Naslund blossoms Back on June 6, 1986, the Vancouver Canucks let one get away when they traded Cam Neely to the Boston Bruins. But as the old saying goes: "What goes around, comes around." So, it's fitting that the Canucks acquired a player whose previous team had run out of patience with on March 20, 1996. This time, Markus Naslund, a former first-round selection of the Pittsburgh Penguins was headed to British Columbia for forward Alex Stojanov, himself a former first-round pick, who didn't pan out. In Pittsburgh, the ingredients for success appeared to be there. The Penguins boasted the likes of Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, plus a talented supporting cast. And Naslund was enjoying a very good 1995-96 season when the trade came down, having scored 19 goals and 33 assists in 66 games.
Still, the Penguins couldn't put their finger on it, but something was missing from Naslund's game. ''He needs a shot of self-confidence,'' Jagr said at the time. ''Markus watches and it looks like he is learning. But there’s something missing.'' So, despite having outscored Peter Forsberg during their tenures with MoDo in the Swedish Elite League, the Pens moved him to the Canucks, exchanging a surplus skills player for a more physical player in Stojanov. Naslund's transformation into an elite player wasn't instantaneous, but moving to Vancouver allowed him to put the lessons learned from skilled offensive players like Lemieux and Jagr to the test. And during Mark Messier's three seasons in Vancouver, Naslund proved to be an apt pupil at how Messier would lead a team. Today, Naslund is the total package. He is among the League's leading scorers this season and topped 100 points last season with 48 goals and 56 assists. In 2001-02, Naslund closed in on 100 points with 40 goals and 50 assists. In the process, he's teamed with Todd Bertuzzi, himself a former first-round pick of the Islanders who blossomed in Vancouver, and Brendan Morrison, a former New Jersey Devil, to form one of the League's most productive trios. ''Markus learned how to use his skills by watching Mario Lemieux and he learned to be more focused and more competitive by watching Mark Messier -- two pretty good leaders I’d say,'' Bertuzzi said. ''I wouldn’t say he was in a shell before Mess left to go back to New York (following the 1999-2000 season), but we needed someone to step up and take charge of this team -- and Markus did not hesitate.
''When you see a guy with his skills go out there in every practice and every game and give everything he’s got, how can you not follow his example?'' After Messier returned to New York, the Canucks quickly tabbed Naslund as team captain, certainly a honor. But while Naslund says he has learned from both Messier and Lemieux, and is appreciative of their leaderships skills, he isn't a clone of either player. ''I was never going make the kind of impact Mess does because I was never going to be the physical force he is,'' Naslund said shortly after becoming captain. ''In his last year here, a lot of players were scared to say anything in the locker room with Mark in the room. To me, the best way to improve a team’s chemistry is through give and take. ''And while I was in awe watching Mario, I was young," he said. "What I learned most from him is that Mario has something that not a lot of people have. He doesn't think he ever is going to fail. When you always have that approach, that you're going to make it, that you are going to make a difference, the mind is a pretty powerful thing.'' |
