"The second time I went to see him, I called the coach first, just to make sure [Edler] was playing," Andersson says. "It turned out the coach was friends with an agent, and the agent starts sending e-mails to scouts, saying you should come and see this kid.
"When I think back -- and this has been on my mind many times -- I think that was my mistake. I never should have phoned the coach. It was just me being a little lazy."
Gradin says a friend of his called him about that time to tout Edler. Whether it was Andersson's phone call that trickled down far enough to eventually alert Gradin to the Red Wings' interest may never be known, but the timing is right.
Because of Jamtland's unexpectedly quick exit from the playoffs, nobody but the Canucks and Red Wings saw Edler play. There was no video from Ostersund, no scouting combine. NHL Central Scouting had never heard of him. But the Canucks and Wings knew about Edler, and knew about each other. Edler told them.
Fifteen minutes before the Dallas Stars were to choose 91st, former general manager Doug Armstrong agreed to give Nonis his third-round selection in exchange for the Canucks' third-rounder in 2005, which was to be a stronger draft class.
"As soon as the Canucks got that pick," Andersson says, "I told everyone at our table I'd eat everything on it if Vancouver didn't take Edler. We drafted Johan Franzen, so we still got a good prospect with our pick. But I still think about that phone call I made. The fun part in all this is seeing how well Alex is playing."