| Daniel Sedin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 26, 1980 Örnsköldsvik, Sweden |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb) |
| Position | Left Wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| National team |  Sweden
|
| NHL Draft | 2nd overall, 1999 Vancouver Canucks |
| Playing career | 1997–2018 |
Daniel Sedin (born on September 26, 1980) is a Swedish professional ice hockey winger with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) and serves as an alternate captain for the team.
His identical twin brother Henrik Sedin also plays for the Canucks and is the team captain.
The twins have played together throughout their careers. The pair are known for their effectiveness playing off one another: Daniel is known as a goal-scorer while Henrik is known as a playmaker.
Daniel began his professional career in the Swedish Elite League with Modo Hockey in 1997 and was co-recipient (with Henrik) of the 1999 Golden Puck as Swedish player of the year.
He played four seasons with Modo (including a return in 2004–05 due to the NHL lockout), helping the club to two consecutive appearances in the Le Mat Trophy Finals, in 1999 and 2000, where they lost both times.
Selected second overall by the Canucks in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, he moved to the NHL in the 2000–01 season.
Daniel has spent his entire NHL career in Vancouver. After emerging as a top player in the club during the 2005–06 season, he has since recorded six consecutive campaigns of at least 20 goals and 70 points.
In 2011, he won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading point-scorer and the Ted Lindsay Award as the best player in the league as voted by fellow players. Daniel was also nominated for the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player.
In Sweden, he and Henrik were awarded the Victoria Stipendium as the country's athletes of the year.
Internationally, Daniel has competed for the Swedish national team. In addition to being a two-time Winter Olympian, he has appeared in two European Junior Championships, two World Junior Championships and four World Championships.
He won a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy and bronze medals at the 1999 and 2001 World Championships.
Playing Career[]
Modo Hockey (1997-2000)[]
At the age of sixteen, Daniel and Henrik began their professional careers in 1997–98 with Modo Hockey of the Swedish Elite League.
Daniel recorded 12 points over 45 games during his rookie season. In his second professional year, he led Modo in scoring with 42 points in 50 games, helping the club to its second regular season title in team history.
Daniel then added 12 points in 13 playoff games as Modo advanced to the Le Mat Trophy Finals, where they lost to Brynäs IF.
At the end of the campaign, Daniel and Henrik 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 draft-eligible players from Europe, the twins were expected to be top five selections and expressed a desire to play for the same team.
As they were unlikely to be picked by 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 hockey in North America, which was not their intention.
Barnett also suggested either Henrik or Daniel opt out of the 1999 draft, hoping that the 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 both entered the 1999 draft expecting to be selected by separate teams, however, then-Canucks general manager Brian Burke already possessed the 3rd overall pick and through a series of transactions he obtained the second overall pick.
He used these second and third overall picks to select Daniel and Henrik, respectively.
Gradin notified them of the Canucks' intentions five minutes before the draft. Although Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Rick Dudley was ready to make Daniel his first overall choice before opening negotiations, he was convinced by Burke and Barnett that Daniel would not sign unless his brother was on the same team.
On July 27, 1999, a month following the draft, Daniel and Henrik signed three-year US$1 million contracts with the Canucks.
As the contract did not require them to begin playing in Vancouver immediately, Henrik & Daniel announced on August 12, 1999 that they would return to Sweden to play one more season with Modo.
During the 1999–2000 season, Daniel finished second in team scoring with 45 points in 50 games, two points behind Henrik.
The two brothers played on a line during the season with New York Islanders prospect Mattias Weinhandl.
In the 2000 playoffs, Daniel added a team-leading eight goals and 14 points. He recorded two goals and two assists in the deciding game of the semifinals against Brynäs IF, a 6–3 win for Modo.
Modo made their second straight finals appearance where they lost the playoff championship to Djurgårdens IF in three straight games.
Vancouver Canucks (2000-current)[]
The 2000–01 NHL season was Daniel's first season with the Canucks. His debut was the team's first game of the campaign on October 5, 2000, a 6–3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.Daniel and Henrik became the fourth pair of twins to have played in the NHL.
Three days later, Daniel scored his first career NHL goal against goaltender Dan Cloutier of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Assisted by Henrik, the goal tied the game at 4–4 with 1:13 minutes left to go in a 5–4 regulation win.
On November 30, 2000, Daniel suffered from a shoulder injury which sidelined him for four games.
