Niklas Kronwall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Defenceman |
| Shoots | Left |
| Nickname | Nick Jr |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 189 lb (86 kg) |
| NHL Team | Detroit Red Wings |
| Nationality |  Sweden |
| Born | January 12, 1981, Järfälla, SWE |
| NHL Draft | 29th overall, 2000 Detroit Red Wings |
| Pro Career | 1999 – present |
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Ice hockey | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 2006 Turin | Ice hockey | |
| World Championships | |||
| Gold | 2006 | Team | |
| Silver | 2003 | Team | |
Niklas Kronwall (Born January 12, 1981, in Stockholm, Sweden), is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. He is sometimes jokingly referred to as 'Nick Jr' (in reference to fellow Swede and Red Wing Nicklas Lidström). His brother Staffan Kronwall plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
Niklas Kronwall was selected in the 1st round, 29th overall, in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. He continued to play for Djurgårdens IF Hockey until he came to North America in 2003. He played 20 games for Detroit in the 2003-04 NHL season, scoring 1 goal and 4 assists for 5 points, to go along with 16 penalty minutes.
During the 2004-05 NHL Lockout, Kronwall played a complete season for the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Red Wings' top affiliate in the American Hockey League. He notched 13 goals and 40 assists in 76 games while also playing a solid defense. For his efforts, Kronwall was awarded the Eddie Shore Award as the top defenseman in the AHL.
Kronwall was injured in an exhibition game against Colorado Avalanche in September 2005[1] and missed more than half of the 05-06 NHL season with a serious knee injury.
In late 2005 he was named member of the Swedish Olympic Team but dropped out in early 2006 due to his injured knee. When Mattias Öhlund was injured against Switzerland, Kronwall was called in to replace him.
He also played at the IIHF 2006 World Championship to win the other international gold medal. This makes him one of only eight players who have won both Olympic and WC gold the same year.
[edit] Awards
- Elitserien champion with Djurgårdens IF Hockey in 2000 and 2001.
- Elitserien Junior Hockey Player of the Year in 2000.
- Silver medal at the World Championships in 2003.
- Awarded the Eddie Shore Award (Outstanding Defenseman) in 2005.
- Named to the AHL First All-Star Team in 2005.
- Gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 2006.
- Gold medal at the World Championships in 2006.
- Named MVP and Best Defender in World Championships in 2006.
- Named to the World Championship All-Star Team in 2006.
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998-99 | Huddinge IK | Swe-2 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 24 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1999-00 | Djurgårdens IF | Elit | 37 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 2000-01 | Djurgårdens IF | Elit | 31 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 32 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2001-02 | Djurgårdens IF | Elit | 48 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2002-03 | Djurgårdens IF | Elit | 50 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 46 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 18 | ||
| 2003-04 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 20 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 16 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2003-04 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 25 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2004-05 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 76 | 13 | 40 | 53 | 53 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2005-06 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 27 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2005-06 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| Elitserien totals | 166 | 12 | 33 | 45 | 128 | 35 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 34 | ||||
| AHL totals | 102 | 15 | 51 | 66 | 73 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
| NHL totals | 47 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 44 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||||
[edit] References
- ^ Ted Kulfan (2005). Injury costs Wings' Kronwall. The Detroit News. Retrieved on September 21, 2006.
[edit] External links
Categories: 1981 births | Detroit Red Wings draft picks | Detroit Red Wings players | Djurgårdens IF Hockey players | Living people | National Hockey League first round draft picks | Olympic competitors for Sweden | Olympic gold medalists for Sweden | Swedish ice hockey players | Winter Olympics medalists
