NHLPA.com’s Tim Wharnsby profiles Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen today:
There was no doubt in the young mind of Detroit Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen that he was going to be a hockey player after the first time he hit the ice.
But his passion for the game deepened when, as a kid, he would sit in the stands at Rogers Arena and watch his beloved Vancouver Canucks.
His family had season tickets and he would study the moves of players like Markus Naslund, Trevor Linden, Mats Sundin as well as Daniel and Henrik Sedin.
Even though Sundin suited up for only 41 regular-season games and eight more in the playoffs with the Canucks in 2008-09, he took particular interest in the way the big Swede played.
“I was only nine turning 10 when he played in his final season in Vancouver,” Rasmussen recalled. “He was only there a short time, but I also followed him when he played for Toronto. I liked the way he played.”
