Mattias Ohlund Olympic medal record Men's Ice hockey Gold 2006 Turin Ice hockey Mattias Öhlund (born September 9, 1976) is a Swedish defenceman for Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League. He was born in Piteå, Sweden and is listed at 6'2", 220 lb. 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 1994/1995 to 1996/1997 seasons playing hockey with Lulea 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.
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.
