A Very Swede Era

With all the attention surrounding the Sedins as unrestricted free agency loomed on July 1st, many people in Vancouver didn’t give a lot of thought to the fact that Mattias Ohlund would not be returning to the Canucks for the 2009-2010 season. It was almost a forgone conclusion after some of the comments that he made towards the end of the regular. The fact that Ohlund’s departure flew under the radar was only fitting for the way that he played. Ohlund was a quiet competitor that got the job done on most night. He could shut down some of the better players in the league and contribute offensively as well. In the last year or so he has lost a step or two, but Tampa Bay is getting a quality person and quality player for the next seven years or so. He’ll serve as fantastic mentor to Victor Hedman as Tampa Bay looks towards the future. While the number of people that read this blog is relatively low, I would like to do my part to send Mattias off in style and acknowledge as many of his accomplishments as I can think of because he was a class player and as a fan I appreciate the eleven years he put into the Canucks. This post will end up being long, but hopefully informative at the same time.

On June 28th, 1994, then Canucks head coach and general manager walked up the stage in Hartford and selected the six foot three Swede from Lulea HF. The fans at that time probably didn’t know what they had at that point, after all we were still licking our wounds from losing to the Rangers in Game Seven of the finals. Nonetheless, Quinn made Ohlund the thirteenth pick in the draft. When the Canucks and Ohlund could not come to terms on a contract, Ohlund spent the next three years developing his game in the Swedish Elite League. He ended up impressing as a rookie in Sweden and helped Lulea win the league championship in 1996.

As Ohlund was about to enter his fourth season after being selected in the 94 draft and still unsigned, the Maple Leafs offered Ohlund a five-year deal worth ten million. It was considerable money at the time, especially for a rookie, but Pat Quinn wasn’t going to let his first round pick walk away to Toronto and matched the Leafs offer. In a fitting twist of fate, Ohlund made his debut against the Leafs in 1997 and scored in his first NHL game. It was a goal that we would see many times over the next eleven years as Ohlund skated through center and hammered a slap shot past Felix Potvin. His efforts were noted by the NHL that season as he was nominated for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, finishing only behind Sergei Samsonov. As a nice consolation prize, Ohlund was named to the league’s all rookie team. The Canucks and their fans also recognized Ohlund’s contribution to the blue line by naming him the winner of the Babe Pratt Trophy as the team’s top defenseman. It was an award that Ohlund would win four times as a member of the Canucks (98, 00, 04, 06). In February Ohlund was also selected to the Swedish National team for the 1998 Olympics. It was the first time that teams were stacked withNHLplayers. Ohlund would record an assist in limited time for Sweden.

After two great seasons, Ohlund’s career was put into question as he was struck in the eye by a puck in a game against the Ottawa Senators. Ohlund, who didn’t wear a visor when he broke into the league would put one on permanently after eventually recovering from the serious eye injury. When he returned he was the Ohlund that Canucks fans had remembered as he scored 20 points in the second half of the season. It was not enough to launch the Canucks into the playoffs, but a healthy Ohlund in 00-01 would help the Canucks gets back into the playoffs.

In 01-02 Ohlund had perhaps his greatest season as a Canuck. He scored a career high 36 points and the Canucks made it interesting against the Red Wings before going down in six games. It was the first time that Ohlund managed to play a full season in three years as he played in 81 Canuck games that year. In 02-03 he would be limited again due to injuries but still played in 59 games where he put up 29 points. He was also a factor in the playoffs, where he chipped in 3 goals and 7 points in the 13 playoff games that season. Ohlund would miss 29 games in the 07-08 season but from this point on he was able to stay healthy and be a year long contributor on the Canucks. In 2002 he was also selected to play for Sweden in the Olympics for a second time. This time a much bigger role was expected from Ohlund, butunfortunately for the Swedes they were upset by Belarus in the quarterfinals.

For the next three seasons, Ohlund would be a model of consistency for the Canucks. He did everything that was expected of him, whether it was playing about the other teams top offensively players, killing penalties or manning the power play. He would score 34-33-and 31 points respectively between 03-04 and 06-07. In the 2004 playoffs, Ohlund made a lasting impression on the hockey world when hedropped the gloves with Jarome Iginla in the dying second of the a Canucks game three victory. In 2006 he was named to the Swedish Olympic for a third time. This time Sweden and Ohlund were rewarded with a gold medal.

This past season, (08-09) Ohlund played is final season with the Canucks and left his mark on the organizations record book. He became the Canucks all time leading scorer for defensemen as a notched his 321st career point on March 15th, 2009. Before the season was over he would extend his lead to 325. As he leaves Vancouver he is also the all-time Canucks leading goal scorer for defensemen with 93.

“Plainly, I want to to try something new. It’s going to be fun to see what happens this summer and whichNHLteams that are interested.” …. “This is a family decision, where a lot factors will play in. But at my age, it would of course be fun to end up in a club with a decent chance at winning the Stanley Cup.” (Quote taken fromHockey in Swenglish)

It was a good ride that had some good times. I don’t have any hard feelings towards him for wanting to get a fresh start somewhere else while he still can. Everyone can use a fresh perspective sometimes. His comments on the matter back in March suggest that he wanted to play for a contender which makes him signing with Tampa Bay a bit odd, but either way I will wish him the best down south.

If you’re still following along with this I appreciate you still reading, but if not then who can blame you. I just wanted to do my part to show some thanks to Ohlund’s great work on the Canucks blue line for the last twelve seasons. Please leave comments or links to Ohlund videos to help remember what great Canucks that he was.