| Image Size: | 230px |
| Team: | Vancouver Canucks |
| League: | NHL |
| Position: | Left Wing |
| Shoots: | Left |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 1 |
| Weight Lb: | 185 |
| Nationality: | SWE |
| Birth Date: | 26 September 1980 |
| Birth Place: | Örnsköldsvik, SWE |
| Draft: | 2nd overall |
| Draft Year: | 1999 |
| Draft Team: | Vancouver Canucks |
| Career Start: | 1997 |
Daniel Sedin (born September 26, 1980, in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League. His identical twin brother Henrik also plays for the Canucks, with whom Daniel has played inseparably throughout his career. Together they are known for the effective way in which they play off of one another; Daniel, normally finishing plays between the brothers, is known as the scorer, and Henrik, the playmaker.
Daniel began his professional career with Henrik in 1997–98 for Modo of the Swedish Elite League as a 16-year-old. In their second year with Modo, Daniel and Henrik led a team that included future NHLers Samuel Påhlsson and František Kaberle in scoring — Daniel finished first overall.
As a result of their successful 1998–99 season in Sweden, the Sedins drew considerable attention for the upcoming 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Naturally, it would seem certain that as top prospects, Henrik and Daniel would be chosen by two different teams, and consequently be split up in the NHL, but after a series of complex transactions, Vancouver Canucks general manager Brian Burke, bent on acquiring both Sedins, obtained the second and third overall picks, selecting Daniel second.
Following the draft, Daniel chose to return to Sweden with Henrik to play one more season with Modo, in which he subsequently finished second in team scoring with 45 points in 50 games, two points behind Henrik.
In 2000–01, Daniel played his first season for the Canucks, tallying 20 goals (tied for second among rookies) and 34 points. The following two seasons, Daniel's points totals would remain in the 30-point range until 2003–04, in which he would improve to 54 points. On February 24, 2004, Sedin scored his first career hat-trick in a four-goal effort, scoring all the Canucks goals in a 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.[1] However, along with brother and linemate Henrik, at this point in Daniel's career, he would not yet obtain the first-line scoring totals he was expected to achieve.
During the lockout season, Daniel returned to Sweden to play again for Modo, along with Henrik and teammate Markus Näslund. He would also participate in the 2005 World Championships for Sweden.
In 2005–06, Daniel broke out with 71 points – an indication he had achieved his first-line potential. Newly acquired Anson Carter would play on Daniel's line centered by Henrik, and the line would compete throughout the season with the Näslund-Morrison-Bertuzzi line (widely accepted in the past as one of the league's most prolific line combinations) as the Canucks' primary scorers.
Daniel built on his breakout campaign in 2006–07 and established himself as the Canucks' top scorer. He paced the team with a career-high 36 goals and 84 points. In game one of the Canucks' first round match-up against the Dallas Stars, Daniel assisted on Henrik's quadruple-overtime winner, ending the longest-ever Canucks playoff game and the sixth longest in NHL history.[2] Daniel finished the playoffs, however, with a disappointing 5 points in 12 games and the Canucks were eliminated by eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Anaheim Ducks in the second round.
Daniel was born six minutes after his brother, Henrik; they share two older brothers and five younger sisters.
Daniel has a wife, Marinette, a daughter, Ronja, born in 2006, and one son, Erik, born February 3, 2008. He lives in Vancouver during the NHL season and goes back to Sweden every summer.
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1996–97 | MoDo Hockey | Swe-Jr. | 26 | 26 | 14 | 40 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1997–98 | MoDo Hockey | Swe-Jr. | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1997–98 | MoDo Hockey | SEL | 45 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 26 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1998–99 | MoDo Hockey | SEL | 50 | 21 | 21 | 42 | 20 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 14 | ||
| 1999–00 | MoDo Hockey | SEL | 50 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 28 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 18 | ||
| 2000–01 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 75 | 20 | 14 | 34 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 79 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 79 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 34 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2003–04 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 18 | 36 | 54 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | MoDo Hockey | SEL | 49 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 40 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2005–06 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 22 | 49 | 71 | 34 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2006–07 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 81 | 36 | 48 | 84 | 36 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2007–08 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 29 | 45 | 74 | 50 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2008–09 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | Season in progress; see NHL.com for up-to-date stats. | |||||||||||
| NHL Totals | 560 | 148 | 232 | 380 | 228 | 43 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 12 | ||||
Daniel has played for Sweden in the following competitions:
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Sweden | WJC | 6 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2000 | Sweden | WC | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2000 | Sweden | WJC | 7 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2000 | Sweden | WC | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | |
| 2001 | Sweden | WC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2005 | Sweden | WC | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Sweden | Oly | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
| Junior Int'l Totals | 13 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 2 | |||
| Senior Int'l Totals | 36 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 14 |