Krm500/Hedman
Born (1990-12-18) December 18, 1990 (age 33)
Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
Height 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Weight 227 lb (103 kg; 16 st 3 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
SEL team Modo Hockey
Playing career 2007–present

Victor Erik Olof Hedman (born December 18, 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing with Modo Hockey in the Elitserien. He was drafted second overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. His older brother Oscar Hedman plays for Frölunda HC in the same league.

Hedman has represented Sweden at four International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) sanctioned events, winning silver medals at the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and a bronze medal at the 2007 World U18 Championships. He also participated in the non-IIHF sanctioned 2007 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament where he won a gold medal.

Early life

edit

Hedman was born on December 18, 1990 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, to Elisabeth and Olle Hedman. His mother is a kindergarten teacher, and his father is a factory technician who played as an ice hockey goaltender in his youth, and later served as an equipment manager for Modo's J20-team when his sons played there.[1] He is the youngest of three brothers, all whom are defencemen; older brother Oscar debuted in Elitserien at age 17 and won the Swedish Championship with Modo in 2007, he left Modo for Frölunda HC in 2008. Johan, the oldest brother, played one season in Norway's top league and has spent the rest of his career in minor leagues in Sweden, Norway, and France.

He started playing hockey as a goaltender, his brothers would daily shoot pucks at him in the family's basement which always resulted in Victor running away crying. His mother did not want him to play in goal and bought him equipment for a player position for Christmas. He played soccer til he was 14 years old.

Playing career

edit

Hedman began his junior hockey career in the Swedish J20 SuperElit with the Modo Hockey organization. He recorded 25 points in 34 games during his first full season in the league in 2006–07. During the season he trained with Modo's seniors and he was considered for making his debut.[2] On September 25, 2007, at 16 years, 9 months, and 6 days of age Hedman became the second youngest defenceman to play in Elitserien after Calle Johansson who was 16 years, 7 months, and 17 days at his debut for Västra Frölunda IF in 1983. At the beginning of the 2008–09 season, he was ranked first overall among all draft-eligible skaters in the International Scouting Services' preliminary rankings.[3] Following his performance at the 2009 World Junior Championships, Hedman was listed atop the rankings of European skaters by NHL Central Scouting. He is now listed as the number one NHL Draft pick and may be selected first overall by the New York Islanders.[4][5]

During a press conference on June 8 it was revealed that he would wear number 77 on his jersey, in honour of Ray Bourque who was one of his favourite defencemen growing up. The following day Hedman signed a three-year entry level contract with the Lightning.

International play

edit
Krm500/Hedman
Medal record
Representing   Sweden
Ice Hockey
World Junior Championships
  2009 Ottawa
  2008 Pardubice
World U18 Championships
  2007 Tampere
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
  2007 Hodonín

Hedman played for Sweden at the 2008 World Junior Championships, where he helped the team to a silver medal, losing to Team Canada 3–2 in the final, and was selected to the tournament All-Star Team. He later became one of the youngest players to play for Sweden's national men's team when he made his debut at age seventeen in an exhibition game against Norway.[6] Hedman would once again play for Sweden's national junior team at the 2009 World Junior Championships in Ottawa, where he met Canada for the second consecutive year in the gold medal game, earning another silver medal in a 5-1 loss.

Playing style

edit

Career statistics

edit

Regular season and playoffs

edit
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts +/− PIM GP G A Pts +/− PIM
2005–06 Modo Hockey J20 10 0 1 1 +5 8
2006–07 Modo Hockey J20 34 13 12 25 +17 30 5 1 1 2 +2 44
2007–08 Modo Hockey J20 6 2 1 3 0 26 3 2 0 2 −2 4
2007–08 Modo Hockey SEL 39 2 2 4 +1 44 5 1 0 1 −2 4
2008–09 Modo Hockey J20 2 0 2 2 +1 10 5 0 1 1 0 2
2008–09 Modo Hockey SEL 43 7 14 21 +21 52
J20 totals 52 15 16 31 +23 74 13 3 2 5 0 50
SEL totals 82 9 16 25 +22 96 5 1 0 1 −2 4

International

edit
Year Team Event GP G A Pts +/− PIM
2007 Sweden Jr. WJC U18 6 1 2 3 +1 10
2008 Sweden Jr. WJC 6 0 1 1 +5 4
2008 Sweden Jr. WJC U18 4 1 3 4 −2 10
2009 Sweden Jr. WJC 6 0 2 2 +4 6
Junior Int' totals 59 12 20 32 98
Senior Int' totals 7 0 0 0 6

Awards

edit

International

edit
Award Year(s) awarded
World U18 All-Star Team 2007, 2008
World Junior All-Star Team 2008

References

edit
  1. ^ Eklund, Ulf (2004-01-08). "Hedman trivs med sin vardag" (in Swedish). Örnsköldsviks Allehanda. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  2. ^ Persson, Anders (2007-05-02). "16-årig back till Modo Hockey" (in Swedish). Örnsköldsviks Allehanda. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  3. ^ "International Scouting Services Preliminary Rankings". TSN. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  4. ^ http://www.mynhldraft.com/NHL-Mock-Draft/
  5. ^ "Tavares, Hedman highlight NHL mid-season rankings". TSN. 2009-01-12. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  6. ^ Mattias Ek, Mattias (2008-03-28). "Debut i Tre Kronor - som 17-åring" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
edit