 |
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| Position | Left/Right Wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| Nickname(s) | Nazzy Macke Mackan |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 195 lb (88 kg/13.9 st) |
| NHL Team F. Teams |
Vancouver Canucks Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Nationality |  Sweden |
| Born | July 30 1973 , Örnsköldsvik, SWE |
| NHL Draft | 16th overall, 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Pro Career | 1993 – present |
Markus Näslund (born July 30, 1973, in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden) is a professional Swedish ice hockey player and is currently the captain of the Vancouver Canucks in the National Hockey League. He is often referred to as "Nazzy" by Canucks fans, while he is nicknamed "Macke" and "Mackan" in his native Sweden.
Contents |
Playing career
Näslund has played 10 seasons for the Vancouver Canucks as of 2007. The Pittsburgh Penguins originally drafted Näslund in the first round, 16th overall, in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired in exchange for Alek Stojanov (Generally regarded as one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history) on March 20, 1996.[1] Näslund's first two complete seasons with the Canucks were largely uneventful, and he was not a favorite of coach Mike Keenan. At the start of the 1997-98 season, Keenan scratched a healthy Näslund. As a result, the winger asked the team to trade him. 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[2], he was appointed team captain by general manager Brian Burke on September 15.[1] Näslund went on to set personal highs that season in goals and points, and led the Canucks to their first playoff appearance since 1996. 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. 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.' 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.[1] Naslund's production fell off a bit in the 06-07 season as coach Alain Vigneault took the helm of the Canucks and introduced a new defence-first system. Naslund remains today a strong leader on a Canucks team that has seen many changes in the past few years. On Wednesday, November 21, 2007, Naslund scored his 11th career hat-trick in a much hyped game against the Minnesota Wild. It was his first hat-trick since December 2003. On December 5th 2007 Markus Naslund became the canucks franchise leading scorer by an assist on a Mattias Ohlund goal, Passing Trevor Linden with 725 points. Markus Naslund has been somewhat resurgment compared to his past 60 point campaign, on a line with the Sedin twins, currently Markus has 34 points in 40 games.
Preferences with sticks
While fans feel that Markus should switch to composite, Markus is one of the few players in the NHL that still uses wooden sticks (Nike Bauer One75). He said that he noticed very little velocity increase and the feel of composite is nowhere near up to par with wood. Past known sticks he has used in game and tried in practice include: Nike Bauer One75 Wood Stick (Current)
Nike Bauer One60 Wood Stick
Bauer 6000 Wood Stick
Nike Bauer One90 Composite Stick
Nike Bauer Vapor XXX Lite Composite Stick
Innovative 1100 (MoDo during lockout)
Nike Quest V-12 Wood Stick (Was available for retail only in Europe, looked similar to Nike Quest Apollo)
Nike Quest 1 (Normal paint job)
Sherwood SOP 7000 Wood Stick
Nike Quest 1 (Quest 3 paint job) Wood Stick
Blacked-out Vic Wood Stick
Wood stick painted like a Mission M-1
Vic (model unknown)
Titan (model unknown)
Personal life
Markus and his wife Lotta have three children, Rebecca, Isabella, and Alex.[1]
Movements
- June 17, 1991 - Drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1st round, 16th overall.
- March 20, 1996 - Traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Alek Stojanov.
Awards
- Named the Canucks Most Valuable Player in 1999.
- Awarded the Cyrus H. McLean Trophy in 1999 and 2000.
- Awarded the Molson Cup in 2001.
- Awarded the Cyclone Taylor Award in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
- Named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
- Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
- Nominated for the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2003.
- Awarded the Lester B. Pearson Award in 2003.
Records
- Junior World Championships' record for most goals scored in a single tournament: 13 (1993)
- Vancouver Canucks franchise regular season goals leader: 321
- Tied with most hat-tricks of all time in the franchise: 11
Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1988-89 | Ornskoldsvik | SEL-3 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 13 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1989-90 | MODO Jr. | SEL-2 | 33 | 43 | 35 | 78 | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1990-91 | MODO | SEL | 32 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 14 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1991-92 | MODO | SEL | 39 | 22 | 18 | 40 | 54 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992-93 | MODO Jr. | SEL-2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992-93 | MODO | 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 | 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 | ||
| NHL Totals | 953 | 346 | 422 | 768 | 633 | 45 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 46 | ||||
International play
| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's ice hockey | |||
| World Championships | |||
| Bronze | 2002 | Team | |
| Bronze | 1999 | Team | |
| Silver | 1993 | Team | |
Näslund has played for Sweden in the following competitions:
- 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
References
- ^ a b c d The Vancouver Canucks - MARKUS NASLUND. canucks.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-17.
- ^ Brånfelt, Björn (2000-08-14). Vancouvers superkedja (Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved on 2007-04-22.
External links
| Preceded by Mark Messier |
Vancouver Canucks Captains 2000 – present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Jarome Iginla |
Winner of the Lester B. Pearson Award 2003 |
Succeeded by Martin St. Louis |
| Preceded by Dany Heatley & Joe Sakic |
EA Sports NHL Cover Athlete NHL 2005 |
Succeeded by Vincent Lecavalier |
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'93: Randy Moller & Mike Richter • '94: Ray Bourque, Clark Donatelli, Andy Moog & Tomas Sandström • '95: Kirk McLean& Alexei Kovalev • '96: Scott Stevens & Steve Yzerman • '97: John Vanbiesbrouck • '98: Peter Forsberg • '99: Eric Lindros • '00: Chris Pronger • '01: Owen Nolan • '02: Mario Lemieux • '03: Jarome Iginla • '04: Dany Heatley • '04: Joe Sakic • '05: Markus Näslund • '06: Vincent Lecavalier • '07: Alexander Ovechkin • '08: Eric Staal |
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| Rexe • Swain • Polis • Stoughton • Larouche • Laxton • Chapman • Bullard • Sutter • Errey • Lemieux • Bodger • Belanger • Simpson • Zalapski • Joseph • Shannon • Heward • Jagr • Naslund • Straka • Bergkvist • Wells • Morozov • Hillier • Döme • Kraft • Koltsov • Orpik • Armstrong • Whitney • Fleury • Malkin • Crosby • Staal • Esposito |
