Alexander Edler

Did You Know?

• Edler has a brother named Jens and a sister named Katarina.
• His daughters Emme and River were born in Vancouver.

Playing career

Edler began his organized career at the under-17 level with his hometown district team of Jämtland in 2001 and 2002, competing in the national TV-pucken tournament. In 2003–04 he joined the professional Jämtlands HF, playing in Sweden's third-tier league and recording three goals and nine points in 24 games, while also appearing in six games for the club's junior team. Unranked by NHL Central Scouting Bureau during his draft year, he was brought to the Vancouver Canucks' attention by head scout Thomas Gradin, who saw him playing with Jämtlands HF.

Gradin described the team's level of play as little more than beer-league-calibre but was impressed with Edler. The Canucks traded their 2005 third-round pick to the Dallas Stars for the Stars' 2004 third-round pick, selecting Edler 91st overall amid speculation that the Detroit Red Wings had high interest. After the draft, Gradin arranged for Edler to play with Modo Hockey's junior club in the J20 SuperElit, where he recorded 8 goals and 23 points over 33 games in 2004–05, ranking second in point-scoring among league defencemen to Modo teammate Tommy Enström.

International play

Edler first represented Sweden at the under-20 level in the 2006 World Junior Championships in British Columbia, recording an assist in a 10–2 round-robin win against Latvia; Sweden finished fifth after losing their quarterfinal to Finland. He debuted with Sweden's senior team at the 2008 IIHF World Championships, scoring his first international goal on the powerplay against French goaltender Fabrice Lhenry in a 9–0 round-robin win. Sweden reached the bronze medal game, losing 5–4 to Canada, and Edler finished with a goal and two assists in eight games.

At the 2013 IIHF World Championship, he was suspended for the final two games after a knee-on-knee hit to Eric Staal; Sweden won gold and Edler received a medal despite not playing in the gold medal game. The IIHF extended the suspension to cover Sweden's first two games of the 2014 Winter Olympics, after which Edler joined the team and helped Sweden earn the silver medal with a goal and two assists.

Playing style

Edler plays as an offensive defenceman, with his slapshot being one of his strongest offensive assets. At the Canucks' 2008 SuperSkills event, he beat the team's reigning hardest shooter, Sami Salo, with a 99.3 mile-per-hour shot and won the competition in 2009 and 2010. He is known for his poise and confidence with the puck, enabling strong first passes out of the defensive zone, which assistant coach Rick Bowness attributed to his calm off-ice demeanor. Although not an aggressive defender early in his NHL career, Edler gradually showed capability for physicality. Teammate Kevin Bieksa compared him to Mattias Öhlund during the Canucks' 2011 playoff run, noting that Edler had learned how big and strong he was and could hurt opponents when hitting.