Markus Naslund is a true Swedish hockey icon. He played his first game in the NHL in 1993 – and then played in the world’s best hockey league for 16 years.
During his years in the big league, he was one of the Vancouver Canucks’ standout players, and he was also the team captain for seven years. In total, Naslund recorded a whopping 869 points in 1,117 NHL games.
And if that wasn’t impressive enough, he scored all those points with a wooden stick. Naslund was one of the few players in the NHL who didn’t change to a composite stick. Although almost everyone saw just how many perks came with the new stick, Naslund continued with what he knew.
Naslund did change before his final NHL season, but he was still one of the last players to do so. And it led to him being mocked by other players on the ice.
”I remember when I was in a face-off when I played against Dany Heatley when he played for Ottawa,” Naslund said on After Hours a couple of years ago.
”He looked at the blade, he looked at the stick, then he followed it up all the way, and he looked at me and said, and he swore, but he said, ’Are you that beeping old?’
What a great story, and what a perfect chirp from Dany Heatley. Sometimes, all it takes is five absolutely brilliant words to get your point across, and what a great sport Naslund is for sharing the awesome story and laughing about it. We absolutely love it!