During his recovery, he was reprimanded by Canucks head coach Marc Crawford who told him that playing through pain is part of being in the NHL.
Later in the season, Daniel missed an additional three games due to a back injury, shortening his rookie season to 75 games.
On March 21, 2001, Daniel became the first rookie in 2000–01 to reach 20 goals when he scored in a 1–1 tie against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Finishing the campaign with that goal total, he tied for second among league rookies in scoring with Shane Willis, behind Brad Richards. He also had 14 assists for 34 points in total.
Making his Stanley Cup playoffs debut against the Colorado Avalanche, Daniel recorded an assist in the opening game of the first-round series, a 5–4 loss for the Canucks.
He added his first NHL playoff goal later in the series as the Canucks were eliminated in four games. Daniel and Henrik played primarily on the Canucks' third line.
Daniel received one third-place vote from the Professional Hockey Writers' Association for the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year, finishing eighth in award balloting overall.
During the off-season in May of 2001, Daniel underwent surgery for a herniated disc in his lower back from which he suffered during the 2001 World Championships in Germany.
In Daniel's second NHL season, he struggled with the lowest goals total of his career with nine.
The campaign included a 25-game stretch without a goal between mid October and the end of November of 2001.
With 23 assists, he had 32 points overall. Vancouver finished with the eighth seed in the Western Conference for the second consecutive year.
Facing the Detroit Red Wings in the first round, they were eliminated in six games.
The following season in 2002–03, Daniel continued his point-scoring pace of the previous two campaigns with 14 goals and 17 assists.
Vancouver finished the regular season fourth overall in the West and advanced to the second round for the first time in Daniel's career.
He appeared in a career-high 14 playoff games and recorded six points as the Canucks were defeated in seven games by the Minnesota Wild.
On July 29, 2003, Daniel and Henrik were re-signed in the off-season to one-year, US$1.125 million contracts.
The Sedins began the 2003–04 season on a line with first-year player Jason King. They were dubbed the "Mattress Line" (two twins and a King) and formed the Canucks' second scoring line until King was re-assigned to the team's minor league affiliate midway through the season.
On January 17, 2004, Daniel was awarded his first penalty shot in a game against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He was stopped by goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere as Anaheim went on to win the game 2–1.
On February 24, 2004, Daniel recorded his first NHL career hat-trick with a four-goal effort in a 4–2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Over 82 games, he increased his production to 18 goals and 54 points.
The Canucks won the Northwest Division title in the regular season before losing to the Calgary Flames in the first round of the playoffs. Daniel recorded a goal and two assists in the seven-game series.
During the off-season, Daniel and Henrik were re-signed to one-year, US$1.25 million contracts on September 10, 2004, however, due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Daniel returned to Sweden to play for Modo, along with Henrik and their Canucks teammate Markus Näslund.
Daniel finished the season with 33 points in 49 games, fourth in team scoring behind Peter Forsberg, Mattias Weinhandl and Henrik.
When NHL play resumed in 2005–06, Daniel returned to the Canucks and scored 71 points.
He tied for third in team point-scoring with Todd Bertuzzi behind Henrik and Naslund.
Daniel's scoring success that season was influenced, 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 Naslund, Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison.
Vancouver's head coach at the time, Marc Crawford, recalled that season as marking the Sedins' ascent to leaders on the team, stating that "by the end of that year, they definitely were our top guys. They had surpassed Naslund and Bertuzzi."
Despite the brothers' individual achievements, the Canucks missed the playoffs for the first time in their careers.
During the off-season, Daniel and Henrik re-signed with the Canucks to identical three-year, $10.75 million contracts on June 30, 2006.
Despite the Sedins' success with Carter, the Canucks did not re-sign him. He joined the Columbus Blue Jackets the following season.
In the 2006–07 season, Daniel established himself as the Canucks' top scorer. He led the team with 36 goals and 84 points to lead the Canucks in scoring.
He also tied a league record with four goals in overtime over the course of the season.
On February 6, 2007, Daniel notched his second career NHL hat-trick, scoring two goals against goaltender Dwayne Roloson and one into an empty net.
On March 8, 2007, Daniel took the second penalty shot of his career against the Phoenix Coyotes, however, he was stopped once again by Curtis Joseph. Vancouver went on to win the game 4–2.
Winger Taylor Pyatt 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.
