An Ice Hockey Wiki article.

Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
Nickname(s)	Matty-O, Ollie
Height Weight	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg)
NHL Team	Vancouver Canucks
Nationality	SWE
Born	September 6 1976 (1976-09-06) (age 33), Pitea, SWE
NHL Draft	13th overall, 1994 Vancouver Canucks
Pro Career	1997 – present

Mattias Öhlund (born September 9, 1976, in Piteå, Sweden) is a professional Swedish defenceman with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League.

Playing career

Öhlund was the Canucks' first pick, thirteenth overall, in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. His career with the Canucks was stalled for years as general manager Pat Quinn and Öhlund's agent could not agree on a contract. As a result, Öhlund spent the 1994-95 to 1996-97 seasons playing hockey with Luleå HF of the Swedish Elitserien. This was until the Toronto Maple Leafs offered Öhlund a contract that the Canucks were forced to match if they wished to keep Öhlund's NHL rights. Incidentally, Öhlund currently is the longest serving of the Canuck's defensemen, having played 635 games for the team.

Öhlund made his NHL debut in Japan against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in a series of two regular season games held there. In his first season he tied fellow defenceman Jyrki Lumme for the team lead in scoring among defencemen. Also that year, he finished second to Boston Bruin Sergei Samsonov in Calder Memorial Trophy voting as the league's top rookie.

In 1999, Öhlund suffered a serious eye injury as a result of getting hit by a puck in the eye. This left him with permanent partial vision loss. He has since recovered and rebounded from this potentially career ending injury to become Vancouver's most consistent defenseman.

Öhlund has represented his home country of Sweden at virtually every level of international play. He has played for Team Sweden three times for the World Junior Championship, three times for the World Championship, once for the World Cup, and three times at the Olympics. He was a part of the Swedish Olympic Men's Ice Hockey team that won gold in the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. He did receive a gold medal from the International Olympic Committee even though he did not play in the gold medal game. NHL teammates, Daniel and Henrik Sedin offered to give Öhlund a gold medal if the IOC would not give him a medal. Also, his replacement on the team, Niklas Kronwall, offered his medal to Öhlund if Öhlund was to not receive a gold medal.

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Off the ice

Öhlund is married and has a daughter and a son.

Awards

• Elitserien champion with Luleå HF in 1996.
• Elitserien Junior Player of the Year in 1996.
• Silver medal at the World Championships in 1997.
• Named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1998.
• Nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1998.
• Gold medal at the World Championships in 1998.
• Named to the NHL All-Star Team in 1999.
• Bronze medal at the World Championships in 2001.
• Gold medal the Winter Olympics in 2006.
• Inducted into the Piteå Wall of Fame in 2006.

Movements

• June 28, 1994 - Drafted by Vancouver Canucks in the 1st round, 13th overall.

Career statistics

International play

Öhlund has played for Team Sweden in three Olympic Games, three times in the World Junior Championship, and three times at the World Championships.

International statistics

References

External links

• Mattias Öhlund's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• The Mattias Ohlund Appreciation Page