- Nicklas Bäckström
-
This article is about the Swedish forward. For the Finnish goaltender, see Niklas Bäckström.
Nicklas Bäckström 
Born 23 November 1987
Valbo, SwedenHeight 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) Position Centre Shoots Left NHL team
Former teamsWashington Capitals
Brynäs IF (SEL)National team 
SwedenNHL Draft 4th overall, 2006
Washington CapitalsPlaying career 2004–present Website Backstrom19.com Nicklas Bäckström (born 23 November 1987) is a Swedish professional ice hockey centre and an alternate captain for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Contents
Early life
Bäckström's father Anders is a known Swedish hockey player who played his whole hockey career for Brynäs IF, totaling 10 seasons for the club. Nicklas mother Catrin Bäckström used to play handball in the Swedish Elite League in the late 70s and early 80s. Nicklas' older brother Kristoffer is a recently retired professional hockey player, but he only reached the second tier of the Swedish league system with Hammarby IF, and a shorter sejour in German league.
The family has now started a business together.
Playing career
Bäckström was a top prospect in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and was selected fourth overall by the Washington Capitals. With that, he became the fourth-highest drafted Swede, after Mats Sundin (first), Daniel Sedin (second) and Henrik Sedin (third). Victor Hedman was later picked second in 2009 and Gabriel Landeskog was picked second and Adam Larsson was picked fourth in 2011.
On 10 July 2006, it was announced that he had turned down an offer from the Capitals and had decided to play in Brynäs IF for at least one more season.
On 21 May 2007, Bäckström signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Capitals, to begin playing during the 2007–08 NHL season.
On 5 October 2007, he scored his first NHL point, an assist on a goal by fellow Swede Michael Nylander, against the Atlanta Thrashers.
Upon his arrival to the NHL, Bäckström was solid but not spectacular as he made the transition to the smaller ice rinks of North America. After an injury to Nylander, however, Bäckström was promoted to the first line, where he flourished. Playing alongside Alexander Ovechkin, Bäckström set NHL and team records while helping Ovechkin win the Art Ross Trophy and the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy.
Bäckström was the runner up to Chicago's Patrick Kane for the Calder Trophy. Kane had 1,087 votes while Bäckström had 872 votes. The Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews was third with 647. However, Bäckström was named to the All-Rookie Team along with Kane and Toews.[1]
In his second NHL season, Bäckström would go on to lead both the Capitals and Swedish NHL players with 66 assists, and added 22 goals for 88 points, placing him within the top ten NHL scorers in the 2008–09 regular season. Bäckström would again prove to be a force in the playoffs, tallying 15 points in 14 games.
Following the 2008–09 NHL playoffs, Bäckström was awarded the Viking Award for being the best Swedish-born player in the 2008–09 NHL season; he is only the second Capital to win this award, following behind Calle Johansson.
At the conclusion of the 2009–10 NHL season, Bäckström finished 4th in League scoring with 101 points, behind Henrik Sedin (112), Sidney Crosby (109) and Alexander Ovechkin (109).
Bäckström scored his first career playoff hat trick, including the overtime game winner against the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a round that they lost in seven games.
On 17 May 2010, Bäckström signed a ten-year, $67 million contract extension with the Washington Capitals.[2]
At the conclusion of the 2010–11 NHL season, Bäckström scored 65 points, which is the least for him for a single season.
International play
Medal record Competitor for SwedenMen's ice hockey World Championships Gold 2006 Riga World U18 Championships Bronze 2005 Plzeň He played his first game with the Swedish national team on 6 April 2006, in a game against Norway. He won the World Championship when he represented Sweden in the 2006 World Championship. As of that tournament he is the youngest Swedish player ever in an Ice Hockey World Championship tournament. Bäckström played the last four games in the WC (roster spot held open for Daniel Alfredsson) and was directly appointed to the first line together with idols Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzén.