In the opening game of the 2007 playoffs against the Dallas Stars, Daniel assisted on Henrik's quadruple-overtime goal to end the longest-ever Canucks playoff game and the sixth longest in NHL history at 138 minutes and six seconds of play.
Daniel struggled to produce offensively in the playoffs, however, managing five points over 12 games as the Canucks were eliminated by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round.
He recorded 74 points in 2007–08 as the Canucks missed the playoffs for the second time in three years.
Daniel finished second in team point-scoring to Henrik and first in goals with 29. The Sedins saw some time with Naslund on their top line during the season to form an all-Swedish forward unit.
The following season, Daniel recorded 31 goals and 82 points, tying Henrik for the team lead in points.
On October 13, 2008, he opened the campaign being named the NHL's First Star of the Week with a five-point effort over two games.
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 February 12, 2009, head coach Alain Vigneault moved Alexandre Burrows up from the third line during a game against the Phoenix Coyotes.
Late in the campaign, Daniel was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week on March 30, 2009 after recording four goals and four assists in four games including a game-winning goal.
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 July 1, 2009, Daniel and Henrik 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 visited the Sedins in Sweden, where they agreed on identical five-year, $30.5 million contracts on July 1, 2009.
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 suffered the injury after being hit by a slapshot from his teammate Alexander Edler.
Although Daniel finished the game and recorded three assists, x-rays several days later revealed a fracture. He was sidelined for 18 games, returning to the ice on November 22 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
On December 10, 2009 (soon after his return), he notched his third career NHL hat-trick in a 4–2 win against the Atlanta Thrashers on December 10, 2009.
Four days later, he was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week with seven points over the course of the week.
In the final game of the regular season, on April 10, 2010, against the Calgary Flames, Daniel scored his fourth career NHL hat-trick in a 7–3 win.
All three goals were assisted by his brother, helping Henrik pass Alexander Ovechkin for the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading point-scorer.
The last goal was chosen by The Sports Network in a fan-voted poll as the NHL's play of the year.
He received a between-the-legs tip pass from Henrik near the corner boards before beating goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff with a between-the-legs deke.
Daniel finished the season with a career-high 56 assists and 85 points despite playing an injury-shortened 63-game campaign.
His 1.35 points per game rate was third in the league behind Henrik and Ovechkin. In the subsequent 2010 playoffs, Daniel recorded 10 points in the opening round against the Los Angeles Kings, including the series-winning goal in the late stages of game six.
Against the Chicago Blackhawks the following round, his production decreased to four points as the Canucks were eliminated in six games.
In the off-season, Daniel was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team. It marked the first time since 1973–74 that two brothers were named post-season NHL All-Stars, as Henrik had been named to the First Team.
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, Daniel was named an alternate captain for the Canucks, who named Henrik captain during a pre-game ceremony to celebrate the team's 40th anniversary.
He was joined by Ryan Kesler, Kevin Bieksa and Manny Malhotra as alternates. Daniel wears the "A" during Canucks home games along with Kesler.
On January 10, 2011, Daniel was named the NHL's First Star of the Week after scoring five goals and seven points in four games.
During that span, he scored the 10,000th goal in Canucks franchise history in a 3–1 win against the Flames on January 5, 2011.
Later in the month, Daniel competed in his first career NHL All-Star Game. Drafted onto Team Staal, he played with Canucks teammate Ryan Kesler opposite Henrik on Team Lidstrom.
In the Skills Competition, Daniel won the shooting accuracy segment by first beating Martin Havlat to all four targets in 7.3 seconds and then defeating Patrick Kane in the final in 8.9 seconds.
The following day, Daniel recorded one assist as Team Staal lost the game 11–10. Towards the end of the 2010–11 season, Daniel compiled three goals and five assists in three games to be named the NHL's Second Star of the Week on March 14, 2011.
During that month, he totalled 9 goals and 12 assists in 15 games, earning him NHL Second Star of the Month honours.
With a goal and an assist against the Los Angeles Kings on March 31, 2011, Daniel became the fifth player in team history to reach the 100-point mark in one season (after Pavel Bure, Alexander Mogilny, Markus Naslund and Henrik Sedin).
Prior to the Canucks' final home game of the season a week later, he was awarded the Cyclone Taylor Award as the team's most valuable player (MVP) and his third Cyrus H. McLean Award as the team's leading point-scorer.
