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Mats Johan Sundin (born February 13 , 1971 , in Bromma , Sweden ) is a Swedish professional Ice Hockey centre and captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League . His Swedish nickname "Sudden" (in reference to his surname) and Toronto nickname "Captain Clutch", come from his ability to perform in high-pressure situations, such as overtime. Sundin is currently the all-time leader in overtime goals with 15, the latest coming on October 14 , 2006 , against the Calgary Flames ; a shot coming off the wing that was short-handed, in overtime, a hat trick and his 500th goal. (The only player in history to score his 500th goal as a hat trick besides Mark Messier) PLAYING CAREER Quebec Nordiques Sundin was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques with their 1st pick, 1st overall, in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft . At the time he was playing in the Swedish tier two league HockeyAllsvenskan for Nacka HK .1 He was the first European-born player drafted first overall in NHL history. Sundin played in the Swedish Elitserien for Djurgårdens IF during the season 1989-90 and won the Swedish Championship the same season. Sundin made his NHL debut with Quebec during the 1990-91 NHL Season , finishing second on the team behind Joe Sakic with 59 points. Sundin led the Nordiques with 114 points in 1992-93 . During his time in Quebec, Sundin was considered one of the league's premier young players. Toronto Maple Leafs On June 28 , 1994 Sundin was traded along with Garth Butcher , Todd Warriner and a first round draft pick (acquired by Quebec in the 1992 Eric Lindros trade) to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Wendel Clark , Sylvain Lefebvre , Landon Wilson and a 1994 1st round pick. During the 1994 lockout he once again played for his Swedish club Djurgårdens IF . Sundin became the 16th Maple Leafs captain in 1997 , becoming the first European player in Maple Leaf history to hold that honour. He is the second-longest active serving captain in the NHL, next to Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche . He is the longest serving non-North American born captain in NHL history. (The longest-serving captain in NHL history is Steve Yzerman , who lead the Detroit Red Wings for 19 seasons from 1986 to 2006–due to the Lockout in the 2004-05 season.) |
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