Victor Hedman

Victor Erik Olof Hedman (born 18 December 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hedman was selected second overall by the Lightning in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Sweden
Hedman began his junior ice 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. Hedman then turned professional and joined the Elitserien with Modo at the age of 16. At the beginning of the 2008–09 season, he was ranked first overall amongst all draft-eligible skaters in the International Scouting Services' preliminary rankings. In the same season, he was nominated as the SHL Rookie of the Year. Following his performance at the 2009 World Junior Championships for Sweden, Hedman was listed atop the rankings of European skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Despite the unlikelihood of Hedman playing in Russia, he was drafted 83rd overall by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)'s Spartak Moscow on 1 June 2009. Going into the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Hedman was listed as the second-ranked player and top European player. This led to him being selected second overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Hedman has drawn comparisons to Chris Pronger, who is also 6'6" and around 220 as well and was also drafted second overall.

Tampa Bay Lightning
Hedman made his NHL debut for the Lightning on 3 October 2009, against the Atlanta Thrashers. He registered his first point, an assist, on a Martin St. Louis goal. His first NHL goal was then scored on 5 December against Dwayne Roloson of the New York Islanders.

On 5 January 2011, during his sophomore NHL season in 2010–11, Hedman checked Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby from behind, receiving a minor boarding penalty. The hit was one of two that were eventually blamed for causing a severe concussion on Crosby that kept him out of play for over a year.

On 29 November 2011, shortly into the 2011–12 season, Hedman signed a five-year, $20 million contract extension with Tampa Bay. On 25 September 2012, it was announced that Hedman signed a contract with Barys Astana of the KHL during the 2012–13 NHL lockout. During the 2013–14 season, Hedman had a breakout season, posting a career best in goals (13), assists (42) and points (55).

Hedman followed up his breakout season with a strong start to the 2014–15 season. However, his start would be derailed after he suffered a broken finger, which was expected to rule him out of play for four to six weeks. At the time, Hedman was tied for the lead amongst NHL defencemen with seven points, and was considered a possible James Norris Memorial Trophy candidate for Defenceman of the Year entering into the season. Despite the injury, Hedman still had a productive season with the Lightning, scoring 10 goals, 28 assists and 38 points in 59 games played. After Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks, Hedman had recorded the most points by a Lightning defencemen in a single playoff year, with one goal, 11 assists and 12 points. On 8 June 2015, during Game 3 of the Final series, Hedman set Lightning records for career playoff assists (20) and points (23) by a defenceman, surpassing Dan Boyle, who previously held the record with three goals and 19 assists (22 points).

On 24 October 2015, Hedman played in his 400th career NHL game in an OT loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. On 20 December 2015, Hedman recorded his 200th NHL point, which was an assist on a Nikita Kucherov pp goal. The point came during a 5–2 Lightning victory over the visiting Ottawa Senators. On 20 May 2016, Hedman recorded two assists in a 4–3 Lightning win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The two assists moved Hedman past Vincent Lecavalier (28) and Brad Richards (29) for number two all-time in playoff assists with the franchise. On 24 May 2016, Hedman became the leader in playoff games played for the Lightning. He surpassed former teammates Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier, who were tied for the most playoffs games played in franchise history.

On July 1, 2016, the Lightning re-signed Hedman to an eight-year contract extension worth $7.875 million per season. Hedman lead all Lightning defensemen in goals, assists (37), points and plus/minus. He also led all Lightning skaters in plus/minus, average ice time (23:03), takeaways (48) and blocked shots (132). He also posted a career high with a plus-21 rating. Hedman currently ranks third all-time in franchise history among defensemen in career points (229), behind Dan Boyle (253) and Pavel Kubina (243). He is also second all-time among defensemen in assists (180) and fourth for goals (49). Hedman ranks third all-time among Lightning defensemen for games played, trailing only Pavel Kubina (662) and Cory Sarich (490). In addition, Hedman is the Bolts' all-time playoff leader for points, goals, assists and plus/minus among defensemen. On October 26, 2016, Hedman recorded his 50th career NHL goal. The goal came in a 7-3 Lightning victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. On November 5, 2016, Hedman recorded his 187th assist, which tied him with Dan Boyle for most career assists by a Lightning defenseman. The assist came in a 4-1 Lightning victory over the visiting New Jersey Devils. On November 10, 2016, Hedman recorded his 188th career assist which is the most assists by a defenseman in Lightning history. Hedman is now seventh in franchise history in assists. On November 14, 2016, Hedman recorded his 189th assist, which tied with Brian Bradley for 6th in assists in Lightning history. The assist came in a 4-0 Lightning win over the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center. On November 15, 2016, Hedman recorded his 190th assist, which moved Hedman past Bradley for sixth all time in assists in Lightning history. The assist came in a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. On November 21, 2016, Hedman recorded an assist, which was Hedman's 243 career point. This put Hedman into a tie with Pavel Kubina for 10th place on the Lightning's all-time scoring list. Hedman is also tied with Kubina for 2nd all-time in points by a defensemen in Lightning history. On November 23, 2016, Hedman recorded a goal in a 4-2 Lightning victory over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. This was Hedman's 244th career point, which moved him past Kubina for 2nd in points by a defenseman and 10th in points in Lightning history.

