Henrik Sedin

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Henrik Sedin (born September 26, 1980) is a Swedish professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). His identical twin brother Daniel also plays for the Canucks. Having played together throughout their careers, the pair are known for their effectiveness playing off one another. Henrik, a skilled passer, is known as the playmaker, while Daniel is known as the goal-scorer.

Henrik began his career in the Swedish Elite League with Modo Hockey in 1997 and was co-recipient, with Daniel, of the 1999 Golden Puck as Swedish player of the year. Selected third overall by the Canucks in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Henrik has spent his entire NHL career in Vancouver and has led the team in scoring from the 2007–08 season to 2009–10. In 2009–10, he won the Hart Memorial and Art Ross Trophies as the NHL's most valuable player and leading point-scorer, respectively. He was additionally named to the 2010 NHL First All-Star Team.

Internationally, Henrik has competed for Sweden; he won a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, and bronze medals at the 1999 and 2001 World Championships.

Early life
Henrik Sedin was born on 26 September 1980 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, six minutes before his identical twin brother, Daniel. The pair have two older brothers, Stefan and Peter. Their father, Tommy, is a school vice principal who played for Modo Hockey in the 1960s; their mother, Tora, is a nurse. Henrik began playing organized hockey with Daniel when they were eight. They did not regularly play on the same line until Daniel switched from the centre to the wing aged 14. Henrik and Daniel attended high school at Nolaskolan Gymnasium in Sweden while playing professionally for Modo Hockey.

Modo Hockey (1997–2000)
Aged 16, Henrik and Daniel Sedin began their professional careers in 1997–98 with Modo Hockey of the Swedish Elite League. Henrik recorded a goal and five points over 39 games during his rookie season. In his second year with Modo, he improved to 12 goals and 34 points, joint second in team scoring with Samuel Påhlsson, behind Daniel. At the end of the season, Henrik and Daniel were named co-recipients of the Golden Puck, the Swedish player of the year award.

The Sedins were considered top prospects for the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Rated as the top European prospects, they were expected to be top five selections and expressed a desire to play for the same team. Their agent, Mike Barnett, president of international talent agency IMG, presented them with two options to circumvent the usual NHL draft process, allowing them to play together. The first option was for the pair to enter the 1999 draft and not sign with their respective NHL clubs for two years, allowing them to become unrestricted free agents. This option required that they play junior ice hockey in North America, which was not their intention. Barnett also suggested that either Henrik or Daniel opt out of the 1999 draft, in the hope that the same team that selected the first twin would select the other the following year. On the possibility of the Sedins' playing for separate teams, Vancouver Canucks scout Thomas Gradin commented, "They're good enough to play with anyone, but separately their capacity might decrease by 10 or 15 percent." Nevertheless, Henrik and Daniel entered the 1999 draft expecting to be selected by separate teams. However, through a series of transactions, Canucks general manager Brian Burke obtained the second and third overall picks, which he used to select Daniel and Henrik, respectively. Gradin notified them of the Canucks' intentions five minutes before the draft.

On 27 July 1999, a month following the draft, Henrik and Daniel signed three-year contracts with the Canucks. As the contract did not require them to begin playing in Vancouver immediately, they announced on 12 August they would return to Sweden to play one more season with Modo. During the 1999–2000 season, Henrik led Modo in scoring with 47 points in 50 games, two points ahead of Daniel. The two brothers played on a line with New York Islanders prospect Mattias Weinhandl.

Vancouver Canucks (from 2000)
The 2000–01 NHL season was Henrik's first for the Canucks. His debut was the team's first game of the campaign on 5 October 2000, a 6–3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. With the game, Henrik and Daniel became the fourth pair of twins to have played in the NHL. Three days later, Henrik assisted on Daniel's first career NHL goal in a 6–5 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The goal tied the game at 5–5 with 1:26 minutes left in regulation. In a 5–2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on 17 October 2000, Henrik scored his first NHL goal and added an assist on Daniel's second career goal. Henrik tallied 29 points over the course of the campaign – second among team rookies to Daniel's 34 points. He and Daniel played primarily on the Canucks' third line.

