Robert Nilsson

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Robert Nilsson (born on January 10, 1985 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) is a NHL prospect for the Edmonton Oilers.

He was born in Canada while his father Kent Nilsson (one of the greatest Swedish NHL players) played for the Calgary Flames, but he spent most of his life in Sweden. He represented Sweden at the 2003, 2004, and 2005 World Junior Championships. He was drafted by the Islanders with the 15th overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

He scored his first career goal on October 29, 2005 against the Buffalo Sabres.

Nilsson started the 2005-06 season with the Islanders, but he struggled to adjust to the NHL style of play and was sent down to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Islanders AHL team. The move proved to be wise as Nilsson saw plenty of ice time and showed off his world class hockey skills. After scoring 28 points (8 goals, 20 assists) in 29 games for the Sound Tigers, Nilsson was recalled to finish the year with the Islanders. And Robert has started opening eyes with his incredible offensive package and he put up points playing on the top line with team captain Alexei Yashin and close friend Sean Bergenheim.

On February 27, 2007, he was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers with Ryan O'Marra and the New York Islanders 1st round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft for Ryan Smyth.

He scored his first goal as an Oiler on Thursday, March 15, 2007.

[edit] Talent analysis

Some compare Nilsson's ceiling to NHL superstar (and fellow Swede) Peter Forsberg. Like Forsberg, Nilsson has vision that allows him to make accurate passes to his teammates and create scoring chances from scratch. He also possesses good speed and a hard and accurate shot. The only knock on Robert is his defensive zone play (which is not nearly as good as Forsberg's was at his age). That, however, has not stopped many great players from having successful careers.

[edit] Trivia

  • Is close friends with former teammates Sean Bergenheim and Petteri Nokelainen.
  • His nickname is "Mini Magic" (his father's nickname was "Mr. Magic").
  • Wayne Gretzky is his godfather.
  • When he played in his NHL debut against Rangers in Madison Square Garden his father was in attendance. When asked about his sons performance 'Mr Magic' replied that it was a very good debut, but on the other hand, he himself made a hat trick in his first MSG game.
  • Was named the CCM Vector/ AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 19, 2006. Nilsson scored four goals and had three assists for seven points in three games to help the Sound Tigers go 2-0-0-1 during the week.

[edit] External links

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