A Sweet-ish Beginning Marks a Not So Sweet-ish End

Swedish rookie sensation Alexander Edler has recently adopted the nickname “Mini-Ohlie” courtesy of his teammates in Vancouver. They claim that Edler’s play on the ice coupled with his demeanor off it, are indistinguishable to that of Mattias Ohlund, thus the nickname “Mini Ohlie.” But putting aside their uncanny equal height and weight of 6’3” and 220 Ibs, their similar birthplaces in small municipalities of Sweden (Östersund for Edler and Piteå for Ohlund) and their interchangeable Swedish accents which stress the letter “s,” Alexander Edler and Mattias Ohlund are no more alike than Sidney Crosby and Donald Brashear.

Alexander Edler displays maturity far beyond his fresh age of 21, and has a calming effect on not only his teammates, but also the fans whenever he touches the puck. Edler’s composure and excellent ability to read the ice, ala Nicklas Lidstrom, allows him to constantly make the right plays as he seldom finds himself out of position. If Edler keeps up his consistent play from the back end, the Calder Trophy (awarded to the league’s most outstanding rookie) should be a distinct possibility.

Ohlund on the other hand, causes sheer panic in the hearts and minds of Canucks fans whenever he’s on the ice, not only because of his inability to handle the puck, but also because of his apparent lack of mobility in the “New NHL.” Furthermore, Ohlund is following in the footsteps of former Canuck Todd Bertuzzi seeing that he continues to take “stupid penalties” night after night.

It’s fairly clear to anyone who even pays the slightest attention to the Vancouver Canucks that Ohlund’s best days are in the past, so it’s about time that the Canucks cut their losses before the rest of the league takes notice and while Ohlund still has a considerable amount of value. The Canucks have apparently been looking for options to solve their scoring woes; a one for one swap for Justin Williams or Erik Cole from the Carolina Hurricanes doesn’t look too shabby at the moment.

If Edler’s emergence as an elite defenseman in this league isn’t enough indication that Mattias Ohlund is expendable, Dave Nonis should at least pay his dues by sending tapes of Ohlund’s poor play to Fear Factor, because watching a few hours of “Ohlie” making mistake after mistake is far more frightening than eating a bucket of worms could ever be.