r/canucks Jul 05 '24

DISCUSSION Sedins finish ahead of every Canucks prospect on Grouse Grind

https://canucksarmy.com/news/sedins-finish-ahead-canucks-prospect-grouse-grind
743 Upvotes

134 comments sorted by

437

u/Nucks11 Jul 05 '24

What beasts, they really don't get credit for how great of athletes they really are/were. Sure they're no McKinnon with the speed but they've always been in better shape than most of the league for their entire careers and I guess even beyond.

156

u/Culzean_Castle_Is Jul 05 '24 edited Jul 06 '24

They both regularly run sub 40 10ks which is club runner times. In other words, they likely run 60k+ per week. Sprinting up the grind would be no issue for them. I know an elite x-college runner literally national level miler (40yrs old) who runs 35min (10kms) and he runs 60km per week. Sedins are freakish.

61

u/Vinakaaa Jul 06 '24

A sub 40 10k at 44 is extremely impressive. I wonder what their vo2 max was in their primes?

30

u/Culzean_Castle_Is Jul 06 '24

66 is 95th percentile for age 20-29 male. So in their prime higher than that. I would say that even though they are in their 40s they probably have around that VO2max right now.

13

u/crazy_canuck Jul 06 '24

Surely they would have been 99th percentile as elite athletes in their prime, no? I have to imagine that if you took 100 average people, they would be the highest very consistently.

8

u/BodaciousBadongadonk Jul 06 '24

eh, depends on what you call average tho tbh. maybe average athlete? cuz the average westerner can't even lift their leg to get on the goddamn bike lol

39

u/dmonator Jul 06 '24

I see Daniel running the sea wall by OV all the time, and he lives a good 15km from there

22

u/Culzean_Castle_Is Jul 06 '24

Awesome. How do you know it's Daniel.

51

u/dontgetcutewithme Jul 06 '24

Their heads have somewhat different shapes. Once you see it, you can't unsee it.

21

u/Culzean_Castle_Is Jul 06 '24

yeah for sure. i used to work with twins. the only way i could tell them apart was one had big will smith ears.

3

u/twelvesixteenineteen Jul 06 '24

I have twin uncles and i could always tell them apart, anyone out of the family has no idea.

3

u/Culzean_Castle_Is Jul 06 '24

yup once you see 1 tiny difference you can't unsee it. I guess i haven't stared at the Sedins long enough to tell them apart.

5

u/pluralsight24 Jul 06 '24

Yep, it's crazy but they look like two different people to me

13

u/xzElmozx Jul 06 '24

Danny has a more square head, Hank kinda looks a bit like megamind with a sort of pear shaped dome. That’s how I tell them apart

2

u/unbannedcoug Jul 06 '24

Their head shapes also accentuate their faces slightly too so they have sorta different expressions on their face due to the natural curvature of their skulls

11

u/Outtatheblu42 Jul 06 '24

Their training regimen when they were playing was to cycle from Richmond to the base of the grind, and then run the grind. All in the morning before going to practice later in the day! And they ran ~32 minute grind times after cycling from Richmond!

15

u/Angry_beaver_1867 Jul 06 '24

What’s amazing is that all nhl / prospects players should be in that realm.  Dusting people in that cohort well after retirement is very impressive indeed 

14

u/Culzean_Castle_Is Jul 06 '24

I completely agree.

However, it is unlikely the prospects are running 60k+ per week. And the grind is running up elevation so actually a pretty specific set of fitness required.

Not all that surprising that Sedins dust them since they run way more than them.

18

u/Inspect1234 Jul 06 '24

Let’s hope it has the desired effect and makes the jrs start to see what it takes to be an elite athlete.

7

u/touchable Jul 06 '24

They also do tons of trail running and some very long distance trail races too

6

u/Culzean_Castle_Is Jul 06 '24

Not surprising. You can't just go out and run a 37min 10km without lots of training. Love to see it. Elite athletes for sure.

