Henrik Sedin’s son Valter set for major league debut
Henrik Sedin was on the ice at Rogers Arena for a Vancouver Canucks charity game on Friday night, but 24 hours later, he has a big decision to make—go to the Canucks’ final preseason game against the Seattle Kraken or walk across the street to BC Place for his son’s soccer game.
It’s a far cry from any regular soccer game, though. His son, Valter Sedin, has signed a short-term contract with the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer, North America’s top professional league, after moving up from the club’s second team, which plays in MLS Next Pro.
Saturday’s match is against D.C. United, with teams missing several players due to international games happening at the same time.
The 19-year-old, born in Vancouver while his dad played for the Canucks, developed through the Whitecaps academy before moving to the youth ranks of highly regarded Swedish club Hammarby IF. Earlier this year, he rejoined the Whitecaps on a professional contract and has turned heads, earning his most recent call-up a month after representing Canada’s U20 team in World Cup and Olympic qualifying.
Saturday’s call-up comes after he trained with the first team earlier in the week, earning praise from noted hockey fan, World Cup champion and German soccer legend Thomas Müller, as well as the Whitecaps head coach, Jesper Sorensen.
“You mean the son of Henrik?” Müller said when asked about the 19-year-old’s practice performance earlier in the week. “He was in the defensive part, so he was kind of just running after the ball. They did a great job, the red team. We had no big chances to score. What that means about Mr. Sedin, I think we have to wait a bit.”
Added Sorensen on Check TV: “With Valter, we have an interesting young prospect who is a promising midfield player with great physical attributes in terms of stamina, and he has great running capacity. He’s also technically skilled. He’s one of the other players on the MLS Next team who are very talented, and it’s great for us to have players who are talented and ready to move up if need be.”
Valter’s call—marking the first time a Sedin will play a top-tier professional game in Vancouver since 2018—comes on Henrik and Daniel Sedin’s 45th birthday and the final day of the Canucks’ preseason schedule, with the newly appointed co-presidents focused on Sept. 29’s NHL season opener against the Edmonton Oilers.
