Canucks Legend Näslund remembers the queen; Via Sweden
Long before his Canucks number-19 was hoisted to the rafters in Vancouver, Markus Näslund had a rare opportunity as captain of the club that will never be duplicated. With the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, the repercussions of her passing were felt around the planet, including in Sweden, even for a former Vancouver Canucks hockey player.
It was Naslund who took the ceremonial faceoff before an exhibition match on October 6, 2002 against Mike Ricci by the San Jose Sharks. Naslund’s memories of the incident made it into a Swedish newspaper article on Thursday, written by Johan Eriksson for The Express.
The whole world mourns Queen Elizabeth. A 49-year-old hockey legend sits in Örnsköldsvik and remembers his unique meeting with the regent, when the queen talked hockey with the Canucks’ captain.
– – I laughed and tried to answer something polite, says Markus Näslund.
Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, already three years retired, accompanied the queen onto the ice. Eriksson continues with the story, including Q and A with Naslund:
The full proceedings, featuring Wayne Gretzky and Cassie Campbell – their leading women’s hockey player at the time – and Howie Meeker, who last played when she was (at a) hockey game, was there. The Queen came onto the ice on a rolled-out red carpet with Gretzky to participate in a ceremonial draw. For Näslund & Co, there was a lot to keep track of.
– “We had a long preparation just to figure out how to act, we were told that, for example, we were not allowed to (skate) in a straight line towards her. And we weren’t allowed to say anything to her unless she addressed us first.
– “I gave her the puck and then she told me the last game she’d been to was in Toronto, fifty years ago or whatever, so that was amazing.”
Do you remember what you answered? –
– “Well, I laughed enough and tried to answer something polite, I don’t really remember.”
It must have been a special meeting? Not many Swedish hockey players have met the world’s most famous royalty.
– “Yes, of course it is.”
And that you have the pictures, where you’re standing next to her with Gretzky in the background… those are great memories in retrospect.
Eriksson goes on to explain the fact that Queen Elizabeth had many questions for Gretzky while watching the first period of the game, left before the second period began, and indicated that she planned to watch the rest of the game on TV when she and Prince Philip retired for the evening.
Two decades ago.