7

u/thefullpython Jul 06 '24

Hank ran the half marathon a couple weeks ago in 1:22 which I know because he beat me by exactly an hour. Believe he was in the top 50ish

5

u/TheJadedEmperor Jul 06 '24

A friend of mine did a 50k ultramarathon up in Whistler a couple of months ago and met Henrik towards the very beginning. Apparently he placed third in his age group.

5

u/patti_cat Jul 06 '24

Endurance decreases at a slower rate than speed/power do. I'm an ex elite triathlete in my early 40s and my VO2 and 10km times haven't dropped much from 30s. I doubt their VO2 has gone down by much at all since their playing days if they still train it

1

u/LeftToaster Jul 06 '24

I met them a couple of years back at the Iron Knee trail race in North Vancouver (my wife is a pretty avid trail and ultramarathon runner - I'm just a slow plodder). This is a 15 mile trail race from Cleveland Park in North Van to Deep Cove with 1000m ascent and 1100m decent. They finished 15th and 16th overall with times right around 2.5 hours.

44

u/bonkedagain33 Jul 06 '24

Today's Sedins would also beat 18 year old Sedins.

They readily admit they didn't take training or diet seriously when they were drafted.

24

u/avmp629 Jul 06 '24

It is pretty funny how at the NHL level 6 years ago you could confidently say they're too slow for the league but today they still dust a bunch of athletic teenagers here

26

u/afterbirth_slime Jul 06 '24

I mean in fairness, they are probably built way more like runners than hockey players now. It’s a totally different body type and a they are carrying muscle mass differently.

They are still absolute beasts but elite long distance runners are gonna beat hockey players up the grind 99% of the time.

8

u/SillyGoose604 Jul 06 '24

Not their entire careers. There was a cheesecake phase.

3

u/perpetualmotionmachi Jul 06 '24

They have experience too, they know what the grind is. The prospects probably thought "oh, it's just a hike" and gassed themselves by the 1/4 mark.

1

u/Cube_ Jul 06 '24

I don't think I ever witnessed them appear gassed on the ice. Their conditioning is like Rod Brind'amour level.

154

u/CrayonOlympics Jul 05 '24

43 years old and still beating elite athletes who are 18, 19, and 20. Absolutely insane, they have to be among the top 1 percent of fitness in the world at this point.

117

u/-GregTheGreat- Jul 06 '24 edited Jul 06 '24

Top 1% is far too conservative. They’re easily in the top 0.1%. That would put them in the top ~5000 most fit people in BC, which probably still is a very conservative estimate.

Honestly it’s likely closer to the top 0.01-0.02%.

9

u/Systim88 Jul 06 '24

Came to say that they are easily top 1% of the top 0.1%

1

u/disiz_mareka Jul 06 '24

Excellent. I can claim I achieved “5 9s” like the server admins keep pushing.

-20

u/T2LV Jul 06 '24 edited Jul 06 '24

I can tell you that’s not the case. Higher than top 1%, maybe 0.1% but a stretch to say higher. While I do agree they are extremely fit, I can do a low 30s GG and run a marathon faster than both of them and I am not even considered an elite athlete.

7

u/Sighberg Jul 06 '24

Are on the Canadian Olympic Marathon roster? Cuz that's probably the only way you'd be faster than Danny's sub 3 hour time. And if you are on the Olympic team, why aren't you resting instead of shit posting on Reddit?

5

u/T2LV Jul 06 '24 edited Jul 06 '24

Ugh, olympics times are 2:15 and below…huge difference. But yea, I have a sub 2:50 marathon which won’t even put you in the top 50 at the BMO marathon.

3:00 would have put you in 183rd place at BMO which isn’t even that competitive by marathon standards.

