Top 50 Canucks players of all time: #33 – Patrik Sundstrom

Join us this summer as we count down the top 50 Vancouver Canucks players of all time! #33: Patrik Sundstrom

With their ninth-round pick (175th overall) in the 1980 NHL Draft, the Vancouver Canucks selected Patrik Sundstrom. Talk about a player coming a long way in a short period of time. 

In just his second National Hockey League season (1983-84), the young Swede registered a remarkable 91 points. Statistically, it remains the 13th best season in franchise history, but perhaps one of the least talked about. But that was Patrik Sundstrom. Everything about him was understated. Sundstrom scored 38 times and added 53 assists in what turned out to be the best season of his 10-year NHL career. Three times he scored 25 goals as a Canuck, and in four of his five seasons in Vancouver, the talented playmaker reached 40 assists. Overall, he amassed an impressive body of work and deserves his spot on the Canucks all-time list.

While many players are remembered for their best season, without question, Sundstrom’s greatest accomplishment in a Canuck uniform came in just one game. One very special game. On February 29, 1984, he scored once and set up six other goals in a 9-5 win in Pittsburgh. It’s a night that has stood the test of time. More than four decades later, the six helpers and seven points both remain franchise records for a single game. Five of his assists that night were primary helpers, and he had hit the scoresheet with six helpers before scoring himself midway through the third period. After all these years, Sundstrom remains 23rd in all-time franchise scoring with 342 points in 374 games. Despite plenty of regular season success, Sundstrom appeared in just 11 playoff games with the Canucks.

He was dealt to New Jersey in the summer of 1987 in a deal that brought Greg Adams and Kirk McLean to Vancouver. Sundstrom played five seasons with the Devils before retiring from the NHL in 1992. He returned home and played a pair of seasons in Sweden before hanging up the skates for good.

Our previously ranked top 50 Canucks of all time:

#50 – Curt Fraser
#49 – Dave Babych
#48 – Martin Gelinas
#47 – Chris Oddleifson
#46 – Jannik Hansen
#45 – Ivan Boldirev
#44 – Gary Smith
#43 – Jacob Markstrom
#42 – Orland Kurtenbach
#41 – Harold Snepsts
#40 – Darcy Rota
#39 – Thatcher Demko
#38 – Geoff Courtnall
#37 – Dennis Ververgaert
#36 – Petri Skriko
#35 – Dan Hamhuis
#34 – Doug Lidster