Daniel and Henrik Sedin: Terrific Twins

Originally published in Rinkside in 2006

By Lucas Aykroyd

Last year, two young forwards from Ornskoldsvik, Sweden proved it’s possible to be Number Two and Number One at the same time.

Brothers Henrik and Daniel Sedin chipped in 75 and 71 points respectively for the Vancouver Canucks, forming two-thirds of arguably the NHL’s best second line last year with Anson Carter. Henrik, a center, wound up second in overall team scoring behind captain Markus Naslund, and Daniel was second among left wingers after Todd Bertuzzi.

But the identical twin redheads proved more consistent on a night-in, night-out basis in 2005-06 than the more experienced and acclaimed stars of the top “West Coast Express” line. When it came to the Turin Olympics, Naslund stayed home to nurse an aching groin, and Bertuzzi took the penalty that led to Russia’s winning goal versus Canada in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, the Sedins played solid all-around hockey for Sweden en route to a gold medal victory over Finland. Number One, baby!

The best is yet to come for this dynamic duo, and that’s given Vancouver fans reason for excitement. Yet Daniel and Henrik’s even-keeled demeanor also offers a sense of stability as the Canucks head into 2006-07 with a drastically overhauled roster, having missed the playoffs with a ninth-place finish in the Western Conference last year.

“The Sedins will be 26 this season, and they’ve really matured as people and as players,” says veteran Canuck winger Trevor Linden. “They’re just scratching the tip of the iceberg. They feel they can improve on what they did last year, and I think they’ll emerge as leaders in our group. We’ve changed some things in our room, and it’ll enable them to step up. They’re quality people and they’re going to be a big part of our team.”

Vancouver GM Dave Nonis obviously agrees. In June, he inked the twins to identical three-year deals worth $10.725 million apiece. The negotiations went smoothly, according to Henrik: “We like it here in Vancouver. This is where we want to play. We never hesitated about staying here, so the deal came together quickly. I think they wanted the same things as us, which was nice.”

Chosen second and third overall in the 1999 NHL Draft, the Sedins were originally projected as top-end offensive talents, a side that finally emerged last year. Now, while they could vault into the 80- or 90-point range, they’ve also demonstrated that they bring valuable two-way assets to the rink. Henrik won a team-best 50.7 percent of his faceoff in 2005-06 and teamed up effectively with his brother in penalty-killing situations.

A big part of their development has been their commitment to off-season training. “Usually I was in downtown, working out with Daniel for a couple of hours,” Henrik says of this summer’s routine back home. “Then we’d have lunch with friends, go out to my summer place again, and relax for a bit. Finally we’d go for a run or something. We ran more than the last few years.”

Once, the twins were criticized for lacking foot-speed, but now their cardiovascular conditioning and quickness compare favorably with other NHLers. They’ve also both bulked up to about 200 pounds apiece.

“I think people had a tough time understanding they were just kids when they started back in 2000,” says Linden. “Some guys at 20 are physically mature, and some take till they’re 24 or 25. Daniel and Henrik are examples of guys who matured physically a little later. They’re men now. They take a businesslike approach in the way they train and practice. It shows on the ice.”

Some players are tough to identify at a glance because they play a simple, generic style, but you could never accuse the Sedins of that. They have an uncanny knack for finding each other on the ice with soft, tape-to-tape passes. Working the puck along the boards is a specialty of theirs, and even when facing physical defensemen like Robyn Regehr or Adam Foote, they’re extraordinarily difficult to check in that position. The two also use some signature set plays. One of the best features one Sedin going to the slot and tipping home his brother’s slap-pass feed. That play clicked several times last year when the Canucks had the man advantage.

Daniel, for one, appreciates the impact of the NHL’s new rules and obstruction crackdown: “The new rules have been good overall. There were a lot of penalties in the beginning, but after a while, everyone adjusted. It’s opened up the ice and there’s better flow to the game. If you beat a guy, you know he can’t just hook you.”

However, some critics wonder if the loss of linemate Anson Carter will hurt the Sedins this year. The veteran winger, perhaps best-known for scoring Canada’s OT winner against Sweden at the 2003 IIHF World Championship, faltered with three different teams in 2003-04, but had a great post-lockout comeback in Vancouver, potting a career-best 33 goals. His skating, enthusiasm, and ability to read off the twins were huge plusses. But Carter couldn’t come to terms on a new deal with Dave Nonis.

“We had so much fun last year with Anson, but I guess that’s business,” says Daniel. “We’ve just got to deal with it.” Adds Henrik: “It’s been a different linemate for us just about every year, so it shouldn’t be a big problem. They’ve got a few options in terms of whom to put on the right side.”

With Matt Cooke likely to join Naslund and Brendan Morrison on a revamped Canucks top line, two wingers have been touted frequently as potential Carter replacements. They’re Manitoba Moose farmhand Jesse Schultz, who led Vancouver’s AHL affiliate in scoring last year, and Jan Bulis, a 28-year-old Czech Olympian who tied his single-season peak with 40 points in Montreal.

“I haven’t played with Jesse Schultz, but I’ve heard he’s a good scorer and a good player overall,” says Daniel. “I know Jan Bulis from Montreal, and he’s very skilled.”

Of course, these aren’t even the most prominent new names that could make waves in Canada’s West Coast metropolis. The blockbuster trade for Roberto Luongo, often billed as one of the world’s top five goalies with Florida, may prove to be one of the franchise’s most important moves ever, and bringing in Willie Mitchell from Minnesota means another key shut-down blueliner to support Mattias Ohlund. The offensive upside of Lukas Krajicek, another ex-Florida Panther, is exciting too.

