PHOTO: Bildbyrån
He is a true Swedish hockey hero.
When Patrik Sundström gets the chance to name Swedish hockey’s greatest, a name is a given.
And then he nods greats like Peter Forsberg, Mats Sundin and Nicklas Lidström.
When you have to rank the very best NHL Swedes of all time, there are many people who forget one such as Patrik Sundström. He was for many years a respected name in the world’s best hockey league.
Sundström’s career
He broke through in Björklöven on Swedish soil and then took the step over to North America in 1982. Sundström broke through immediately with 23 goals and a total of 46 points during his rookie season for the Vancouver Canucks.
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The following season was even better with a whopping 91 points in 78 games in the NHL. In total, Patrik Sundström scored a whopping 588 points in 679 regular season games in the NHL for the Canucks and New Jersey Devils.
Best ever
But he is most remembered, of course, for the playoff game in which he broke the mighty record with a whopping eight points in one and the same game. A record that no one has broken since, though Mario Lemieux has touched it, and which Sundström classifies as his very best hockey memory from his career.
– It must be when I broke the NHL record with eight points in a playoff game. We faced Washington and brother Peter (Sundström) played in their team. But we didn’t have time to talk much afterwards; it was the playoffs and you quickly focused on the next match, he admits in an old interview with Sportmagasinet in 2006.
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In the same interview, Patrik Sundström is given the honorable task of naming Sweden’s best hockey player of all time. Then he surprises many by completely nobbing greats such as Peter Forsberg, Nicklas Lidström and Mats Sundin.
READ MORE: Christer Abris names Sweden’s best hockey player of all time and nods Nicklas Lidström: “Mercedes of Swedish hockey”
Instead, he chooses a much older name and a true Swedish legend as number one on the list.
– For most of my generation, it has to be Börje Salming. He was a pioneer in the NHL and is still great today, he says of the now departed icon.
Who do you think is Sweden’s best hockey player of all time? Share the article and have your say!
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