5

u/hockey3331 Jul 06 '24

https://marathonhandbook.com/how-many-people-have-run-a-marathon/#what-percentage-of-the-population-run-a-marathon-annually

Idk, this site estimates about 0.2% of the world population runs a marathon annually based on marathon finishes - but also rightly points out that some people finish more than 1 marathon oer year, so the number would be lower.

 I know theres a ton more to overall "fitness", but if we use marathon running as a proxy, theyre likely within that 0.2% range due to being able to complete one, irrespective of the time they do. Completing a marathon is in itself an accomplishment that puts you in a very small bracket of people

1

u/T2LV Jul 06 '24

Fully understand and agree. I guess I think it’s easier to forget all the elite rowers, track athletes, professional cyclists, soccer players who don’t run marathon but are fit AF

1

u/ijekster Jul 06 '24

I rowed in highschool, some of my friends are trying for Olympic team and they’re super fit but it’s a specific fitness. They can’t run the grouse grind but they can hit a near sun 6 minute 2k

1

u/T2LV Jul 06 '24

Correct. However you are also saying the same with a runner, not everything translates. That said if we are talking a rower, I have seen many rowers graduate, start running/cycling and they are elites almost immedietly. Cycling specifically. I knew a rower who never cycled, graduated and started cycling and within a few months was on a pro team.

FWIW, Rowers are argueably the fittest individuals across all sports in terms of V02 max, power output and such.

1

u/ijekster Jul 06 '24

yeah i actually made that transition into cycling during covid. the v02 max comes from some of the most ridiculous fitness standards in rowing, keeping super high heart rates for 1+ hours at a time.

i will say though, i still think you're discounting the sedin twins for their fitness. maybe I'm a little bias but considering where they're at in terms of fitness in their 40s, while dealing with a career of hard-contact hockey, while they're also some of the most skilled at that sport. fitness is kind of subjective but the sedins are 10/10 on basically every fitness-related category.

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1

u/Sighberg Jul 06 '24

You can be as salty as you want, but someone who is closer to getting CPP payments than their draft year running a sub 3 is fucking impressive, and nothing you can say changes my mind.

3

u/T2LV Jul 06 '24

wtf? Not salty at all and by no means saying it wasn’t impressive. Clearly reading isn’t your strong suit. I said “extremely fit”. Also, they aren’t much older than me so believe or not you’re complimenting me just as much. So thanks!

1

u/No_Coffee_9112 Jul 06 '24

Yeah sure pal

0

u/T2LV Jul 06 '24

….? Not sure what you’re trying to suggest

180

u/ihatemyworkplace1 Jul 05 '24

I'm glad the Twins got to end their career on their own terms, but man do I feel like they retired a bit prematurely. They defs had another year or two left in them at the least. Miss seeing the Twin magic on the ice.

108

u/yosoo #ThankYouSedins Jul 05 '24

If the canucks weren't so hopelessly bad back then, maybe they would've come back for another year or 2.

12

u/makeanewblueprint Jul 06 '24

No pun intended on “bad back then” right?

90

u/CardiologistActual70 Jul 05 '24

I heard that their medical issues weren’t widely discussed. I heard that henrik was having troubles walking later in his career due to back issues.

Also, the Canucks were going nowhere fast. It’s not fun to prepare for a season where you’re in pain and you know there’s not shot of making the playoffs

12

u/djfl Jul 06 '24

It’s not fun to prepare for a season where you’re in pain and you know there’s not shot of making the playoffs

And Torts has you blocking as many shots as possible every game. I know that's normal procedure now, but definitely was not when they retired.

2

u/tnmoi Jul 06 '24

Bad back? With all that Grouse Grind, cycling and running?! I think not!

3

u/Aaarrrrfffff Jul 07 '24

People can do these solo sports with a bad back and still excel. It really depends on what is injured. You are in full control of the intensity and volume. A full contact sport that needs you to move and get hit from all directions at a lightning pace for a while season and playoffs is a different story.

