Kent Nilsson

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Kent Nilsson
Born (1956-08-31) 31 August 1956
Nynäshamn, Sweden
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Djurgårdens IF
Winnipeg Jets
Atlanta Flames
Calgary Flames
Minnesota North Stars
Edmonton Oilers
National team  Sweden
NHL Draft 64th overall, 1976
Atlanta Flames
WHA Draft 11th overall, 1976
Toronto Toros
Playing career 1976–1998

Kent Åke "Kenta" Nilsson (born 31 August 1956) is a retired professional ice hockey centre.

During his NHL career he was called "Mr. Magic" and "The Magic Man". In 2006 he was featured on HCZ, a Swedish reality show as coach for a hockey team of non-athletes.

He is currently working as a scout for the Florida Panthers, operating out of Europe.

Playing career

Nilsson began his career in 1973–74, playing for Djurgårdens IF during his first of four seasons in Sweden. He then came to North America, and played for the Winnipeg Jets of the WHA beginning in 1977. He scored two consecutive 100-point seasons in the WHA; and his offensive production continued when the league merged with the NHL. He was claimed by the Atlanta Flames, and in his first season with the team he scored 93 points. The next season, 1980–81, Atlanta moved to Calgary; Nilsson scored 131 points, which is still the team record, and he came third in NHL scoring.

Nilsson played with the Flames (with number 14) until 1984–85 when he was traded to the Minnesota North Stars for a draft pick that the Flames used to draft Joe Nieuwendyk. Nilsson won his first and only Stanley Cup while playing with the Edmonton Oilers in 1987. He returned to Europe after that season, playing in Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria and Norway. In 1988–89 he was named Player of the Year in Sweden. He returned to Edmonton for six games in 1995, which made him the last former Atlanta Flames player to play in the NHL. He then played briefly again in Europe until 1998.

Awards

Records

  • Most points scored by a Swedish player in a single NHL season (131 in 1980–81)
  • Calgary Flames team record for points in a single season (131 in 1980–81)
  • Calgary Flames team record for assists in a single season (82 in 1980–81)
  • Calgary Flames team record for shorthanded goals in a single season (9 in 1983–84)
  • 6th fastest player in NHL history to score 300 points (215 GP) behind Wayne Gretzky (159), Mario Lemieux (186), Peter Stastny (186), Eric Lindros (210) & Cy Denneny (212)
  • 8th fastest player in NHL history to score 400 points (298 GP) behind Wayne Gretzky (197), Mario Lemieux (240), Peter Stastny (247), Eric Lindros (277), Mike Bossy (283), Sidney Crosby (292) & Bryan Trottier (296)
  • 9th fastest player in NHL history to score 500 points (372 GP) behind Wayne Gretzky (234), Mario Lemieux (287), Peter Stastny (322), Mike Bossy (349), Eric Lindros (352), Jari Kurri (356), Bryan Trottier (361) & Sidney Crosby (369)[2]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
1973–74 Djurgårdens IF SEL 8 1 2 3 — 4 14 8 6 14 — 2
1974–75 Djurgårdens IF SEL 28 13 12 25 — 14 — — — — — —
1975–76 Djurgårdens IF SEL 36 28 26 54 — 10 — — — — — —
1976–77 AIK SEL 36 30 19 49 — 18 — — — — — —
1977–78 Winnipeg Jets WHA 80 42 65 107 +27 8 9 2 8 10 +2 10
1978–79 Winnipeg Jets WHA 78 39 68 107 +1 8 10 3 11 14 -1 4
1979–80 Atlanta Flames NHL 80 40 53 93 -3 10 4 0 0 0 — 2
1980–81 Calgary Flames NHL 80 49 82 131 +15 26 14 3 9 12 — 2
1981–82 Calgary Flames NHL 41 26 29 55 -20 8 3 0 3 3 — 2
1982–83 Calgary Flames NHL 80 46 58 104 +5 10 9 1 11 12 — 2
1983–84 Calgary Flames NHL 67 31 49 80 -24 22 — — — — — —
1984–85 Calgary Flames NHL 77 37 62 99 -4 14 3 0 1 1 -2 0
1985–86 Minnesota North Stars NHL 61 16 44 60 +4 10 5 1 4 5 +2 0
1986–87 Minnesota North Stars NHL 44 13 33 46 +2 12 — — — — — —
1986–87 Edmonton Oilers NHL 17 5 12 17 +10 4 21 6 13 19 +11 6
1987–88 HC Bolzano LIHG 35 60 72 132 — 48 8 14 14 28 — ?
1987–88 SC Langnau NLA 2 2 0 2 — — — — — — — —
1988–89 Djurgårdens IF SEL 35 21 21 42 — 36 1 0 1 1 — 0
1989–90 EHC Kloten NLA 36 21 19 40 — — 5 4 5 9 — —
1990–91 EHC Kloten NLA 33 37 39 76 — — 8 3 8 11 — —
1991–92 EHC Kloten NLA 17 11 14 25 — 8 2 0 0 0 — 2
1992–93 Djurgårdens IF SEL 40 11 20 31 — 20 6 2 3 5 — 0
1993–94 Graz EC Alp 30 15 33 48 — — — — — — — —
1993–94 Graz EC AUS 27 8 9 17 — — — — — — — —
1994–95 Vålerengens IF NOR 6 1 1 2 — 8 — — — — — —
1994–95 Edmonton Oilers NHL 6 1 0 1 -5 0 — — — — — —
1995–96 Nynäshamns IF Sweden-3 2 2 3 5 — 6 — — — — — —
1997–98 CH Majadahonda ESP 6 8 12 20 — — 2 3 8 11 — —
SEL totals 183 104 100 204 — 102 21 10 10 20 — 2
WHA totals 158 81 133 214 +28 16 19 5 19 24 +1 14
NHL totals 553 264 422 686 -20 116 59 11 41 52 +11 14
NLA totals 88 71 72 143 — 8 15 7 13 20 — 2

International play

International statistics

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1973 Sweden EJC 5 8 7 15 2
1974 Sweden EJC 5 5 5 10 0
1975 Sweden WJC 6 3 3 6 0
1976 Sweden WJC 4 1 3 4 2
1981 Sweden CC 5 0 2 2 4
1984 Sweden CC 8 3 8 11 4
1985 Sweden WC 8 6 5 11 6
1987 Sweden CC 6 0 4 4 4
1989 Sweden WC 10 3 11 14 0
1990 Sweden WC 10 10 2 12 6
International totals 67 39 50 89 28

Family

Nilsson has been married since 2005 to Swedish golfer Helen Alfredsson. He occasionally caddies for her in professional events. He is also the father of Robert Nilsson, a former Edmonton Oilers player, in an earlier marriage.

References

  1. ↑ WHA Hall of Fame Members
  2. ↑ "Hockey Summary Project". Hsp.flyershistory.com. Retrieved 2012-03-07. 

External links

Preceded by
Bo Berglund		 Golden Puck
1989 		Succeeded by
Rolf Ridderwall
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