PHOTO: Bildbyrån
In 1989, Mats Sundin became the first European hockey player to go number one in the first draft round in the NHL.
But the contract was not only received with joy by Sundin’s parents.
– I remember that they looked at me and said “you damn snort”, he says in a new SVT documentary, according to Expressen.
Mats Sundin was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in 1989, making him the first European to be selected number one in the annual NHL draft. The rest is – as they say – history. In his debut season in the NHL, the Swede accounted for 23 goals and 36 assists in 80 games, and he is still the only Swede to score 500 goals in the NHL. “Sudden” was also inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012, as the second Swede ever after Börje Salming.
The article continues after the picture.
READ MORE: The clear answer about the big star that all Leksands fans dream of – now gives a clear message: “We believe that…”
Sundin’s first contract
In a new SVT documentary called Hockey’s history – the golden generation, the story of Mats Sundin’s journey from the time he participated in the Tvpuck as a young player in 1986 to the status that the traveling forward has achieved until today is told. Not least in the Toronto Maple Leafs where he was team captain.
A specific point addressed in SVT’s new documentary is the first contract with the Quebec Nordiques, which was not only received with joy and euphoria by Sundin’s closest relatives – namely his parents.
– I came home and my father looked at this contract. My father had worked at Televerket for many years and my dear mother in healthcare. I remember that they looked at me and said “you bloody snort”, says Sundin in SVT’s new documentary according to Expressen.
READ MORE: The SHL coach’s harsh criticism of the TV puck – vents his great dissatisfaction: “At what price should you win?”
The article continues after the picture.
“Didn’t want to go”
Four years later, the next Swede came to North America, and it was none other than Peter Forsberg. However, “Foppa” reveals in the documentary from SVT that he never really wanted to go.
– Actually, I would have liked to stay at home in Modo for the rest of my career. I didn’t want to go, says Forsberg according to the newspaper. Forsberg who would later become one of the biggest legends in the Colorado Avalanche, where he took home the entire scoring league in the NHL during the 2002/2003 season.