Niklas Andersson

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Position	Left Wing
Shoots	Left
Height Weight	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg)
Elitserien Team	Frölunda HC
Nationality	Sweden
Born	May 20, 1971, Kungälv, SWE
NHL Draft	68th overall, 1989 Quebec Nordiques
Pro Career	1989 – present

Per Niklas Andersson (born May 20, 1971 in Kungalv, Sweden) is a professional ice hockey player. He plays forward, mostly as a left winger, and has spent time with several National Hockey League teams as well as playing professionally in Europe. He is a fast skating player with good offensive instincts, who has struggled somewhat with physical play in the NHL.

[edit] Playing career

Andersson was selected in the 4th round (68th overall) of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques, while he was playing in his native Sweden for Västra Frölunda HC. At the age of 20, he left Sweden to play in the American Hockey League for the Nordiques' affiliate, the Halifax Citadels. He played there for two years until the team moved to Cornwall, Ontario. After a year with Cornwall, he was signed as a free agent by the New York Islanders, and assigned to their International Hockey League club, the Denver Grizzlies (which bacame the Utah Grizzlies the following year), until being recalled halfway through the 1995-1996 season. He finished that year with the Islanders, and played another there before signing with the San Jose Sharks prior to the 1997-1998 season.

Andersson spent the following year with two minor clubs, one in the AHL and one in the IHL. He was not re-signed by the Sharks, and instead went to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He never played in the NHL for the Leafs, and was instead sent to the IHL's Chicago Wolves until he traded back to the Islanders on August 17, 1999 for Craig Charron. Partway through the season he was claimed off of waivers by the Nashville Predators and played 7 games for them before being placed back on waivers and picked up by the Islanders again. He finished the year with them, playing in 17 games and scoring 10 points.

During the following offseason he was signed by the Calgary Flames, but played most of the seaosn in the IHL with the Chicago Wolves again. After that season, he returned to his native Sweden and his old Frölunda Indians, for whom he has been a key player for the past five seasons.