Finishing the campaign with a career-high 41 goals, 63 assists and 104 points, Daniel won the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading point-scorer.
It marked the first time in NHL history that brothers led the league in scoring in back-to-back seasons as Henrik had won the previous year.
Chicago Blackhawks forwards Doug and Max Bentley also won separate scoring titles, but had achieved the feat three years apart in 1943 and 1946, respectively.
He also received the Viking Award as the league's best Swedish player, following after Henrik who received it the year before.
Daniel's efforts helped the Canucks win the Presidents' Trophy as the team with the league's best regular season record for the first in franchise history.
Entering the 2011 playoffs with the top seed in the West, the Canucks beat the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks in the first three rounds to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 17 years.
Playing against the Boston Bruins, the Sedins struggled to score in the Finals; through the series' seven games, Daniel recorded a goal and three assists.
Consequently, the Canucks managed just eight goals in that same span. After losing Game 6 by a 5–2 score in Boston, Daniel told Vancouver Sun reporters, "We're going to win Game 7." They went on to lose the deciding contest 4–0.
With 9 goals and 20 points over 25 games, Daniel ranked fourth in playoff scoring behind Boston's David Krejci, Henrik Sedin and Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis. His 99 shots on goal marked the fifth-highest single playoffs total in NHL history.
A week after the Canucks' loss, Daniel was in attendance for the NHL Awards show in Las Vegas, having been nominated for the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player, the Ted Lindsay Award as the league's most outstanding player and the NHL Foundation Player Award for his and Henrik's work in the Vancouver community.
Daniel won the Lindsay Award over forwards Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks.
In Hart Trophy voting, he finished as the first runner-up to Perry with 51 first-place ballots and 960 voting points total (16 and 83 fewer than Perry, respectively).
Daniel and Henrik also lost the NHL Foundation Award to Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown. After being named to the NHL's Second All-Star Team the previous year, Daniel received First Team honours with Henrik for the 2010–11 season.
Returning to Sweden in the off-season, Daniel and Henrik were co-recipients of the Victoria Stipendium, as the country's athletes of the year.
They became the third and fourth ice hockey players to receive the award after Stefan Persson in 1980 and Peter Forsberg in 1994. Henrik and Daniel were presented the award (commemorated with glass plates) on July 14, 2011 in the city of Borgholm.
At the midway point the following season, Daniel was named to his second consecutive NHL All-Star Game in January of 2012. He was one of four players representing the Canucks (including Henrik) Alex Edler and Cody Hodgson.
Chosen to Team Alfredsson in the All-Star Draft, he recorded a goal and an assist in a 12–9 loss to Team Chara.
Later in the season, Daniel sustained a concussion after receiving a hit from Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith during a game on March 21, 2012.
With Daniel in the neutral zone and without possession of the puck, Keith hit him in the head with his elbow.
After being helped off the ice by a trainer, Daniel remained in the game for a shift before leaving the contest entirely.
Two days later, Keith was suspended five games for his hit by the league. Sidelined for the remainder of the regular season, Daniel finished 2011–12 with 30 goals and 67 points over 72 games, a drop off from his league-leading total from the previous season.
Despite Daniel's injury late in the season, the Canucks won their second consecutive Presidents' Trophy.
He remained out of the lineup for the first three games of the 2012 playoffs, all of which the Canucks lost against the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings.
Returning for Game 4, Daniel helped the Canucks stave off elimination before they were defeated the following contest. In his two games played in the series, he recorded two assists.
In the second month of the season, Henrik recorded his 757th point, surpassing Naslund as the Canucks' all-time leading scorer.
Two months later, Daniel also passed Naslund, scoring a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks, ranking the Sedins first and second in team history.
Playing in just 47 games due to the lockout-shortened season, Daniel recorded 12 goals and 40 points. He ranked second in team scoring behind Henrik's 45 points.
In the playoffs, he added three assists in a four-game defeat to the San Jose Sharks.
The series ended on a shorthanded goal due to a penalty assessed to Daniel in overtime.
In pursuit of a loose puck in the defensive zone, Daniel bodychecked Sharks forward Tommy Wingels into the boards, resulting in a boarding penalty.
The call would later be the subject of controversy as it was believed by many in the media such as National Post journalist Cam Cole (as well as teammates) such as Henrik that Daniel had made contact with Wingels shoulder-to-shoulder which according to NHL rules, should not result in a boarding penalty.
