to make any headway in the post-season, losing their best-of-seven series against the Colorado Avalanche in 4 straight games.
Näslund returned from his injury the following season, breaking his personal record with a 90-point season which included 40 goals. Once centreman Brendan Morrison became the normal third member of Näslund and Bertuzzi's forward line in 2002-03, the usual Vancouver top line was established, and was dubbed the West Coast Express (named after Vancouver's commuter rail service of the same name). The line earned the Canucks a great deal of attention, and Näslund finished 2002-03 with career highs of 48 goals and 104 points, to finish second overall in NHL scoring. Complemented by Bertuzzi's fifth place finish in league scoring and Morrison's 71-point career high, many considered the Näslund-Morrison-Bertuzzi to be the most effective line combination in the league that season. The line was considered by many, including hockey great Wayne Gretzky, to be the best offensive combination of players in the world. During their prime the three players were featured on the covers of magazines such as Sports Illustrated and The Hockey News. Gretzky compared the 'West Coast Express' to the line of Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, and himself that dominated the NHL during 1980s while playing for the Edmonton Oilers. Bertuzzi, Morrison and Naslund remain extremely close to this day. [5][6][7]
The 2002-03 season, stastically Näslund's best, culminated with him winning the Lester B. Pearson Award, and finishing as first runner-up for the Hart Trophy. The Canucks lost their final game of the regular season to the Los Angeles Kings, and along with it the Northwest Division Championship, which the Avalanche were awarded for the ninth consecutive season. After the game in front of a sellout home crowd, Näslund apologized, going as far as to say that the team 'choked.'[8] Vancouver won its first round playoff matchup against the St. Louis Blues in 7 games after trailing 3 games to 1. The Canucks then lost to the Minnesota Wild in the next round, failing to finish off a 3-1 series lead of their own.
Näslund led the Canucks in scoring again in 2003-04, the sixth straight season he has done so, finishing with 35 goals and 84 points. During the NHL labour conflict he represented his hometown team MODO Hockey of the Elitserien in Sweden.
His contract with the Canucks expired in 2005, but he re-signed for three more years. Once again, he would lead the Canucks in scoring in the 05-06 season with 32 goals and 79 points. However, he chose not to join the Swedish national team at the 2006 Winter Olympics due to an injury.[9]
Näslund's production fell off a bit in the 2006-07 season as coach Alain Vigneault took the helm of the Canucks and introduced a new defence-first system. Näslund remains today a strong leader on a Canucks team that has seen many changes in the past few years. On November 21, 2007, Näslund scored his 11th career hat-trick, tying the Canucks' franchise record for most hat-tricks, in a much hyped game against the Minnesota Wild. It was his first hat-trick since December 2003. Since taking over as coach, Vigneault has been known to play Näslund on a number of changing line combinations - a possible factor in Näslund's decline in production - but as of late, has settled on playing him on the Canucks' top line with the Sedin twins.
On December 5th, 2007 Näslund became the Canucks' franchise leading scorer by an assist on a Mattias Ohlund goal, passing Trevor Linden with 725 points. That same season, on January 17th, 2008 Näslund played his 1000th career game against the Detroit Red Wings, scoring a goal in a losing effort.
Näslund is presently the Canucks' franchise leader in goals and points. In his 11 seasons with Vancouver, he has been named Canucks MVP five times and led the team in scoring for seven consecutive seasons — both team records.
Personal life
Markus and his wife Lotta have three children, Rebecca, Isabella, and Alex. They make their home in Sweden.[10]
Awards
International
- All-Star Team (World Juniors) - 1999
NHL
- First All-Star Team - 2002, 2003, 2004
- All-Star Game - 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
- Nominated for the Hart Memorial Trophy - 2003
- Lester B. Pearson Award - 2003.
