Son of Canucks legend Henrik Sedin makes pro soccer debut

The Sedin family has produced another pro athlete.

Valter Sedin, the 17-year-old son of Vancouver Canucks legend Henrik Sedin, made his pro soccer debut on Sunday with Whitecaps FC 2, the reserve team for Vancouver’s MLS franchise.

Whitecaps FC 2 is an MLS Next Pro team that plays out of Swangard Stadium. It’s one step away from MLS, as players can be called up from WFC2 to the Whitecaps’ first team and play matches at BC Place.

A midfielder, Valter joined the Whitecaps FC Pre-Academy in 2020 and has been rising through the ranks ever since. The Whitecaps featured him in a video on social media last year when he was playing in League 1 BC, the highest semi-pro level in Canada.

“My short-term goals are obviously to make it onto a national team, and my long-term goals are to play professionally for the Vancouver Whitecaps,” Valter said at the time.

“Growing up with a dad who was a star athlete in Vancouver, it doesn’t seem normal to many people. To me, it was normal. Some of my favourite memories are just being in and around the training environment and getting to watch my dad play.”

The Sedin twins have made Vancouver their home since retiring from pro hockey in 2018. Henrik and his wife Johanna have two sons. Daniel Sedin and his wife Marinette have three children, two daughters and one son.

Henrik and Daniel Sedin joined the Canucks’ front office in 2021, working first as “special advisors” to former GM Jim Benning. They moved into player development in 2022 and have seen their roles evolve since then.

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