“Luongo is a world-class goalie,” says Daniel. “We played against Mitchell a lot during his days in Minnesota and he’s a tough defenseman, tough to beat one-on-one and great defensively.”

But there’s also a downside to change. The off-season saw the departure of friends and core Canucks like Todd Bertuzzi, Ed Jovanovski, and Dan Cloutier, as well as prominent journeymen like Bryan Allen, Jarkko Ruutu, and Alex Auld.

“We had a bad year last year,” Henrik admits. “We missed the playoffs, and we knew there might be some changes. It was tough to predict how many guys were going to leave. I guess they wanted to do something to get the team going and maybe give us a fresh start this year.”

Another scapegoat in Canuckland after last year’s failure was head coach Marc Crawford, who soon secured new employment behind the bench of the Los Angeles Kings. On balance, Henrik views the Crawford era in Vancouver favorably, even though he’s excited to get to work under new Canucks bench boss Alain Vigneault.

“There were a lot of plusses. Marc is a well-known coach, and he’s won at this level before. The first couple of years for us were tough, because we didn’t play at the level that we wanted. At the same time, we didn’t play as much as we wanted either. We always knew we were going to get better as players the more we played and the more pressure was put on us. But this last year was great for the two of us. He let us play on the power play, PK, and 5-on-5, and in big situations late in games. It was really helpful.”

What might have boosted the twins’ confidence most in 2006, however, was the chance to play on an elite championship team for the first time ever. The Stanley Cup has eluded them so far, and they’ve never won World Championships or Swedish Elite League titles with their hometown club of MoDo. But in the glare of the international spotlight, they helped Sweden gain its second-ever Olympic gold medal and its first in a best-on-best, full NHL participation scenario. Henrik and Daniel set the tone for Tre Kronor with a goal and an assist apiece in a 7-2 tournament-opening win over Kazakhstan. It’s not a subject that gets old for them.

“It’s all about the feeling of winning,” Henrik says. “We hadn’t really won anything before, and this was a chance to be a part of a winning team. Coming into the tournament, we weren’t really playing that well, but as the Olympics went on, we just had a great feeling in the group.”

“It’s tough to understand how big it is to win such a huge tournament until you’ve been there,” adds Daniel. “Now we’ve been there and we know what it takes.”

The experience should pay dividends in terms of the leadership they can bring to the Canucks, and to Team Sweden at the 2010 Olympic tournament, which will be staged at Vancouver’s GM Place. By that time, the blue-and-yellow national squad will likely lack the services of veteran superstars like Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg, and Nicklas Lidstrom, and there’ll be a gap to fill.

In some ways, it’s hard to believe the Sedins are entering their sixth NHL campaign and could each have a shot at cracking 300 career points if they stay healthy. They’ve come so far since former Vancouver GM Brian Burke pulled off some wizardry on June 26, 1999 (making separate draft-day deals with Chicago, Tampa Bay, and Atlanta) in order to select two identical teens back to back.

Since then, they’ve racked up their share of individual highlights. For Henrik, tops would have to be the overtime winner he scored on Dominik Hasek in Vancouver’s 2002 playoff opener versus Detroit. Daniel also schooled the legendary Czech netminder for a regular season shootout winner versus Ottawa last year, but probably recalls the time he scored all four goals in a 4-2 win over Detroit in 2004 with even more fondness.

Still, you won’t find the Sedins bragging about their accomplishments in the dressing room. “They’re both pretty humble guys,” Linden says. “They’ve got great personalities, but they’re humble guys. That’s what makes them so likeable.”

Though quiet, they sometimes flash an impish sense of humor. Asked about the loss of Jarkko Ruutu as a cards-playing partner on team flights, Henrik’s Swedish pride pops up: “Ruuts did all the trash-talking for the Finns, so now that Sami Salo’s on his own, it’s going to be easier for us!” And is there, say, any area where Daniel consistently outperforms Henrik away from the rink? Henrik quips: “I’m definitely better than him at doing birdies out on the golf course, and he’s definitely better than me at doing bogies.”

Having a stable home life has helped both Sedins remain model citizens on and off the ice. That’s something they enjoyed in small-town Sweden with their parents, Tommy and Tora, and their older brothers, Stefan and Peter. Living in swanky condos in Vancouver’s Yaletown district today, they come home to supportive partners. Daniel’s wife Marinette gave birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter named Ronga, in July 2005, to the delight of Uncle Henrik and his long-term girlfriend Johanna.

If the new-look Canucks manage to come together like a family this year, building from a solid defensive foundation and getting scoring from throughout the roster, the Sedins believe anything is possible.

“The goal has got to be making the playoffs,” says Daniel. “You look at Edmonton last year. They made it in as the eighth seed, and they got all the way to the finals. So you’ve got to come into the playoffs mentally ready. Even coming in as underdogs, it could be good. We may be able to surprise a lot of people.”

Whether you rank Vancouver’s terrific twins as a Number One or Number Two threat, there’s little doubt that on many nights this season, they’ll be double trouble for opposing NHL teams.

Twin Tastes

Henrik’s best 2006 movie: “The Da Vinci Code.”
Daniel’s best 2006 movie: “The Da Vinci Code.”
Henrik’s favorite music: “A little bit of everything, but mostly new Swedish stuff.”
Daniel’s favorite music: “Everything, except classical.”
Henrik’s Vancouver restaurant choice: “If you like Italian, you should try Cioppino’s.”
Daniel’s Vancouver restaurant choice: “For sushi, I like Honjin in Yaletown.”