Mattias Öhlund | |||
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Born |
Piteå, Sweden |
9 September 1976 ||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
Weight | 229 lb (104 kg; 16 st 5 lb) | ||
Position | Defence | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for |
Luleå Vancouver Canucks Tampa Bay Lightning |
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National team | Sweden | ||
NHL Draft | 13th overall, 1994 Vancouver Canucks |
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Playing career | 1992–2011 |
Kenneth Mattias Öhlund (born 9 September 1976) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman who last played for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Prior to joining the Lightning, he played eleven seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. Öhlund played two seasons in the Swedish Allsvenskan, the second highest tier of hockey in Sweden, with Piteå HC before being selected by the Canucks thirteenth overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft; he then joined Luleå HF of the Elitserien, the highest league in Sweden, winning the Le Mat Trophy as league champions in 1996. He began his NHL career with Vancouver in 1997–98, the start of an eleven-year tenure with the club. A serious eye injury before his third NHL season was the first of many injuries Öhlund has sustained over his career, and he has only played a full season twice in eleven years. A four-time winner of the Babe Pratt Trophy as the team's best defenceman, Öhlund is the Canucks' all-time leading goal and point-scorer among defencemen.
Internationally, Öhlund has represented Sweden in numerous tournaments, beginning with three World Junior Championships that included Best Defenceman honours as part of a silver medal effort in 1996. He has since competed in three World Championships, earning gold in 1998, and three Winter Olympics, earning gold in 2006.