Markus Näslund

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Position	Left Wing
Shoots	Left
Nickname	Nazzy, Macke, Mackan
Height Weight	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 195 lb (89 kg)
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	1990 – present

Markus Naslund (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 NHL. He is often referred to as "Nazzy" by Canucks fans, while he is nicknamed "Macke" and "Mackan" in his native Sweden.

1 Playing career
2 Off the ice
3 Movements
4 Awards
5 Records
6 Career statistics
7 International play
- 7.1 International statistics
8 See also
9 References

[edit] Playing career

Näslund has played 9 seasons for the Vancouver Canucks as of 2006. 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 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.^{[citation needed]}

The following season, Näslund surprised many by leading 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 Canada, he was appointed team captain by general manager Brian Burke.^{[citation needed]} Näslund went on 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, however, 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).^{[citation needed]} The line earned the Canucks a great deal of attention, and Naslund 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 an amazing 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.'^{[citation needed]} 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. In 2006, he chose not to join the Swedish national team at the 2006 Winter Olympics due to an injury.^[1]

Currently, Naslund is on pace to surpass Trevor Linden for the most Canuck points scored within two seasons, assuming he remains with the team.

[edit] Off the ice

Markus and his wife Lotta have three children, Rebecca, Isabella, and Alex.^[1] Markus has told the media that his recent lack of production is due to missing his best friend, Todd Bertuzzi.^{[citation needed]} Markus is also a devout Christian and a registered Christian Speaker.^[2]^[3]

[edit] 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.

[edit] Awards

Named the Canucks Most Valuable Player in 1999.
Awarded the Cyrus McLean Trophy in 1999 and 2000.
Awarded the Molson Cup Award in 2001.
Awarded the Cyclone Taylor Award in 2001.
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.

[edit] Records

1993 Junior World Championships' record for most goals scored (13)
Vancouver Canucks franchise record for most goals in one season by a Canucks captain (48)

[edit] 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	--	--	--	--	--
NHL Totals			871	322	386	708	579	33	9	19	28	30

[edit] 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

[edit] 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

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