Henrik Sedin named Vancouver Canucks 13th captain
During a pre-game ceremony on Saturday for the Vancouver Canucks' season and home-opener, Swedish sensation Henrik Sedin was named the team’s new captain.
The pre-game ceremony also celebrated the Canucks' 40 years in the National Hockey League. Orland Kurtenbach, who was the first captain of the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL, was there for
the festivities and handed Sedin his new captain's sweater at centre ice. Sedin promptly put on his new sweater to a rousing ovation and then took a ceremonial face-off with Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown just before kicking off their 40th
season on the NHL.
Sedin becomes the 13th captain in Canucks history replacing Roberto Luongo who agreed to give up the captaincy over the summer after serving as Canucks captain for two years. Sedin is
also the second Swedish-born player to be named a Canucks captain after Markus Naslund. Sedin’s twin brother Daniel Sedin, along with forwards Ryan Kesler and Manny Malhotra, were named alternate captains.
Over the summer, there was much controversy surrounding Luongo’s status as team captain, as many felt that it was more of a distraction and caused Luongo’s play to slip. After several
meetings with Canucks general manager Mike Gillis, both parties agreed it would be best for both Luongo and the team to give up the captaincy.
On Saturday Gillis commented on his new captain.
"Henrik Sedin embodies the principles of this organization and all of the qualities of a leader through his honesty, integrity and discipline," Gillis said in a statement.
"Henrik is an exemplary leader who inspires his team mates with a work ethic and desire to continually evolve his game."
Before the game, Willie Mitchell, who played with Sedin for several seasons but is now a member of the Kings, described Sedin as a quiet, but dedicated team mate.
"He's not a rah-rah guy but he prepares really well...really dedicated and he's a great team mate," said Mitchell.
"There's not many star players in the game that are that easygoing and not really demanding of things. He just kind of plays hockey and goes about his business."
Canucks coach Alain Vigneault also commented on the new choice of captain.
"In our minds we had quite a few guys that had great leadership skills and could possibly hold that position but we felt that one guy stood out," Vigneault said.
Sedin has spent his entire 10-year career with Vancouver and was originally drafted by the Canucks in the first round with the third overall pick at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft – one spot
behind brother Daniel, whom the Canucks also selected.
Last season, Sedin had a career year that saw him win the Hart trophy as most valuable player in the NHL. He also won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s scoring leader with 112 points.
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