Henrik improved to 36 points in his second NHL season; he finished with five goals in his last six games, taking his season total to 16. In the opening game of the 2002 playoffs, Henrik scored the overtime winner against the first-seeded Detroit Red Wings to put the Canucks 1–0 ahead in the series; it was his first NHL playoff goal. Detroit went on to eliminate the Canucks in six games en route to winning the Stanley Cup. During the 2002–03 season, Henrik suffered a sprained left shoulder that forced him out of three games. He had sustained the injury during a game against the Edmonton Oilers on 14 December 2002. He finished the campaign with 39 points.

After their third NHL season, Henrik and Daniel were re-signed to one-year, US$1.125 million contracts on 29 July 2003. The Sedins began the 2003–04 season on a line with first-year player Jason King. The trio were named the "Mattress Line" (two twins and a King) and formed the Canucks' second scoring unit until King was re-assigned to the team's minor league affiliate midway through the season. On 7 November 2003, St. Louis Blues forward Doug Weight was suspended four games without pay for a cross-check he delivered to Henrik during a game the previous day; Henrik was not injured. Late in the season, Henrik was sidelined for five games due to an abdominal strain. Over 76 games, Henrik increased his points total to 42. He was re-signed to a one-year contract on 10 September 2004, during the off-season.

During the 2004–05 lockout, Henrik returned to Sweden to play for Modo with Daniel and their Canucks teammate Markus Näslund. During a game against Mora IK on 20 November 2004, Henrik received a slash that required a minor amputation to his left little finger. He finished the season with 36 points in 44 games, third in team scoring behind Peter Forsberg and Mattias Weinhandl.

As NHL play resumed in 2005–06, Henrik returned to the Canucks and scored 75 points, finishing second in team scoring behind Näslund. His breakout season was sparked, in part, by the signing of winger Anson Carter, who played on the Sedins' line and led the team in goal-scoring. The trio matched the scoring pace of the Canucks' top line of Näslund, Todd Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison. Vancouver's head coach at the time, Marc Crawford, recalled that season as marking the Sedins' ascent as leaders on the team, stating, "by the end of that year, they definitely were our top guys. They had surpassed Naslund and Bertuzzi." During the off-season, Henrik and Daniel re-signed with the Canucks to identical three-year, $10.75 million contracts on 30 June 2006. Despite the team's success with Carter, the Canucks did not re-sign him; he joined the Columbus Blue Jackets the following season.

In the 2006–07 NHL season, Henrik established himself as the Canucks' top-line centre. Winger Taylor Pyatt, been acquired in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres during the off-season, replaced Carter as the Sedins' linemate and went on to score a career-high 23 goals. For the fifth straight season, Henrik recorded a personal best, with 81 points; he set a new Canucks record for assists in one season with 71, beating the 62 by André Boudrias in 1974–75. Henrik passed Boudrias on 25 March 2007, with a three-assist effort during a 5–4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. In the opening game of the 2007 playoffs against the Dallas Stars, Henrik scored a game-winning, quadruple-overtime goal to end the sixth longest game in NHL history (and longest in Canucks history) at 138 minutes and six seconds of play. He struggled to produce offensively in a career-high 12 games in the playoffs, however, managing four points as the Canucks were eliminated by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round.



In 2007–08, Henrik was selected to play for the Western Conference in the 2008 All-Star Game against the East, the first appearance of his career. He recorded two assists. He won his first Cyrus H. McLean Trophy as Vancouver's leading scorer with 76 points. His 61 assists ranked fourth in the league for the second consecutive season.

The following season, Henrik scored 22 goals and 82 points, tying for the team lead in points with Daniel. Steve Bernier had been acquired in the 2008 off-season in another trade with the Sabres, and began the season on the top line with the Sedins. Bernier was later removed; on 12 February 2009, head coach Alain Vigneault moved Alexandre Burrows from the third line during a game against the Phoenix Coyotes. After recording 19 points and three game-winning goals in March, Henrik was named the NHL's Second Star of the Month. He added 10 points over 10 games in the 2009 playoffs, helping the Canucks advance to the second round, where they were defeated in six games by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Set to become unrestricted free agents on 1 July 2009, Henrik and Daniel began negotiating with the Canucks in the off-season and were reported to have asked for 12-year, $63 million contracts in mid-June. With free agency looming, Canucks general manager Mike Gillis travelled to Sweden to visit the Sedins, where they agreed on identical five-year, $30.5 million contracts on 1 July. On 30 September, Henrik was announced as one of the Canucks' three alternate captains, replacing defenceman Mattias Öhlund, who had signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the off-season.



