Henrik Sedin’s son Valter signs professional deal with Vancouver Whitecaps
A Sedin will be a professional athlete in Vancouver for the first time since Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin hung up their skates with the Vancouver Canucks in 2018, as Henrik’s son, Valter Sedin, inked a professional deal with Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 through June 2028.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 is the reserve team of Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps and serves as a developmental step between the club’s youth academy systems and the first team. It competes in MLS Next Pro, the second-tier feeder league for MLS, and players are eligible to be called up to top-division games on short-term loan agreements, either for the regular season or various cup competitions.
Valter, 19, briefly played for Whitecaps FC 2 in 2023 after impressing at the club’s youth levels. Yet, he spent the last two seasons in Sweden with Hammarby IF’s U19s, playing in the youth system for one of the Scandinavian nation’s biggest clubs, before making his official return to Vancouver with a two-year contract on Thursday.
The move back to Vancouver comes after an impressive summer with the Canadian U20 national team, where he helped the nation qualify for the 2027 U20 World Cup, marking its first return to the tournament since Canada auto-qualified as hosts in 2007. He netted a goal in a clash against Jamaica but couldn’t help the team qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, falling to Mexico in the semifinals.
“I’m excited to be back at the club and to sign a professional contract,” said Sedin in the Whitecaps’ announcement. “I’m looking forward to continuing to develop my game, and to continue pushing forward in my career.”
Added sporting director Axel Schuster: “Valter grew through our academy program before testing himself in Sweden. He is a young player who has always had the right mentality, and he did very well in helping Canada qualify for the U20 World Cup. We look forward to continuing to work with him in his development.”
Whitecaps FC 2 currently sit 13th of 14 teams in the Western Conference of MLS Next Pro with five games remaining in the regular season, including three on home turf at Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium. However, Sedin could also be eligible to earn a call-up to the Whitecaps’ MLS squad, which is in contention for the 2026 MLS Cup, after losing in the 2025 final to Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