Team
- Cyclone Taylor Award (Canucks' MVP) - 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
- Cyrus H. McLean Trophy (Canucks' leading scorer) - 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
- Most Exciting Player Award (Canucks) - 1999, 2001
- Molson Cup (Canucks' three-star selection leader) - 2001, 2002, 2003
Records
- World Junior Championships' record for goals in a single tournament: 13 (1993)
- Vancouver Canucks' franchise goals leader: 346
- Vancouver Canucks' franchise points leader: 756
- Vancouver Canucks' franchise hat-tricks leader: 10 (tied with Tony Tanti)[11]
Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1988-89 | Järveds IF | SEL-3 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1989-90 | MODO Hockey | J20 | 33 | 43 | 35 | 78 | 20 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1990-91 | MODO Hockey | SEL | 32 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 14 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1991-92 | MODO Hockey | SEL | 39 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 52 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1992-93 | MODO Hockey | J20 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1992-93 | MODO Hockey | SEL | 39 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 67 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1993-94 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 71 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 27 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1993-94 | Cleveland Lumberjacks | IHL | 5 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1994-95 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1994-95 | Cleveland Lumberjacks | IHL | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 1995-96 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 66 | 19 | 33 | 52 | 36 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1995-96 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 1996-97 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | 21 | 20 | 41 | 30 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1997-98 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 76 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 56 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1998-99 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 80 | 36 | 30 | 66 | 74 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1999-00 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 27 | 38 | 65 | 64 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2000-01 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 72 | 41 | 34 | 75 | 58 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2001-02 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 81 | 40 | 50 | 90 | 50 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2002-03 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 48 | 56 | 104 | 52 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 18 | ||
| 2003-04 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | 35 | 49 | 84 | 58 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 2004-05 | MODO Hockey | SEL | 13 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 2005-06 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 81 | 32 | 47 | 79 | 66 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2006-07 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 24 | 36 | 60 | 54 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 16 | ||
| 2007-08 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 25 | 30 | 55 | 46 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 1035 | 371 | 452 | 823 | 679 | 45 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 46 | ||||
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Sweden
| ||
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
2002 | Sweden |
|
1999 | Norway |
 |
1993 | Germany |
| World Juniors | ||
|
1993 | Sweden |
|
1992 | Germany |
Näslund has played for Sweden in the following competitions:
- 1989 Four Nations Tournament
- 1992 World Junior Championships (silver medal)
- 1993 World Junior Championships (silver medal)
- 1993 World Championships (silver medal)
- 1996 World Championships
- 1996 World Cup of Hockey (semi-final)
- 1999 World Championships (bronze medal)
- 2002 World Championships (bronze medal)
- 2002 Winter Olympics
- 2004 World Cup of Hockey
International statistics
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Sweden | WJC | 7 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 12 | |
| 1993 | Sweden | WJC | 7 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 33 | |
| 1993 | Sweden | WC | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | |
| 1996 | Sweden | WC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1996 | Sweden | WCup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1999 | Sweden | WC | 10 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 16 | |
| 2002 | Sweden | Oly | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2002 | Sweden | WC | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2004 | Sweden | WCup | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| Junior int'l totals | 14 | 21 | 13 | 34 | 45 | |||
| Senior int'l totals | 31 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 32 | |||
See also
- List of Swedes in sports
- List of current NHL players
- List of Vancouver Canucks players
- List of NHL players with 1000 games played
References
- ^ Montgomery, Ted. "Eight Awful NHL Trades". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ Amber, David. "Q&A with Markus Naslund". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ Brånfelt, Björn. "Vancouvers superkedja" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
- ^ Samuelson, Karl. "Naslund proves worth the wait". NHL.com. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ Johnson, George. "Naslund driving towards 50 -- and the Hart". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ Canamucio, Matt. "2002 All NHL Team". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ Saumelson, Karl. "Chemistry lesson works in Vancouver". NHL.com. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ Pap, Elliott. "Remember the Storr-keeper?". canada.com Network. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ The Associated Press. "Sweden's Naslund to miss Torino Olympics". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
- ^ "Vancouver Canucks - Team: Markus Naslund Official Player Page". NHL.com. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
- ^ "Vancouver Canucks - All-time stats". Canucks.com. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
External links
- 1973 births
- Cleveland Lumberjacks players
- Lester Pearson Award winners
- Living people
- MODO Hockey players
- National Hockey League players with 100 point seasons
- National Hockey League All-Stars
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden
- People from Ångermanland
- Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- Swedish ice hockey players
- Vancouver Canucks players