PHOTO: Bildbyrån
One of only four Swedish hockey players ever to “win it all”.
Today we pay tribute to Mats Näslund on his 64th birthday!
The former NHL player reveals the memory from his career – together with Pelle Lindbergh – that he holds most dear.
Mats Näslund is undoubtedly one of the greatest of all time in Swedish ice hockey. He was one of those super talents who really lived up to his expectations, spending nine seasons in the NHL.
Näslund’s exploits
Growing up in Timrå, Näslund came to Timrå IK, where he made his debut in the first team as a 16-year-old. After his breakthrough, he was signed to Brynäs, before taking the trip across the Atlantic to the NHL and the Montreal Canadiens. There he was nicknamed “Le Petite Viking”, or “The Little Viking”, due to his size of 170 centimeters and 70 kilograms.
– The time in the NHL was very good. It was big for me to come to Montreal, the mecca of hockey, Näslund said in an interview with Expressen.
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After the NHL stay, it was off to Switzerland where there was a season in Lugano, before Näslund returned home to Sweden for games in Malmö. But he did his last season in the USA for the Boston Bruins in 1994/1995. In the NHL, there was a total of 634 points in 651 games.
When his playing career ended, there were also a few years as Assistant General Manager in Tre Kronor, where he made 173 appearances as a player.
Best against Lindbergh
“The Little Viking” is one of only four Swedish players of all time who have “won everything”, i.e. SM gold, Stanley Cup, WC gold and Olympic gold. The other players who achieved the feat are Niklas Kronwall, Thomas Johnson and Håkan Loob. But it is not the winning of any of the titles that Mats Näslund holds as his best moment in his career.
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Instead, it is the debut for the Montreal Canadiens that Näslund sees as one of his greatest moments.
– We played a training match against the Philadelphia Flyers. There were 16,000 fans in the stands in a practice match. I was completely shocked, he says to the evening newspaper.
And how did it go?
– I scored three goals Pelle Lindberghsays Näslund.
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