On 27 December 2009, it was announced that Bäckström would play for Team Sweden in the 2010 Winter Olympics.[3]
Bäckström led Team Sweden in the 2010 Olympics with six points in four games before they were eliminated by Slovakia in the quarterfinals.[4]
Bäckström played for Sweden in:
- 2006 World Junior Championships
- 2006 World Championships (gold medal)
- 2007 World Junior Championships
- 2007 World Championships
- 2008 World Championships
- 2010 Winter Olympics
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts +/– PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM 2003–04 Brynäs IF J20 21 2 6 8 — 2 5 0 0 0 — 4 2004–05 Brynäs IF J20 29 17 17 34 — 24 — — — — — — 2004–05 Brynäs IF SEL 19 0 0 0 — 2 — — — — — — 2005–06 Brynäs IF SEL 46 10 16 26 — 30 4 1 0 1 — 2 2005–06 Brynäs IF J20 — — — — — — 1 0 0 0 — 2 2006–07 Brynäs IF SEL 45 12 28 40 — 46 7 3 3 6 — 6 2007–08 Washington Capitals NHL 82 14 55 69 +13 24 7 4 2 6 +3 2 2008–09 Washington Capitals NHL 82 22 66 88 +16 46 14 3 12 15 +3 8 2009–10 Washington Capitals NHL 82 33 68 101 +37 50 7 5 4 9 +7 4 2010–11 Washington Capitals NHL 77 18 47 65 +24 40 9 0 2 2 0 4 SEL totals 110 22 44 66 — 78 11 4 3 7 8 — NHL totals 323 87 236 323 +90 160 37 12 20 32 +13 14 International
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 2005 Sweden Jr. WJC U18 7 2 3 5 4 2006 Sweden Jr. WJC 6 4 3 7 2 2006 Sweden WC 4 0 0 0 0 2007 Sweden Jr. WJC 7 0 7 7 20 2007 Sweden WC 9 1 5 6 4 2008 Sweden WC 9 3 4 7 4 2010 Sweden Oly 4 1 5 6 0 Junior int'l totals 38 10 19 29 44 Senior int'l totals 41 8 17 25 12 Awards
- Junior Hockey Player of the Year (2006)
- Elitserien Rookie of the Year (2006)
- NHL Rookie of the Month: December 2007
- NHL No. 1 Star of the Week: weeks ending 16 November 2008; and 7 December 2009.
- NHL All-Rookie Team (2007–08)
- Finalist, 2007–08 Calder Memorial Trophy
- Viking Award (2009)
Records
- Youngest Swedish player ever in World Championship (18 years and 6 months).[5]
- First NHL rookie to record four assists in two consecutive games.[6]
- Most assists in a season by a rookie, Washington Capitals team record (55 assists), 2007–08 NHL season.
References
- ^ El-Bashir, Tariq, (12 June 2008) "A.O. Snags Hart, Pearson; Boudreau Wins Adams", Washington Post, 30 April 2010.
- ^ "Washington Capitals' Nicklas Bäckström signs $67 million contract". Associated Press. 17 May 2010.
- ^ "'Gus' picks 13 Turin Champs ", 27 December 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2010
- ^ http://www.nbcolympics.com/hockey/statistics/gender=m/fullPoints.html
- ^ Bob McKenzie (2006). "”Top 30 Draft Prospects”". TSN.ca. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=10738&hubname. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- ^ Brian Hunter (2008-01-22). "”Caps win a shootout from the start”". NHL.com. http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=350789. Retrieved 2008-01-22.[dead link]
External links
- Official website
- Nicklas Bäckström's career stats at Eliteprospects.com
- Nicklas Bäckström's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
- Nicklas Bäckström – player profile and career stats at European Hockey.Net
Preceded by
Joe FinleyWashington Capitals first round draft pick
2006Succeeded by
Semyon VarlamovCategories:- 1987 births
- Living people
- People from Gävle Municipality
- Brynäs IF players
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- Swedish ice hockey players
- Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Washington Capitals draft picks
- Washington Capitals players
- Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden
- Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