Four games into the 2009–10 season, Daniel suffered the first major injury of his career, breaking his foot in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. He was sidelined for 18 games, marking the first time in Henrik's career that he played without his brother for an extended period. In Daniel's absence, however, Henrik enjoyed a high-scoring start to the season. On 14 November 2009, he scored his first NHL career hat trick in an 8–2 win against the Colorado Avalanche. Leading up to Daniel's 22 November return, Henrik scored seven goals in seven games. He continued his pace into December, recording a league-leading 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in 15 games to be named the NHL's First Star of the Month. The following month, he was named Second Star, having recorded 25 points in 13 games. On 7 January 2010, Henrik moved into top spot in the league scoring race, ahead of San Jose Sharks centre Joe Thornton with a three-assist night against the Phoenix Coyotes. It marked the first time in nearly five years, since Näslund was tied with Robert Lang on 18 February 2004, that a Canucks player held the league lead in scoring. During a 3–1 win against the Calgary Flames on 14 March, Henrik recorded his 416th career assist to pass Trevor Linden as Vancouver's all-time leader. On 27 March, he scored two assists against the San Jose Sharks to become the fourth Canuck in team history to record a 100-point season (after Pavel Bure, Alexander Mogilny and Näslund). He was named Third Star of the Month for March after scoring 24 points in 15 games.



Henrik entered the final game of the regular season, on 10 April against the Calgary Flames, one point behind Alexander Ovechkin for the scoring lead. He was awarded the Canucks' Cyclone Taylor Trophy, Cyrus H. McLean Trophy and Molson Cup as the team's most valuable player, leading scorer and three-star selection leader, respectively. He recorded four assists in a 7–3 win to finish the season with 112 points to pass Ovechkin while also breaking Pavel Bure's franchise record of 110 points, set in 1992–93. Ovechkin failed to register a point in his last game the next day, earning Henrik the league scoring title and making him the first Art Ross Trophy winner in Canucks history. With 83 assists, he also surpassed his own team record of 71 assists in one season. In the subsequent 2010 playoffs, Henrik added 14 points in 12 games. He scored the winning goal in game four against the Los Angeles Kings with under three minutes to go in regulation to tie the series at two games each. The Canucks went on to eliminate the Kings in six games before being ousted by the Blackhawks the following round for the second consecutive year.

On 19 May 2010, The Sporting News named Henrik their 2009–10 Player of the Year. He received 108 first-place votes out of the 353 NHL players, coaches and executives polled. Ovechkin received 86 first-place votes while Sidney Crosby received 72 first-place votes. At the NHL Awards Show the following month on 23 June, Henrik, Ovechkin and Crosby were up for both the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the player deemed by the media to be the most valuable to his team, and the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the best player as voted by the NHL Players Association. After losing the Ted Lindsay Award to Ovechkin, Henrik was awarded the Hart, becoming the first Canuck and second Swedish player (after Peter Forsberg in 2003) to win the trophy. Henrik garnered 894 voting points, compared to Ovechkin's 834 and Crosby's 729. He admitted afterwards to feeling like the underdog going into the awards ceremony, noting "[Ovechkin and Crosby] are the faces of the sport ... to be standing next to them as the old guy, it's a strange feeling." He was additionally named to the NHL First All-Star Team; at the same time, twin Daniel was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team. It marked the first time since Phil and Tony Esposito in 1973–74 that two brothers were named post-season NHL All-Stars. They were also chosen to appear together on the cover of EA Sports' European version of the NHL 11 video game.

On October 9, 2010, Henrik was named the Canucks' 13th captain in team history during a pre-game ceremony celebrating the start of the team's 40th season. He succeeded Roberto Luongo, who had stepped down as team captain the previous month.

International play
Henrik competed for Sweden at the 1997 European Junior Championships, recording three goals and seven points over six games. He joined Sweden for the 1998 European Junior Championships, the final game of which required Sweden to beat Russia by four goals to surpass Finland in goal differential and win the gold medal. Henrik recorded a goal and an assist against Russia as Sweden won 5–1.

