Mikael Backlund

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Mikael Backlund
Born (1989-03-17) March 17, 1989
Västerås, Sweden
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team Calgary Flames
National team  Sweden
NHL Draft 24th overall, 2007
Calgary Flames
Playing career 2008–present

Mikael Backlund (born March 17, 1989) is a Swedish professional ice hockey centre for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a first round selection, 24th overall, of the Flames in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, and made his NHL debut in 2008–09.

Playing career

Backlund began his junior hockey career with the VIK Västerås HK organization in the J20 SuperElit, Sweden's premier junior league. His impressive two-way play earned him the opportunity to play for Västerås' senior team in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan as a sixteen-year-old. In his debut on November 2, 2005, during an away game against Växjö Lakers, Backlund scored a goal in the first period of a 4–0 win and was selected as the player of the game for his team.[citation needed] He tallied four points in his twelve games in HockeyAllsvenskan during the 2005–06 season. That same season, Backlund was dominant in the 2006 TV-pucken, a national under-17 tournament in Sweden played among districts. Leading the tournament in goal- and point-scoring, he was selected as the most valuable player and given the Sven Tumba Award as best forward in the tournament.[1]

Backlund played another two seasons for Västerås HK, splitting time in the J20 SuperElit and HockeyAllsvenskan. During this time, he was selected in the first round, 24th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Scouts had ranked him second among European players.[2] Following the 2007–08 season, Backlund signed an entry-level contract with the Flames.[3] He impressed during the rookie camp but was not as successful during the main training camp,[4][5] and started the 2008–09 season playing on loan for Västerås back in HockeyAllsvenskan.[5] After his success in the 2009 World Junior Championships, he returned to Calgary and made his NHL debut on 8 January 2009 in a 5–2 win against the New York Islanders. Soon thereafter, the Flames assigned him to the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL for the remainder of the 2008–09 season. Competing for the Rockets in the 2009 WHL playoffs, Backlund was named Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Player of the Week on April 21 after scoring 5 points in 2 games against the Vancouver Giants in the semifinals.[6]

Backlund began the 2009–10 season with the Flames' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat. On January 26, 2010, he was called up to play on the NHL squad,[7] and scored his first NHL goal on January 28 against the Phoenix Coyotes. He split the season between the AHL and NHL, scoring 32 points in 54 games in Abbotsford, and 10 points in 23 games with Calgary.[8] Though he spent most of the 2010–11 season in Calgary, Backlund struggled offensively early, and after scoring just eight points in his first 32 games, was sat out of six consecutive games as a healthy scratch before being sent to Abbotsford on a brief conditioning stint.[9] He appeared in 73 games for the Flames, scoring 10 goals and 25 points.[10]

Backlund skating against the Penguins in 2013

Injuries plagued Backlund throughout 2011–12. He was expected to centre the top line between Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay, but suffered a broken finger in training camp that twice required surgery to repair and caused him to miss the first six weeks of the season.[11] He then suffered a shoulder injury in a mid-February game while attempting to confront a Vancouver Canucks player he felt had injured a teammate.[12] The injury ended his season, and in 41 games, he scored only 11 points.[13]

Following the season, the Flames re-signed Backlund to a new contract for the 2012–13 season, a one-year deal worth US$725,000.[14] However, with the season's start delayed by a labour dispute, Backlund returned to Sweden for the balance of the lockout. He re-joined Västerås and appeared in 23 games for the team, scoring 12 goals and 30 points before returning to North America after a new deal between the NHL and its players was reached. His performance with Västerås provided a confidence boost for Backlund, who said that he wanted to return to Calgary and "show everybody I can play way better".

In July 2013, the Flames re-signed Backlund to a 2-year, $3 million contract.[15]

International play

Mikael Backlund
Medal record
Competitor for  Sweden
Ice hockey
World U18 Junior Championships
Bronze 2007 Finland
World Junior Championships
Silver 2008 Czech Republic
Silver 2009 Canada
World Championships
Bronze 2010 Germany
Silver 2011 Slovakia

Backlund played for Sweden in the 2006 World U18 Championships, scoring one goal in three games. In 2007 he led Sweden to a U18 bronze medal when he scored a natural hat-trick in a 8–3 win over Canada in the bronze medal game. He led the tournament in goal-scoring with six goals in six games.[16]

Backlund was a member of the Swedish team that won back-to-back silvers in the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Championships, losing to Canada in both instances. He scored the game-winning goal in overtime in the 2008 semi-final against Russia. The next year, he recorded a two-goal game in the semi-final against Slovakia.