Career Statistics[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1996–97 | Modo Hockey Jr. | J20 | 26 | 26 | 14 | 40 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Modo Hockey Jr. | J20 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Modo Hockey | SEL | 45 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 26 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1998–99 | Modo Hockey | SEL | 50 | 21 | 21 | 42 | 20 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 14 | ||
| 1999–00 | Modo Hockey | SEL | 50 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 28 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 18 | ||
| 2000–01 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 75 | 20 | 14 | 34 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 79 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 79 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 34 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2003–04 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 18 | 36 | 54 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Modo Hockey | SEL | 49 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 40 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2005–06 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 22 | 49 | 71 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 81 | 36 | 48 | 84 | 36 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2007–08 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 29 | 45 | 74 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 31 | 51 | 82 | 36 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 8 | ||
| 2009–10 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 63 | 29 | 56 | 85 | 28 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 12 | ||
| 2010–11 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 41 | 63 | 104 | 32 | 25 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 32 | ||
| 2011–12 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 72 | 30 | 37 | 67 | 40 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 47 | 12 | 28 | 40 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | ||
| NHL totals | 906 | 291 | 467 | 758 | 382 | 96 | 23 | 44 | 67 | 78 | ||||
International Statistics[]
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Sweden Jr. | EJC | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Sweden Jr. | EJC | 6 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 10 | |
| 1999 | Sweden Jr. | WJC | 6 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | |
| 1999 | Sweden | WC | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2000 | Sweden Jr. | WJC | 7 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2000 | Sweden | WC | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | |
| 2001 | Sweden | WC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2005 | Sweden | WC | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Sweden | Oly | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2010 | Sweden | Oly | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2013 | Sweden | WC | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | |
| Junior int'l totals | 25 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 14 | |||
| Senior int'l totals | 44 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 16 | |||
NHL All-Star Game Statistics[]
| Year | Location | G | A | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Raleigh | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2012 | Ottawa | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| All-star totals | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
Awards & Achievements[]
NHL Awards
- Art Ross Trophy (regular season scoring leader) (2011)
- Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player) (2011)
- NHL First All-Star Team (2011)
- NHL Second All-Star Team (2010)
- NHL All-Star Game (2011 and 2012)
- NHL Second Star of the Month (March 2011)
- NHL First Star of the Week (October 13, 2008 and January 10, 2011)
- NHL Second Star of the Week (March 30, 2009, December 14, 2009 and March 14, 2011)
Vancouver Canucks Awards
- Cyrus H. McLean Trophy (leading point-scorer) (2007, 2009 and 2011)
- Cyclone Taylor Award (MVP) (2011)
Sweden Hockey Awards
- Victoria Stipendium (Swedish athlete of the year) (2011; shared with Henrik Sedin)
- Viking Award (Best Swedish player in NHL) (2011)
- Golden Puck (Elitserien player of the year) (1999; shared with Henrik Sedin)
International Awards
- Olympic gold medal (with Sweden) (2006)
International Play[]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Sweden
| ||
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Winter Olympics | ||
| Gold | 2006 Turin | |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 2013 Sweden/Finland | |
| Bronze | 2001 Germany | |
| Bronze | 1999 Norway | |
| European U-18 Junior Championships (later became World U-18 Juniors) | ||
| Gold | 1998 | |
| World U17 Hockey Challenge | ||
| Silver | 1997 Canada | |
Daniel made his North American debut competing for Sweden in the 1997 World U17 Hockey Challenge, held in Alberta.
Leading the tournament in scoring with 26 points (9 goals and 17 assists) over 6 games, he helped Sweden to a silver medal.
After going undefeated in five contests, they were defeated in the gold medal game by Team Ontario 6–2.
Back in Europe, he competed at the 1997 European Junior Championships, recording two goals and six points over six games.
The following year, at the 1998 European Junior Championships, Sweden's final game required them to beat Russia by four goals to surpass Finland in goal differential and win the gold medal. Daniel recorded two assists as Sweden won 5–1.
In his NHL draft year, Daniel competed for Sweden at the 1999 World Junior Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
He recorded 10 points in six games and tied for second in tournament scoring with Daniel Tkaczuk of Canada and Scott Gomez of the United States, behind Brian Gionta of the United States.
