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Commitment took Sedins, Luongo to hall: Naslund

PATRICK JOHNSTON pjohnston@postmedia.com twitter.com/risingaction

Commitment, Markus Naslund explains, is what separates the good from the great.

“The commitment to hockey that they all have, this is a big reason why they're in the (Hockey) Hall of Fame,” the former Vancouver Canucks captain said Tuesday from Ornskoldsvik, Sweden when asked about his old teammates Roberto Luongo and Daniel and Henrik Sedin going into the hall of fame.

“The lifestyle they choose and how serious they are about everything, that's what a true professional does. They're great, great examples of this, all three of them.”

Naslund was established as an NHL star when the Sedins arrived in Vancouver as 19-year-old rookies in 2000 and still a veteran presence when Luongo arrived in a 2006 draft-day trade.

In all three cases, he was a firsthand witness to players who took themselves to a new level, big steps forward in their paths to being honoured with induction into hockey's top shrine. The hall of fame announced Monday that the three retired players will be inducted into the hall at a ceremony in November.

Henrik said being pushed by his brother, and vice versa, every day was the key to their success and longevity.

“It's so easy to be happy with a session in the gym where you put in an hour and you walk away and you feel pretty good. But with Daniel there, like, you always have to go the extra mile to push yourself and there are those who will think that those extra two or three per cent don't mean much, but if you do it every day, it really means a lot,” he said.

Daniel said this same mentality was evident in Luongo from the moment he arrived.

“I think the first few practices, when he stepped on the ice, we realized what kind of a goalie he was. Such a great competitor,” he said. “I think he made our team better because he battled hard every practice. He played a lot of games for us, dealt with injuries, kept on playing and then he was on the ice a day after games, just battling and that mindset really spread throughout the team and to me that's being a great leader.”

Luongo was always working to make himself a better goalie, Daniel added. And he made his team better in the process.

“He's a competitor. He wants to win so bad. I think losses maybe affected him early on. I think as he got older, I think he just learned how to deal with losses,” he said. “I think in a Canadian market, especially if you're a goalie, you have to stay even keel and don't worry too much about the ups and downs. And then I think that became his biggest strength.”

That spirit has carried on to this day. Canucks captain Bo Horvat has spoken about noticing the level of commitment the Sedins brought to the table when he first joined the team.

“I thought I was in great shape,” he told Postmedia News in 2019. “And then you watch these guys, you were like, `Hey, I'm a ways off.'”

Luongo said Tuesday that watching the twins work on their game was always a wonder.

“I got to practise against them every day, so that's what made it even more special than the games, just watching them work with each other on the ice and literally knowing where they are without even seeing each other was something that always blew my mind to this day,” he said.

Naslund lamented a little that he was Luongo's teammate for just two seasons.

“When you have a goalie like that, you would have a chance to win a cup every year, really. You know that it's a different level when you face him in practice and also get the feeling that you can win every game even though you're being outplayed. And that's what Roberto gave us,” he said.

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2022-06-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-06-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

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