In his NHL draft year, Henrik competed for Sweden at the 1999 World Junior Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He recorded nine points in six games, fifth in tournament scoring and second in team scoring to brother Daniel, as Sweden failed to win a medal. Later that year, Henrik made his international debut for the Swedish national men's team at the 1999 World Championships in Norway. He scored no points in eight games as Sweden won the bronze medal.

In 2000, Henrik once again competed in both the World Junior and Senior Championships. At the junior tournament in Sweden, Henrik led the tournament with 13 points in seven games, but Sweden did not earn a medal. At the World Championships, Henrik recorded five points as Sweden again failed to medal.

Following his rookie season with the Vancouver Canucks, Henrik made his third World Championships appearance, in 2001 in Germany. He earned his second bronze medal in three years as Sweden defeated the United States 3–2 in the bronze medal game. He made a fourth tournament appearance at the 2005 World Championships in Austria. Sweden missed out on the bronze medal, losing to Russia 6–3. Henrik had a goal and an assist in a losing effort during the bronze medal game. He finished the tournament with two goals and six points in nine games.

On 22 December 2005, Henrik was named to the Swedish Olympic team for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. He joined Daniel, Markus Näslund and Mattias Öhlund as one of four Canucks on the squad. Competing in his first Olympics, he contributed four points as Sweden won a gold medal, defeating Finland 3–2 in the final. Four years later, Henrik was once again named to the Swedish Olympic team, for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Unlike the previous Olympics, Henrik went into the 2010 tournament as one of Sweden's key players: at the time of the roster announcement on December 27, 2009, he led all Swedish players in NHL scoring. Sweden failed to defend their gold medal from Turin, however, losing to Slovakia in the quarter final. Henrik had two assists in four games.

Playing style
Throughout his career, Henrik has scored more assists than goals. Known as a playmaker, he starts play sequences that lead to goals with passes to his teammates. Many of the plays he generates are created off the cycle. Henrik's familiarity with Daniel's play enhances his effectiveness; the pair are known for their ability to find each other intuitively with passes, often without looking.

Beginning around the 2008–09 season, Henrik began to expand his skill-set by scoring more goals. His increased tendency to shoot was given an extra push when Daniel suffered the first major injury of his career early in the 2009–10 season, forcing Henrik to play without his brother and consequently pass less often. He recorded the first two 20-goal seasons of his career in 2008–09 and 2009–10, and increased his shot totals.

With his offensive skill the prime component of his game, Henrik is known to avoid initiating contact with opposing players. Early in their career, he and Daniel were knocked off the puck easily, leading many in the media to refer to them as the "Sedin Sisters". As a result, players have often taken advantage of the brothers' lack of physicality by playing aggressively against them. This once led Canucks general manager Brian Burke to publicly complain, commenting during a 2002 playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings, Sedin' is not Swedish for 'punch me or headlock me in a scrum'." As their careers progressed, the Sedins have worked on their strength, improving their puck possession and allowing them to play more effectively.

Personal life
Henrik is married to Johanna; they have two sons: Valter, who was born in 2006 in Vancouver and Harry, who was born on 12 May 2010. They live together in the city's Yaletown neighbourhood, and return to Sweden during the off-season. In March 2010, Henrik and Johanna made a joint $1.5 million donation, with Daniel and his wife Marinette, to the BC Children's Hospital's $200-million project for a new building; the two families requested that it be put towards a pediatric intensive-care unit and a diagnostic imaging area. Henrik commented that it was something he and his wife had wanted to do since Valter was born.

Records

 * Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for all time assists – 434 as of 2009–10 (surpassed Trevor Linden's 415 assists on 14 March 2010)
 * Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for assists in one season – 83 (2009–10) (surpassed his own 71 assists in 2006–07)
 * Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for points in one season – 112 (2009–10) (surpassed Pavel Bure's 110 points in 1993–94)

Transactions

 * 26 June 1999 – Drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the first round, third overall, in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft
 * 27 July 1999 – Signed with the Canucks to a three-year contract
 * 29 July 2003 – Re-signed with the Canucks to a one-year, $1.125 million contract
 * 10 September 2004 – Re-signed with the Canucks to a one-year contract
 * 30 June 2006 – Re-signed with the Canucks to a three-year, $10.75 million contract
 * 1 July 2009 – Re-signed with the Canucks to a five-year, $30.5 million contract