On December 14, 2016, Hedman skated in his 500th career NHL game, which came in a 6-3 Lightning victory over the Calgary Flames. Additionally, Hedman recorded three assists, and now only needs two points to tie Dan Boyle (253) for most all-time points by a Lightning defenseman. On December 16, 2016, Heman recorded 253 career NHL point, which moved him into a tie with Dan Boyle. On December 17, 2016, Hedman became the all-time leader in points by a defenseman with his 254th career point. Hedman also moved into 9th place on the all-time franchise list for all skaters. On December 20, 2016, Hedman recorded his 200th career NHL assist. Hedman also became the first defensemen in Lightning history to record 200 career assists. On December 28, 2016, Hedman recorded two points to move past Chris Gratton in to eighth place on the Lightning's all-time scoring list. On January 10, 2017, Hedman was named to the 2017 NHL All-Star game as a member of the Atlantic Division team. On February 23, 2017, Hedman recorded his 526th and 527th career hits against the Calgary Flames, which moved him past Eric Brewer for the most hits in Lightning history. On March 11, 2017, Hedman recorded his 287th career point in a Lightning uniform. This moved him past Fredrik Modin for 7th most points all-time in franchise history. On March 27, 2017, Hedman recorded his 50th assist of the season to become the first defenseman in Lightning history to record 50th assists in a single season. On March 30, 2017, Hedman recorded an assist in the second period to move him past Roman Hamrlik for the most points (66) in a single season by a defenseman in Lightning history. On April 6, 2017, Hedman recorded three assists to become the first defenseman in Lightning history to reach 70-points in a single season. Hedman also joined Börje Salming, Nicklas Lidström, and Erik Karlsson as the only Swedish defensemen to reach 70-points in a single season. On April 9, 2017, Hedman recorded a goal and an assist in a 4-2 Lightning win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. Hedman's two points move him past Brian Bradley for sixth all-time in franchise history in points (301). On April 21, 2017, Hedman was named as a finalist for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the NHL's top defenseman.

International play
Hedman played for Sweden at the 2008 World Junior Championships, where he helped the team to a silver medal, losing to 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 men's team when he made his debut at age 17 in an exhibition game against Norway. Hedman would once again play for Sweden's 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.

On 2 March 2016, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association named Hedman to its roster for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Hedman will was joined by Lightning teammate Anton Stralman. The tournament ran from 17 Sep to 1 October 2016, in Toronto.

On April 15, 2017, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association named Hedman to its roster for the 2017 IIHF World Championship. On April 28, 2017, Hedman was named as an assistant captain for the tournament.

Personal life
Hedman has two older brothers — Oscar Hedman, who is also a professional hockey player that currently plays for Modo Hockey; as well as Johan Hedman, who does not play professionally.

As a child, Hedman originally started out playing as a goaltender. His father, Olle Hedman, told his son that if he left the net, he would purchase him the new helmet that he coveted. He has not played in goal since that day. Victor said "I'm thankful for that now. You never know what would have happened otherwise."

Hedman's other passions were flying (he has logged eight hours on a Piper PA-32), and soccer. His father said that his son would just outrun everyone on the field. Hedman still plays soccer in the summer, and religiously follows the sport. In an article it was revealed that when quizzed on any player on any English Premier League team, he couldn't be stumped. His dad said that his son "probably knows more about football than hockey. However, Hedman knew that hockey was his future. He was encouraged by some of hockey's greats. The players would come back every summer and play for a team called the Icebreakers, inviting Hedman to play. Some notable players on the team included Peter Forsberg, Markus Näslund, Henrik Zetterberg, and Nicklas Bäckström. Hedman said that "looking back at it now, it was an unbelievable experience."

In 2014 Hedman started a hockey school in his hometown. The spots in the school sold out in two hours. Hedman said that "to see the thrill in the kids' eyes, it's worth it all."

Hedman is from Örnsköldsvik and trains with the Sedin twins in the off-season.

During an interview with The Hockey News, Hedman revealed why he chose seventy-seven as his jersey number. Hedman revealed that Nicklas Lidstrom was an idol of his growing up, however, he stated that he did not play the same style of game. Hedman said he liked the way Ray Bourque played the game. As well as guys like Paul Coffey due to their skating ability. Due to watching a lot of the Colorado Avalanche Hedman witnessed Bourque winning a cup with the Avs. Hedman wore #41 back in Sweden, but Lightning teammate Mike Smith wore that number. He decided to wear Bourque's No. 77 instead.