Mats Sundin
Mats Sundin
Mats Johan Sundinis a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League, retiring in 2009. Originally drafted first overall in 1989, Sundin played his first four seasons in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques. He was then traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1994, where he played the majority of his career, serving 11 seasons as team captain. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Sundin had been the...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionHockey Player
Date of Birth13 February 1971
CityStockholm, Sweden
CountryCanada
We were ready to play, there's no doubt about that. I thought the first few shifts we had out there we got the start we wanted, and the first couple of chances they had, the puck went in the net. Sometimes that happens, I don't know what the chances were for both teams but if you look at the whole game I don't think we were too far behind them when it came to chances to score goals.
We've got a lot of teams around us in the standings and behind us, so every game is big. There is no doubt in the locker room that we can make the playoffs.
He has learned a lot playing behind Eddie. He has learned a lot about preparing for games and being the kind of pro Eddie is. Eddie is still No. 1.
Eddie certainly gave us a chance to win. In the second period he was awesome.
Things didn't really go our way but we found a way to get the two points.
I'm not sure if it was us that had that bad of a game, but we were on our heels the whole game, ... They were the better team, there's no doubt about it.
I learned to respect Daniel over the years. He's a fine player.
I'm 35 and I realize I'm not at the start of my career anymore. It's frustrating to see us out of a playoff spot. I think we're all frustrated, we're all used to seeing us do better. But we still have a chance and we still have to battle.
I'm excited about having the team over, ... I know there are a lot of Leafs fans in Sweden and in Europe, so this is a great chance for the European audience to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs. I think that's the most fun thing about this whole thing. We are going to focus on practicing and preparing for the season, just the same way we would if we were somewhere around Toronto. I'm sure we are going to have some chances at night to have some dinners and take a look around Stockholm, but most of the focus is going to be on practicing and getting ready.
I'm very impressed with the play of the younger players. Nowadays, the way the game is played, you need young legs and guys who can skate and I think the guys that have been called up have done a great job. The future looks good, I think, for this team.
I'm not surprised. I watched him play in the world championships last year, and all I hear from Detroit is how great he's been playing there. He's an excellent defenseman and what a game he had tonight, coming in first game like that.
I like the way we played. We were patient even though there was no score for awhile. We did not give up a lot of turnovers. We had a few, but not as many as have had in the last couple of months. We'll take the points any way we can. I don't really care what it looks like.
I've felt pretty good the last month, both physically and skating, but for me, it's more about timing and bearing down around the net. Tonight, I was more patient with the puck.
Not as long as I have Gary (Roberts) standing next to me.