VANCOUVER -- Henrik Sedin, who has defined consistency for the Vancouver Canucks, hits another milestone Thursday when he plays his 1,200th NHL game.
When the Canucks captain plays against the Winnipeg Jets (10 p.m. ET; SNP, TSN3, NHL.TV), he will become the fourth Sweden-born player to reach that plateau, joining Nicklas Lidstrom (1,564 games), Mats Sundin (1,346) and Daniel Alfredsson (1,246).
"For me, it's been about coming in every day and putting your work in," Sedin said. "There's no secret, really, to it. I know I got taught early on by Trevor [Linden] and Mattias [Ohlund] and Markus [Naslund] and all those guys that there's going to be ups and downs and months and weeks when you're not feeling great, but you have to come in and put your work in.
"That's what it's about."
Sedin, the third pick of the 1999 NHL Draft, has spent his entire NHL career with the Canucks. Since the 2005-06 season, the 36-year-old center has missed 20 regular-season games and been a steady producer.
A 112-point season (29 goals, 83 assists) earned Sedin the Art Ross Trophy and the Hart Trophy in 2009-10. He won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2015-16 as the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice, and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.
Sedin's two assists in a 4-1 victory against Winnipeg on Tuesday pushed his career total to 992 points (229 goals, 763 assists). He's eight away from becoming the 84th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points.
First among active Sweden-born players in NHL points and fourth all-time on that list, Sedin is behind Sundin (1,349), Alfredsson (1,157) and Lidstrom (1,142).
Sedin's identical twin brother Daniel (chosen No. 2 in 1999) is fifth on the games-played and scoring lists among Sweden-born NHL players with 1,176 games and 964 points (365 goals, 599 assists). Daniel is 24 games from 1,200; if he stays healthy, he's on track to reach the milestone Feb. 14 at the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Forward Jannik Hansen, who has played regularly on a line with the Sedins this season, said there is one key to the brothers' success.
"Consistency," Hansen said. "That's the key to everybody. If you want to make a career in this league, you have to be good for 60, 70 games in a season. It's not enough to play just 30 or 40 good games. You have to be able to contribute when you're not feeling good, when things are not going your way. Most of the guys that stick around, they have a way of making an impact in games when they're not on."
Even in style, Hansen, who has played for the Canucks since the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs, said Henrik and Daniel have been consistent.
"Obviously they're not putting up 120 points anymore but they play the same way," Hansen said. "They've never been two guys who burn guys wide. They're scoring off the rush and they'll control plays and the pace of the game. Whenever they have the puck on their tape, the game is played at their pace."
Henrik and Daniel share the Canucks scoring lead this season; each has 22 points.
Reminded that Henrik will play his 1,200th NHL game on Thursday, Jets defenseman Toby Enstrom saluted the Sedin brothers, who grew up in the same area of Sweden. Enstrom was born in Nordingra; the Sedins are from Ornskoldsvik, about 38 miles away. Each played for Modo of the Swedish Hockey League before coming to the NHL.
"I think everyone knows them on the ice, what they can do and what they produce every night," Enstrom said. "The careers they're having, that's pretty incredible.
"But just look at what they've done over time. That's pretty incredible."
Enstrom is four years younger than the Sedins. He was their teammate with Modo during the NHL lockout year of 2004-05, and for Sweden at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
"I haven't really played with them that much," Enstrom said, "but I grew up watching them when they were young and they were coming up in the Sweden Elite League and they were just outstanding. Nobody could ever take the puck from them. I was a young kid then and it was so impressive. Ever since, they've been producing at a high level, which they've shown over here as well."
Henrik's selection as the King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner last season was an outstanding choice, Enstrom said.
"To me, what's most important, and what most people don't know, is that they're great hockey players but they're two amazing guys off the ice, just two incredible guys that just care about everyone," Enstrom said. "I think the fans around here know how generous they are off the ice, what good guys they are.
"Of course, they're among the biggest players ever in Swedish ice hockey, but the city is used to having that kind of superstar [Markus Naslund, Peter Forsberg and Victor Hedman also are natives of Ornskoldsvik]. The good thing about them when you meet them is that they're just regular guys. They take care of the people around them.
"It's the one thing I always tell anyone who asks me, how good they are to people."
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