Daniel Sedin - International Play

International Play

Daniel made his North American debut competing for Sweden in the 1997 World U17 Hockey Challenge, held in Alberta. Leading the tournament in scoring with 26 points (9 goals and 17 assists) over 6 games, he helped Sweden to a silver medal. After going undefeated in five contests, they were defeated in the gold medal game by Team Ontario 6–2.

Back in Europe, Daniel competed at the 1997 European Junior Championships, recording two goals and six points over six games. The following year, at the 1998 European Junior Championships, Sweden's final game required them to beat Russia by four goals to surpass Finland in goal differential and win the gold medal. Daniel recorded two assists as Sweden won 5–1.

In his NHL draft year, Daniel competed for Sweden at the 1999 World Junior Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He recorded 10 points in six games, and tied for second in tournament scoring with Daniel Tkaczuk of Canada and Scott Gomez of the United States, behind Brian Gionta of the United States. Sweden failed to medal, losing the bronze medal game against Slovakia by a 5–4 score. Later that year, Daniel made his debut for the Swedish men's team at the 1999 World Championships in Norway. He notched one assist over nine games as Sweden won the bronze medal.

In 2000, Daniel once again competed in both the World Junior and Men's Championships. At the junior tournament in Sweden, Daniel matched his previous year's output with 10 points. He was the third highest point-scorer in the tournament, behind Henrik and Milan Kraft of the Czech Republic. Again, Sweden failed to earn a medal, finishing in fifth place. At the Men's World Championships, Daniel and Henrik both recorded five points; they were the youngest players on the squad. Sweden did not achieve a medal, losing to Finland in the quarterfinal.

Following his rookie season with the Vancouver Canucks, Daniel made his third World Championships appearance, in 2001 in Germany. He was injured midway through the tournament and had to return to Vancouver for surgery on a herniated disc in his lower back. Sweden defeated the United States 3–2 to win its second bronze medal in three years. He made a fourth tournament appearance at the 2005 World Championships in Austria. Sweden missed out on the bronze medal, losing to Russia 6–3. Daniel had an assist in a losing effort during the bronze medal game. He finished with nine points in nine games, which tied for fourth in tournament-scoring.

On December 22, 2005, Daniel was named to the Swedish Olympic team for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. He joined Henrik, Markus Näslund and Mattias Öhlund as one of four Canucks on the squad. Competing in his first Olympics, he contributed four points as Sweden won a gold medal, defeating Finland 3–2 in the final. Four years later, he was once again named to the Swedish Olympic team for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Despite going into the tournament as one of Sweden's key players (in the corresponding NHL season, he was third among Swedish players in points despite missing 19 games), he ranked seventh among team forwards in total ice time. Sweden failed to defend their gold medal from Turin, losing to Slovakia in the quarterfinal. Daniel had a goal and two assists in four games.