He is one of Sweden’s greatest of all time.
But there won’t be any career in the booth for Mats Sundin.
Now “Sudden” tells why the coaching profession does not attract him.
– It feels quite nice, he says in “Sportpodden”.
Mats Sundin wrote hockey history when in 1989 he became the very first European in the NHL’s long history to be selected as a draft pick. Sundin had then only played one season in Nacka HK in Division 1, but then took a place in Djurgården during the playoffs, and it was a great success immediately, which led to a lot of attention in North America.
Incredible career
Sundin was drafted as Quebec Nordiques and after four seasons, where Sundin had racked up points, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the rest is, as they say, history. Sundin remained in Toronto for a full 13 years, leaving as one of the club’s greatest ever. He is the only Swede to reach 500 goals scored, a milestone that only 42 players in NHL history have reached. He is also the Swede with the most points, and even though there was no Stanley Cup for “Sudden”, he can take solace in the fact that there were three World Cup golds and one Olympic gold.
But despite his fantastic playing career, and despite the fact that Sundin knows more than most about hockey, there has been no continuation in hockey in any way during his active career. And in the podcast “Sportpodden” Sundin admits that there is absolutely no desire to start a coaching career.
– No, there isn’t, says Sudden, and continues:
– It was fun when Toronto was in Stockholm in November. Then I was with both the players and the management a little bit, and got to see how it works. It was still a bit exciting, I was there for 13 years. So it was interesting to hear the president, their general manager and the leaders how everyone reasons about the team and all the preparations. But no, nothing else, really.
Therefore, he refuses a coaching job
For Mats Sundin, who played in the world’s best hockey league from 1990 to 2009, there is great value in just watching hockey without working with it. He now lives in Stockholm, and has children who play hockey.
– It feels quite nice to go and watch the matches and follow the teams without having to take any responsibility, he says.
Sundin also says that he hasn’t been asked to “just keep an eye out” for Toronto either, but that’s not the case.
– Toronto has a huge organization, but I was a little involved in Tre Kronor during the World Cup 2016, as an advisor. But nothing more serious than that, he says of his assignments over the years.
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