Niklas Hjalmarsson
| Niklas Hjalmarsson | |
|---|---|
 Hjalmarsson with the Chicago Blackhawks in December 2014 | |
| Born | June 6, 1987 Eksjö, Sweden |
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Weight | 93 kg (205 lb; 14 st 9 lb) |
| Position | Defense |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team Former teams |
Chicago Blackhawks HV71 |
| National team |  Sweden |
| NHL Draft | 108th overall, 2005 Chicago Blackhawks |
| Playing career | 2004–present |
Niklas Hjalmarsson (born June 6, 1987) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has won two Stanley Cups as well as a silver Olympic medal.
Playing career
Hjalmarsson was drafted 108th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. He played professionally for 3 years in the Elitserien with HV71.
In the 2007–08 season, his first in North America, Hjalmarsson made his NHL debut with the Blackhawks. After spending the majority of the season with the Rockford IceHogs, he procured a regular spot on the roster with James Wisniewski's trade to the Anaheim Ducks.
He scored his first NHL goal against Chris Osgood of the Detroit Red Wings.
Hjalmarsson became a major installment into the Blackhawks lineup late in the 2008–2009 season and coming into the 2009–2010 season. He played 77 games in the regular season and all 22 in the playoffs for the team, tallying over 19 minutes per game, switching between a position in the second and third lines of defensive pairings. Over that time, he recorded a production value (PROD) of a point roughly every 45 minutes of it, while his season PROD was 89 minutes. A slapshot of Hjalmarsson's was redirected by Andrew Ladd to take a 3–2 lead in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals where his team won in 4–3 in overtime.
He won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 and 2013.
On July 9, 2010 Hjalmarsson signed an offer sheet with the San Jose Sharks for 4 years and $14 million.[1] On July 12 the Chicago Blackhawks announced that they would match the offer sheet. Hjalmarsson was the first defenseman in 13 years to receive an offer sheet as a restricted free agent. Critically, Chicago's matching of the offer sheet meant that they did not have enough cap space to re-sign Antti Niemi, who ended up joining the Sharks later that offseason.
During 2012–13 NHL lockout Hjalmarsson played in Italian Serie A and in the IIHF Continental Cup with the HC Bolzano.
The Chicago Blackhawks won the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals.[2] Hjalmarsson became the tenth Swede to win the Stanley Cup more than once.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2004–05 | HV71 | SEL | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | HV71 | SEL | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | IK Oskarshamn | Swe-1 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | HV71 | SEL | 37 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 47 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 31 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 52 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 21 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2009–10 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 77 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 2010–11 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 80 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 39 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2011–12 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 69 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | Bolzano HC | Serie A | 16 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 46 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 22 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 81 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 34 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 | ||
| NHL totals | 387 | 13 | 69 | 82 | 142 | 94 | 1 | 20 | 21 | 36 | ||||
| SEL totals | 55 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 24 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Competitor for Sweden
| ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Silver | 2014 Sochi | |
| IIHF World U18 Championships | ||
| Bronze | 2005 Plzen | |
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Sweden | U18 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 2007 | Sweden | WJC | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2012 | Sweden | WC | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Sweden | Oly | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 14 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | |||
| Senior totals | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |||
See also
References
- ↑ "Sharks sign free agent D Hjalmarsson to offer sheet". TSN. Associated Press. 9 July 2010. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ↑ Klein, Jeff Z. (24 June 2013). "17 Seconds, 2 Goals and a Victory". New York Times. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Niklas Hjalmarsson. |
- Niklas Hjalmarsson's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Niklas Hjalmarsson's Hockey-Reference page