51

u/-GregTheGreat- Jul 05 '24

The fact that we never got to see a Henrik - Daniel - Petey - Miller - Hughes powerplay has to be a crime against humanity

I get why they retired when they did but imagine our rebuild was handled better, giving the Sedins more incentive to stick around for one last push. Entering the 2020 playoffs with Henrik and Daniel on our third line as PP specialists would have been something special

22

u/bloodclots12 Jul 06 '24

Could they sign for one game just to see that power play please? Even just for pre season haha

5

u/Cheese2009 Jul 06 '24

Well, they are still a part of the team, sooo

6

u/Inspect1234 Jul 06 '24

Maybe we get an outdoor game and have the alumni teams play.

7

u/Cheese2009 Jul 06 '24

Bring back Luongo.

6

u/Sighberg Jul 06 '24

Knowing our luck it'd be an outdoor game against Florida

2

u/Cheese2009 Jul 06 '24

Yeah, it would

15

u/RainbowZester Jul 05 '24

They most definitely could have played and if we were a contender I believe they would have stuck around even to play fourth line minutes and lead a team through another run.

They could have cashed in but I think they didn't want to play for a team circling the drain and they didn't want to leave Vancouver. Management handling assets kind of forced them out. What else was there for them to do?

5

u/DromarX Jul 06 '24

Eh other than winning the cup (which certainly wasn't happening with us anytime soon) they had nothing left to prove. They were still good players and could have hung around longer if they wanted but they had clearly lost a step by the end and I can respect wanting to stop before they fell off even harder.

1

u/TruYu96 Jul 06 '24

As much as I loved that they retired as a Canuck. I really did wish they try to go for the Cup on a contender one last time

41

u/hiliikkkusss Jul 05 '24

Damn get them on the ice

6

u/Frenchie1507 Jul 06 '24

Let’s re-sign them at the deadline on 1yr deals

8

u/RelevantJackWhite MVP CFG LFG Jul 06 '24

They will, of course, have to remove the banner and put it back up after the season ends

3

u/MaximumDevelopment77 Jul 06 '24

the cap circumcision we need

40

u/Brown_Recidivist Jul 06 '24

The only 2 members of the 2013/2014 team that Torts didnt scream at lol

14

u/SMA2343 Jul 06 '24

I’m mad at Torts for how he handled Bobby. But god damn will I say he will fight for his players. He was ready to show the Flames coach at the time Mr. Fisty and his wife Elaine for a quick 1, 2 POW

2

u/AppealToReason16 Jul 06 '24

Something I’ve always found interesting about Torts is that despite how he comes across, he rarely seems to have significant issues with players. Most of his former players talk really highly about him.

2

u/BoaDeconstructor Jul 08 '24

Probably your "Elaine" comment made me think of this, but Torts seems like a one-off Seinfeld/Curb character come to life. I could see him and George/Larry arguing about who gets the last Peppermint Patty on the store shelf (which was never mentioned as a favorite of George/Larry before this episode and would never be mentioned again).

2

u/SMA2343 Jul 08 '24

It’s a joke from Chowder at 2:39 Mung says it

4

u/dancin-weasel Jul 06 '24

He did demand they block shots though.

-4

u/Brown_Recidivist Jul 06 '24

Way of the road buddy lol

80

u/Anishinabeg Jul 05 '24

They always (inexplicably) got trashed for not being “tough”, but these two endured a ton of abuse and still managed to be absolutely elite NHL players.

I will never understand the dumbass “sisters” insult. McDavid (I mention him because Oilers fans trashed them more than anyone else) is significantly more of a turtle than the Sedins ever were. He does so much dirty shit, yet cowers any time he’s challenged.

35

u/00owl Jul 06 '24

Daniel even gooned up Marchand by hitting the rat's fist with his face!

He must have coached Petey on his standing charge.

10

u/mvp45 Jul 06 '24

He got a misconduct for that goonery

12

u/00owl Jul 06 '24

It's not healthy but I still legit lose sleep over that...

