Mattias Ohlund in Vancouver spotlight

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund will be inducted into the Vancouver Canucks Ring of Honour before their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Rogers Arena on Friday (10 p.m. ET; SNP, SUN, NHL.TV).
Ohlund is the highest-scoring defenseman in Canucks history, with 325 points (93 goals, 232 assists).

The Canucks reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs six times during his 11 seasons in Vancouver. He finished second in voting for the Calder Trophy in 1997-98, behind Boston Bruins forward Sergei Samsonov.
"It's a big honor, and really fun," Ohlund told NHL.com/sv. "It will be great for me to get back there. I haven't been to [Vancouver] too much since I moved to Tampa. I've still got a lot of friends there, both in hockey and outside."
Ohlund helped Sweden win the gold medal at the 1998 World Championship and the 2006 Torino Olympics.
He signed a seven-year contract with the Lightning as an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2009, but injuries limited him to two seasons. Ohlund had 18 assists in 139 games with Tampa Bay and helped the Lightning reach the Eastern Conference Final in 2011; they lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games.
"I really enjoyed both cities," Ohlund said. "But I played and stayed in Vancouver longer, and for sure I was a better hockey player in Vancouver."
Canucks captain Henrik Sedin, who played with Ohlund for eight seasons, said despite Ohlund's accomplishments in the NHL and with the national team, he remains somewhat underappreciated among the top Swedish players.
"To be honest, I think he's a little underrated back home because he left early," Sedin said. "Maybe he's not regarded as highly as [Nicklas] Lidstrom and those guys, but he's a top-five defensemen all time [in Sweden]. Maybe his numbers don't stand out as much, but his defensive play and the things he did to help the team win always stand out for me."

One thing that separated Ohlund from many of the other Swedish players in the NHL was his physicality. Sedin said Ohlund's toughness endeared him to Canucks fans.
"That's why I think fans liked him so much," Sedin said. "You didn't see that very often from the Swedish guys. He would drop down and block shots … and he was a leader on the ice."
Many former teammates also mention Ohlund's leadership and his ability to act as a big brother and mentor.
"If we needed something, he was the first to go out of his way to help us out," Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows said. "Even though he had a family and young kids at the time, he still made time for his teammates and made sure that we were taken care of properly."
One of the more recent cases of Ohlund taking a younger player under his wing was with Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman after Tampa Bay selected him with the second pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. Hedman immediately gravitated toward Ohlund.
"He was a rock for me and taught me a lot," Hedman said. "His whole family has been great to me and my family. Unfortunately he didn't play here more than a couple of years, but he still helped me so much. He was a tremendous player, the hardest hitter I've ever seen. Having him around to teach how to conduct myself during practice and prepare for the game was so important in my career."
Hedman said he and Ohlund usually get together in Sweden during the summer, and he's very excited to be on hand in Vancouver for the event Friday.
"To get that recognition that he's getting now is very well deserved," Hedman said. "And in a big hockey market like Vancouver, with their history and great fans, is a great honor."
Ohlund said he keeps up with Hedman and many of his other countrymen scattered throughout the NHL. But he's also adjusting to life after hockey and developing new interests.
"I moved to Stockholm with my family," Ohlund said. "Three kids keep me busy. I study at the Cruyff Institute at Handelshogskolan (Swedish School of Commerce) with Marcus Nilsson and Mikael Samuelsson. My interest right now is to learn more about things that are not related to hockey. Where it ends, well, we'll see. As of now I'm perfectly happy to be able to be a part in the lives of my kids."