Sweden failed to medal, losing the bronze medal game against Slovakia by a 5–4 score.
Later that year, Daniel made his debut for the Swedish men's team at the 1999 World Championships in Norway. He notched one assist over nine games as Sweden won the bronze medal.
In 2000, Daniel once again competed in both the World Junior and Men's Championships.
At the junior tournament in Sweden, he matched his previous year's output with 10 points. He was the third highest point-scorer in the tournament, behind Henrik and Milan Kraft of the Czech Republic. Again, Sweden failed to earn a medal, finishing in fifth place.
At the Men's World Championships, Daniel and Henrik both recorded five points; they were the youngest players on the squad. Sweden didn't achieve a medal, losing to Finland in the quarterfinal.
Following his rookie season with the Vancouver Canucks, Daniel made his third World Championships appearance, in 2001 in Germany.
He was injured midway through the tournament and had to return to Vancouver for surgery on a herniated disc in his lower back. Sweden defeated the United States 3–2 to win its second bronze medal in three years.
Daniel made a fourth tournament appearance at the 2005 World Championships in Austria. Sweden missed out on the bronze medal, losing to Russia 6–3.
He had an assist in a losing effort during the bronze medal game. He finished with nine points in nine games, which tied for fourth in tournament-scoring.
On December 22, 2005, Daniel was named to the Swedish Olympic team for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
He joined Henrik, Markus Naslund and Mattias Ohlund as one of four Canucks on the squad.
Competing in his first Olympics, Daniel contributed four points as Sweden won a gold medal, defeating Finland 3–2 in the final.
Four years later, he was once again named to the Swedish Olympic team for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.
Despite going into the tournament as one of Sweden's key players (in the corresponding NHL season, Daniel was third among Swedish players in points despite missing 19 games), he ranked seventh among team forwards in total ice time.
Sweden failed to defend their gold medal from Turin, losing to Slovakia in the quarterfinal. Daniel had a goal and two assists in four games.
Playing Style[]
Throughout his career, Daniel has been known as a goal-scorer, usually finishing plays initiated by his brother, Henrik.
However, he is also a proficient playmaker and generates many sequences with Henrik off the cycle.
Daniel's familiarity with Henrik's play enhances his effectiveness. The pair are known for their ability to find each other intuitively with passes, often without looking.
With offensive skill marking the prime component of his game, Daniel is known to avoid initiating contact with opposing players.
Early in their career, he and Henrik 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 their 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 which allows them to play more effectively.
Career Transactions[]
- June 26, 1999: Drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the first round (second overall) in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.
- July 27, 1999: Signed with the Canucks to a three-year US$1 million contract.
- July 29, 2003: Re-signed with the Canucks to a one-year, US$1.125 million contract.
- September 10, 2004: Re-signed with the Canucks to a one-year, US$1.25 million contract.
- June 30, 2006: Re-signed with the Canucks to a three-year, US$10.75 million contract.
- July 1, 2009: Re-signed with the Canucks to a five-year, US$30.5 million contract.
- November 1, 2013: Re-signed with the Canucks to a four-year, US$28 million contract.
Personal Life[]
Daniel was born six minutes after his identical twin brother Henrik. His father Tommy is a school principal and played for Modo Hockey in the '60s and his mother Tora is a nurse. He has two older brothers named Stefan and Peter.
Daniel began playing organized hockey with his twin when they were eight years old.
They didn't regularly play on the same line until Daniel was fourteen years old when he switched from centre to wing.
The twins attended high school at the Nolaskolan Gymnasium in Sweden while they played professionally for Modo Hockey.
Around 1998, Daniel met his wife Marinette in his hometown. Marinette came with him to Vancouver upon the beginning of Daniel's NHL career in 2000. The couple married in 2005.
Daniel & Marinette have two daughters named Ronja (born in 2006) & Anna (born in March of 2011) and a son named Erik (born in 2008). They reside in the Vancouver neighborhood of Shaughnessy during the NHL season and return to Sweden in the summer.
After Marinette earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of British Columbia, she became involved with the Canucks Family Education Centre, helping female immigrants transition to the English language.
In March of 2010, Daniel and Marinette made a joint $1.5 million donation with Henrik and his wife Johanna 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 Daniel and Henrik are devoted harness racing fans and race horse owners and their most successful trotter so far is the 2013 Elitloppet winner Nahar.