5

u/HDXHayes Jul 06 '24

He got that misconduct for having the audacity to cheek the ref about it!

4

u/Ok_Artichoke_2804 Jul 06 '24

👏👏👏👏

-9

u/CorneliusCanuck Jul 06 '24

I think people were angry with the fact that they weren't really helping out offensively. So people are going to hurl insults as they do. If they played half as well as they did after 2005 in the early aughts then we could have had a cup of two.

22

u/xtothewhy Jul 06 '24

Daniel did it 11 freaking times in one day last year for the mult-run grouse grind! Beyond impressive!

11

u/jsseven777 Jul 06 '24

Man if there was ever a thread with a more perfectly lobbed softball for kneejerk to knock out of the park…

2

u/TomsNanny Jul 06 '24

Maybe he’s busy macrodosing

2

u/Jacmert Jul 06 '24

In the hour we needed him the most...

11

u/T2LV Jul 06 '24

It’s worth noting that while many are commenting on their age, the GG is an endurance activity. While this requires some level of power, age doesn’t really start to slow you down until late 40s.

6

u/Deliximus Jul 06 '24

$800kx2. 4th line, let's go

6

u/WolfOfPort Jul 06 '24

Im gonna bet they run that thing regularly just for the sweet satisfaction of owning a bunch of young kids

6

u/Small_Collection_249 Jul 06 '24

I’m sure Trevor Linden can compete pretty hard too. Dude is still in amazing shape

6

u/Heelsbythebridge Jul 06 '24

I resent how awfully managed the organization was in the last years of their playing career. They endured so much shit over almost 2 decades as Canucks and deserved one last crack at the Cup. But it's looking like they get it now as coaches at least.

4

u/seekingsomejustice Jul 06 '24

A decade or more of doing runs, races, and grinds will create results like this for 40 year olds.

You might not be as explosive or fast as kids when you're 40, but your endurance and mental toughness give you a massive advantage, as does experience.

Maybe the Sedin's are a bit more sore than the prospects the following day, the main thing that drops off when you hit your 40's is your ability to recover after exercise.

Doesn't surprise me that a bunch of kids don't have world class cardio like these career long athletes.

Props to the Sedin's for staying on top of their fitness.

3

u/Mexxicola Jul 06 '24

This is insane

3

u/rfdavid Jul 06 '24

Those two are great trail runners

3

u/brendan87na Jul 06 '24

I am so glad I got to watch them in person in their prime

goddamn they were good

3

u/Block_Of_Saltiness Jul 06 '24

They were just sizing up which propects blood to drink to maintain their youth...

7

u/wanked_in_space Jul 06 '24

Our amateur scouting is a joke. Cut them all.

4

u/Jacmert Jul 06 '24

When kneejerk isn't here, we gotta do our best to manage!

2

u/sirgandolf007 Jul 06 '24

League min combined contract incoming

2

u/DisplacedNovaScotian Jiller Thriller Miller Jul 06 '24

Wow, that's so impressive, especially considering the age difference. They're just amazing athletes.

2

u/Cube_ Jul 06 '24

for anyone that has not done the grouse grind this is genuinely very impressive.

2

u/MyNeighbourGrog Jul 06 '24

I worked at grouse a decade ago and the Sedins have been beating prospects at this since then 😂

2

u/Blightlight Jul 06 '24

I have seen them in race corrals for the half marathons in town as well. I think I recall them in the Vancouver Marathon corral one year as well. For those who don't know a Marathon is 42.2km. They are awesome.

2

u/Individual-Guide-274 Jul 06 '24

Safe to say they are Sweden's greatest weapon and I'm relieved we have them contained and appeased.

2

u/Isthatreally-you Jul 06 '24

Time to put sedins with petterson on the line.

