Henrik Sedin Set to Become 4th Swedish-Born Player with 1,200 Games Played

Vancouver Canucks center Henrik Sedin enters Thursday's matchup with the Winnipeg Jets just one game shy of becoming the fourth Swedish-born player to tally 1,200 career games played, per Sportsnet Stats.

The only players to previously reach the benchmark are Nicklas Lidstrom (1,564), Mats Sundin (1,346) Daniel Alfredsson (1,246). Sedin's twin brother, Daniel, has played 1,176 games and should reach the total later this season if he stays healthy.

The Sedin brothers were drafted second and third overall by the Canucks in the 1999 NHL entry draft and have played alongside each other their entire careers. Each has a 100-point season to his name, and the duo has combined to take home five individual trophies (Henrik three and Daniel two).

Despite the yearly success of the two on Vancouver's top line, the Canucks have reached the Stanley Cup Finals just once during their tenure. The club lost the last two games of the 2010-11 Finals series against the Boston Bruins to surrender its most recent shot at the Cup in a 4-3 series loss, per Hockey-Reference.com.

Henrik has been the model of consistency in terms of health, playing in at least 70 games—other than the lockout-shortened, 48-game 2012-13 campaign—in every season of his NHL career. Sedin currently sits third on the active assists list and sixth on the active points list, with plenty of time to improve on those numbers should he decide to play into his 40s.

The Canucks currently sit sixth in the Pacific Division standings (14-16-3), 10 points behind the division-leading San Jose Sharks. If the team has any aspirations of earning a playoff bid this season, it will need to begin its climb soon. Should they manage to do so, the Sedin brothers will likely be at the center of the turnaround.