Bio file: Mats Sundin

Hockey Digest, Jan, 2003 by Scoop Malinowski

Team: Toronto

Position: Center

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 220

Birthday: February 13, 1971, in Bromma, Sweden

Childhood heroes: Kent Nilsson, Mats Naslund

Nickname: "Weed. I kind of like it. I don't know how it started exactly, but it began when I came to Toronto from the Quebec Nordiques. I don't know if it was Dougie Gilmour or whoever it was, but it started my first year as a Maple Leaf."

Hobbies and interests: "Golf. Pike fishing. I read a lot of Swedish literature to make sure I don't lose my Swedish language. Boating. Water-skiing."

Early hockey memory: "My best memory as a kid was from 1986 when I played in TV Puck--a nationwide tournament for 14-year-olds that we won. We won 7-2. I had two goals and an assist. It was a great thrill because it was the first time that my games were on TV, my first time playing in front of a TV audience."

Pregame feeling: "Relaxed. Get a good rest Don't try to think about anything. Relax body and mind. Prepare for that night's game. Visualize. Put it in my mind that I'm having a good game and I'm doing my job out there. I work hard trying to visualize that."

Favorite movies: "Pulp Fiction," "Shawshank Redemption"

Favorite TV show: "The Late Show with David Letterman"

Favorite meal: "A lot of meat--though have to a lot of pasta--with soda pop."

Favorite breakfast cereal: Oatmeal with sugar and milk

Favorite ice cream flavor: Chocolate

First job: "Electrician [at the age of 17] for a week. I got fired. They tested me and my buddy Christopher for a week and they caught my buddy sleeping, so they fired me, too. That was it, the end of my electrician career."

First car: A black Ford Escort

Most painful hockey moments: "There have been a lot. Losing to Chicago in the playoffs in my first year with the Maple Leafs [1995]. We lost in the seventh game, 5-4 in overtime. We were up 2-0 in the series. Also losing to the Sabres in the 1999 playoffs. Those were the hardest moments."

Toughest competitors: "I always thought Ray Bourque was a great competitor. Obviously I'm looking at defensemen and goalies because they're the ones I have to battle with all the time ... Bourque was very persistent He played hard every night. It's simple as that. It's simple but it's probably the toughest thing to do in hockey--to be consistent, play at a certain level on every night. And he did it for over 20 years."

Qualities most admired in people: "Honesty is the biggest thing I admire, respect, and look for. And it's something that's kind of disappearing in some people nowadays."

Future ambitions: "Obviously, get a family. I'm still single. Winning a Stanley Cup for Toronto, that's the biggest dream and the biggest goal."