After being eliminated in the second round of the AHL playoffs Backlund was invited to play for Sweden at the World Championships and accepted.

Awards

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06 Västerås HK J20 2515163130 —————
2005–06 Västerås HK Swe-2 1222414 —————
2006–07 Västerås HK J20 75498 51014
2006–07 Västerås HK Swe-2 1812314 —————
2007–08 Västerås HK J20 9761320 —————
2007–08 Västerås HK Swe-2 37941324 146394
2008–09 Västerås HK J20 23250 —————
2008–09 Västerås HK Swe-2 1744839 —————
2008–09 Calgary Flames NHL 10000 —————
2008–09 Kelowna Rockets WHL 2812183026 1913102326
2009–10 Abbotsford Heat AHL 54 15 17 32 26 13 1 8 9 14
2009–10 Calgary Flames NHL 23 1 9 10 6 — — — — —
2010–11 Calgary Flames NHL 73 10 15 25 18 — — — — —
2010–11 Abbotsford Heat AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2011–12 Calgary Flames NHL 41 4 7 11 16 — — — — —
2012–13 Västerås HK Swe-2 23 12 18 30 22 — — — — —
2012–13 Calgary Flames NHL 32 8 8 16 29 — — — — —
NHL totals 170 23 39 62 69 0 0 0 0 0
Statistics complete to the end of the 2012–13 season

International

Year Team Comp GP G A Pts PIM
2006 Sweden U18 3 1 0 1 0
2007 Sweden U18 6 6 1 7 6
2008 Sweden WJC 6 3 4 7 10
2009 Sweden WJC 6 5 2 7 6
2010 Sweden WC 6 0 1 1 2
2011 Sweden WC 9 3 2 5 2
Junior totals 21 15 7 22 22
Senior totals 15 3 3 6 4

References

  1. ↑ "Hederspriser i TV-pucken" (PDF) (in Swedish). Swedish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 2011-05-09. 
  2. ↑ "ISS Top 30 for 2007 -- Final Ranking". hockeysfuture.com. 2007-06-12. Retrieved 2009-05-18. 
  3. ↑ "Flames sign 2007 draft choice Mikael Backlund". calgaryflames.com. 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2009-01-09. 
  4. ↑ Compton, Brian (2008-08-29). "Nemisz burns bright among Flames prospects". NHL.com. Retrieved 2009-01-09. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Flames prospect Backlund to spend remainder of season in North America". Canadian Press. NHL.com. 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2009-01-09. 
  6. ↑ "Rockets' Mikael Backlund Named Boston Pizza CHL Player of the Week". Western Hockey League. 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2009-04-22. 
  7. ↑ "Backlund Recalled". calgaryflames.com. 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2010-01-30. 
  8. ↑ "Mikael Backlund hoping to make impact with Flames this year". The Sports Network. 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2012-01-08. 
  9. ↑ MacFarlane, Steve (2011-01-02). "Backlund cool to Heat demotion". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 2013-01-08. 
  10. ↑ "Mikael Backlund profile". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2013-01-08. 
  11. ↑ Sportak, Randy (2011-11-10). "Flames Backlund to play Friday". QMI Agency. Retrieved 2013-01-08. 
  12. ↑ Gilbertson, Wes (2012-02-11). "Let's hope Backlund injury isn't long term". QMI Agency. Retrieved 2013-01-08. 
  13. ↑ Cruickshank, Scott (2012-10-04). "Backlund signs two-month deal with Swedish Elite League club". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2013-01-08. 
  14. ↑ "Flames re-sign Mikael Backlund: NHL free agency roundup". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2012-07-05. Retrieved 2013-01-08. 
  15. ↑ Sportak, Randy (2013-01-08). "Rejuvenated Backlund eager to show what he can do". Calgary Sun. p. S6. 
  16. ↑ "GOAL SCORING LEADERS" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 2007-04-22. Retrieved 2009-01-09. 

http://theahl.com/heat-s-backlund-named-player-of-the-week-p141086

External links

Preceded by
Leland Irving		 Calgary Flames first round draft pick
2007 		Succeeded by
Greg Nemisz
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