The Sedin twins, the Vancouver Canucks’ famous 22 and 33, have turned 44

They entered the world together, they spent their entire playing careers together, and they still work together as they celebrate their shared 44^th birthday.

Henrik and Daniel Sedin, the twin dynamos who each spent 17 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks were born on this date in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. Henrik is six minutes older than his brother.

The twins began their pro careers in 1997 with Modo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League and were top prospects for the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Although they expected to be drafted by different teams, Canucks’ general manager Brian Burke made a series of deals ahead of the draft that gave him the second and third overall picks and allowed him to choose both Sedins. He took Daniel, a left wing, with the No. 2 pick, and then Henrik, a center, at No. 3.

The Sedins were known for their on-ice chemistry, which was due to their familiarity as lifelong linemates rather than mere twin ESP. Along with the Conachers (Charlie and Roy) and the Bentleys (Doug and Max), they’re the only brother combinations to have won NHL scoring titles, but they’re the only sibling duo to accomplish the feat in back-to-back seasons.

Henrik won his Art Ross Trophy in 2009-10, scoring 29 goals, a league-best 83 assists, and 112 points. He was also a First Team All-Star and the Hart Trophy winner as the NHL’s most valuable player that season. Daniel took the scoring honors in 2010-11, notching 104 points on 41 goals and 63 assists. He likewise earned a First Team All-Star placing and was second in the Hart Trophy voting, but he did take home the Lester B. Pearson Award as the league’s outstanding player, chosen by his peers.

Both played in more than 1,300 regular season games and 100 playoff contests with the Canucks, and both topped the 1,000-point plateau. Henrik was named the Canucks’ captain in 2018 and wore the ‘C’ for eight seasons while linemate Daniel sported an ‘A’ as an alternate captain.

Although they never won a Stanley Cup, falling short in Game 7 of the final in 2011 against Boston, they did win Olympic gold together for Sweden in 2006.

The Sedins jointly announced their retirement near the end of the 2017-18 season and have been employed with the Canucks ever since, first as special advisors and now in player development. They continue to live in Vancouver with their families.

In February 2020, the team retired their jersey numbers in a joint ceremony; Daniel wore No. 22 and Henrik wore No. 33. They were further honored in 2022 with induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Also born on this date:

1892 – Clint Benedict was born in Ottawa. The first NHL goalie to wear a mask, nearly 30 years before Jacques Plante made it a permanent part of his equipment, that was merely a footnote to a Hall of Fame career that saw Benedict win the Stanley Cup four times. He began with the original Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey Association in 1912-13 and was later a key member of the NHL’s first dynasty, backstopping the Senators to three Cups in 1920, 1921, and 1923. It was thought his career was winding down when Ottawa, with another future Hall of Famer named Alec Connell waiting in the wings, traded him to the Montreal Maroons in 1924. But the move revitalized Benedict, who took the Maroons to the 1925 Stanley Cup and then recorded a career-best 13 shutouts in 1926-27. He donned a primitive face mask after recovering from a broken nose he suffered during a game in January 1930 and wore it in five games before another injury to the nose ended his season and, as it turned out, his NHL career. Benedict, who recorded 60 regular-season shutouts and 15 more in the playoffs, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965 and died in 1976.

1915 – Frank Brimsek was born in Eveleth, Minn. Also a Hall of Fame netminder, he was inducted into the shrine in 1966, one year after Benedict. He earned the nickname “Mr. Zero” as a rookie with the Boston Bruins in 1938-39, recording six shutouts in a seven-game span after being named the team’s new starting goalie. Brimsek finished that season with 10 shutouts and a Stanley Cup, also winning the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie and the Vezina Trophy as its top goalie. He won his second Cup in 1940-41 and his second Vezina in 1941-42. After two years in the Coast Guard during the Second World War, Brimsek returned to the Bruins and continued to play well until requesting a trade to Chicago in 1949. He retired after one year with the Black Hawks, having compiled 42 career shutouts and eight post-season all-star selections. He died in 1998.

1952 – Garry Howatt was born in Grand Centre, Alta. A veteran of more than 800 regular season and playoff contests, Howatt was an original member of the New York Islanders and was part of their first two championship teams in 1979-80 and 1980-81. In January 1983, while he was a member of the New Jersey Devils, Howatt and Mickey Volcan of the Hartford Whalers made history when they were called on to officiate the first period of a game between their teams. A major snowstorm had delayed the arrival of two officials at the Hartford Civic Centre, so Howatt and Volcan, both of whom were injured and not slated to play, were asked to fill in until the officials arrived. It is the only time in NHL history that active players have officiated a league game.

1979 – Chris Kunitz was born in Regina. A four-time Stanley Cup champion, Kunitz entered the NHL with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2003 after a stellar college career with the Ferris State Bulldogs, where he was a Hobey Baker Award finalist as a senior. He won his first Cup with Anaheim in 2006-07, but the Ducks traded him to Pittsburgh late in the 2008-09 season. He was an important role player with the Penguins as they marched to the Cup, giving Kunitz his second title. He spent the next eight seasons in Pittsburgh, winning his third Cup in 2016 and his fourth in 2017. He retired after stints with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks, having dressed for exactly 1,200 NHL regular-season and playoff games.

1980 – Brooks Orpik was born in San Francisco. Named after Herb Brooks, who coached the U.S. Olympic hockey team to the Miracle on Ice earlier that year, Orpik played three seasons at Boston College and was Pittsburgh’s top pick, 18^th overall, in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. A low-scoring shutdown defenceman, Orpik scored only 22 goals during a 16-season career that saw him suit up in nearly 1,200 regular-season and playoff games. But his physical style of play was an important factor in winning the Cup in 2009 with the Penguins and in 2018 with the Washington Capitals. In the latter victory, he earned notoriety for having played through the final series after having part of his pinky finger severed by a slash from an opponent. (It was reattached.)

1982 – John Scott was born in Edmonton. The least-likely MVP in NHL All-Star Game history, Scott was a fringe NHLer known more for fisticuffs than finesse, and he wouldn’t have even been in the 2015-16 mid-season extravaganza if not for cheeky fans who made him the winner of the fan vote while he was a member of the Arizona Coyotes. Winning the vote made him the automatic captain of the Pacific Division All-Stars, although this was in doubt when the Coyotes first waived Scott and then traded him to the Montreal Canadiens, who promptly buried him in the AHL. The NHL, after trying to convince Scott to drop out of the All-Star Game, finally relented and let him play, whereupon he scored two goals in the tournament semifinal and earned MVP honors as the Pacific won the whole shebang. Scott did get recalled to play one game with the Canadiens later that season, then retired from pro hockey in December 2016.