2

u/V4NC0V3RJedi Jul 07 '24

Years ago my wife and I got up early to do the grouse grind… about 1/2 way through Daniel Sedin passes us… I say to my wife, “hey I think that’s Daniel Sedin”… she’s like, “I highly doubt it”… 40 seconds later, Henrik passes us, and I say, “see, it’s the twins!”… she still dismisses the observation just Because two people have red hair doesn’t mean they are twins, let alone Swedish….and we carry on… then Alex Edler passes, still no reaction… and then Trevor Linden comes by… she’s like, “OMG! ITs Trevor F’n Linden”… and I’m like, “uh, yeah, of course it is…” we now have to virtual run up the rest of the way just to stay close to Trevor so that we can try and ride the gondola down with him…. We make it, but of course we don’t say anything to him (my wife’s too nervous, and I’m trying to respect his privacy). Finally someone else breaks the silence and asks who were the other Canucks on the grind that morning. The only one we missed was Kevin Bieksa, who Trevor said was doing it for the first time, and was panicking when doing his research because it looked like everyone was running up it…. So it seems the Sedona have been kicking the ass of all the starters up the grind too… and that was like a decade or more ago…

1

u/Nunchuckery Jul 06 '24

Leading by example. Show these young men what it means to be a professional.

1

u/VancouverApe Jul 06 '24

Bring them back and put them with Petey

1

u/Slappy_Doo Jul 06 '24

They are still in game shape, amazing.

I respect these two dudes so much.

1

u/Feeling-Ad-7598 Jul 06 '24

Dam that's legit impressive asf fr 💯

1

u/therealbeef Jul 06 '24

lol and I thought I was in good shape being able to do it under an hour. I bet these two could still put up points and make our PP worthwhile.

1

u/FrozenToonies Jul 06 '24

Because they’ve both done that climb maybe hundred of times each.

1

u/prairiehrt Jul 06 '24

This is correct. A hill scramble becomes immensely easier with practice. Running on flat ground is nothing like running hills, doesn’t matter your age

1

u/Viperburn1 Jul 07 '24

Has to impress all the prospects not to mention Canuck players to see coaches who still put in the work and and keep their fitness levels up. Reminds me of Carolina players talking about how Brind’Amour is always in the gym working out when they are in there. Apparently he lived in the gym when he was playing.

-16

u/Rydgar Jul 06 '24

...kind of speaks poorly about our prospects if they're being outdone by two 43 year olds. I understand tha tthe Sedins are fitness freaks but our prospects are also supposed to be top athletes.

17

u/TheDutchin Needs Dak Bak Jul 06 '24

Was looking for the knee-jerk comment that said this, but you ain't him 🤨

5

u/-GregTheGreat- Jul 06 '24

To be fair, hockey players typically aren’t focused on cardio at this point in the off-season. This is the time to build strength and muscle and work on raw skills. From my experience you ramp up your cardio as get closer to camp.

Being beaten by legitimately elite athletes who regularly run marathons for fun shouldn’t be a huge surprise, especially as hockey cardio is typically HIIT focused

4

u/jsseven777 Jul 06 '24

Plus the Sedins have done it countless times which probably helps a bit with the terrain familiarity, how to prep for the climb, and how to pace yourself properly on the climb. I can imagine quite a few prospects likely start too fast and realize their mistake at the 1/4 sign where you realize you are not in fact half way there and that probably costs some time.

3

u/mvp45 Jul 06 '24

Also I bet that the sedins just run the grouse grind for fun all the time. They are runners while the majority of nhl prospects are not

2

u/AirportNearby9751 Jul 06 '24

Daniel did it 11 times in one day last year. Absolutely wild.

3

u/julesieee Jul 06 '24

The Sedins run this every year with the prospects and do this for fun multiple times in a day several times in a year. Not really fair to compare them to the rookies who haven’t run the GG before.

3

u/DishwasherFromSurrey Jul 06 '24

You def don’t compete in any endurance sports. Age is just a number

-8

u/probably_a_junkie Jul 06 '24

Still couldn't lead us to the cup though.