PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Markus Näslund has been at Modo all his life.
This season, the club is back in the top flight – and is praised by Näslund.
– They have done very well, he tells Sportbibeln.
Markus Näslund, 50, was born and raised in Örnsköldsvik. He came to Modo as a 16-year-old and then played for the club’s J20 team. There he poured in points, and as a 17-year-old he made his debut in the Elitserien. In the first season in the first team, 1990/1991, Näslund scored ten goals and nine assists in 32 games.
Forsberg persuaded
After that season, Örnsköldsviksonen was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins as the 16th player overall in the first round of the 1991 NHL draft. Näslund remained in Modo for two more seasons before he took the flight across the Atlantic to play for Pittsburgh before the 1993/1994 season. In the NHL, he remained late for 16 seasons. In addition to the Penguins, there were also games in the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers.
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After a decade and a half in North America, Näslund decided to move home to Sweden. He broke his two-year contract with the Rangers after one season, opting to end his professional hockey career. The following season, however, there was a comeback in the form of just over half a year of unpaid play back in Modo, after a persuasion campaign by Peter Forsbergwho he also played on the team that season.
Näslund’s support
When the hockey career really ended in the spring of 2010, Näslund stepped in as general manager in Modo, where he remained for four seasons.
Today, Näslund has no role in the club, but the supportership remains.
– I usually go to the games sometimes, not all home games, but I follow Modo, he tells Sportbibeln.
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This season, Modo has started with six wins and six losses, and is now ninth in the table, eight points behind Färjestad in first place. Then the club is praised by Näslund.
– I think they have started very well, I am very impressed by what they have done over several years actually. All the way to getting back to the SHL, and also how homogenous the group feels. Considering that it is largely the same team that advanced last year that is now playing a level up, and I think they have done great, he says.
READ MORE: This is how Markus Näslund gave 4,000(!) children the best day of their lives – the incredible gesture cost over five million kroner
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