Niklas Andersson

Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing Sweden
World Championships
World Junior Championships

Niklas Andersson
Niklas Andersson
	Niklas Andersson playing for Frölunda HC in Italy in August 2005
Born	20 May 1971 (age 53); Kungälv, Sweden
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Frölunda HC; Quebec Nordiques; New York Islanders; San Jose Sharks; Nashville Predators; Calgary Flames
National team	Sweden
NHL draft	68th overall, 1989; Quebec Nordiques
Playing career	1987–2011

Niklas Per Andersson (born 20 May 1971) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey left winger. In his career, he spent time with several National Hockey League (NHL) teams as well as various minor professional teams in North America, but mostly played for Frölunda HC in the Swedish Elitserien. He is the younger brother of former hockey player Mikael Andersson and the father of Lias Andersson.

Playing career

Andersson was selected in the 4th round (68th overall) of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques, while he was playing in his native Sweden for Västra Frölunda HC. At the age of 20, he left Frölunda to play in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Nordiques' affiliate, the Halifax Citadels. He played there for two years until the team moved to Cornwall, Ontario. After a year with Cornwall he was signed as a free agent by the New York Islanders, and assigned to their International Hockey League (IHL) club, the Denver Grizzlies (which became the Utah Grizzlies the following year), until being recalled halfway through the 1995–96 season. He finished that year with the Islanders, and played another two before signing with the San Jose Sharks prior to the 1997–98 season.

Andersson spent the following year with two minor clubs, one in the AHL and one in the IHL. He was not re-signed by the Sharks, and instead went to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He never played in the NHL for the Leafs, and was instead sent to the IHL's Chicago Wolves until he traded back to the Islanders on 17 August 1999 for Craig Charron. Partway through the season he was claimed off of waivers by the Nashville Predators and played seven games for them before being placed back on waivers and picked up by the Islanders again. He finished the year with them, playing in 17 games and scoring 10 points.

During the following off season he was signed by the Calgary Flames, but played most of the season in the IHL with the Chicago Wolves again. After that season, he returned to his native Sweden and his old club Frölunda HC, for whom he had been a key player the past nine seasons.

On 9 March 2011, Andersson decided to retire completely from hockey, having played 763 games for Frölunda HC. He is currently an amateur scout covering Europe for the Los Angeles Kings.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1987–88	Västra Frölunda HC	SWE II	15	5	5	10	6	8	6	4	10	4
1988–89	Västra Frölunda HC	SWE II	30	12	24	36	24	10	4	6	10	4
1989–90	Västra Frölunda HC	SEL	38	10	19	29	14	—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Västra Frölunda HC	SEL	22	6	10	16	16	—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Västra Frölunda HC	Allsv	17	8	15	23	12	10	6	3	9	24
1991–92	Halifax Citadels	AHL	57	8	26	34	41	—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Halifax Citadels	AHL	76	32	50	82	42	—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	3	0	1	1	2	—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Cornwall Aces	AHL	42	18	34	52	8	—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Denver Grizzlies	IHL	66	22	39	61	28	15	8	13	21	10
1995–96	Utah Grizzlies	IHL	30	13	22	35	25	—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	New York Islanders	NHL	48	14	12	26	12	—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	New York Islanders	NHL	74	12	31	43	57	—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Utah Grizzlies	IHL	21	6	20	26	24	4	3	1	4	4
1997–98	Kentucky Thoroughblades	AHL	37	10	28	38	54	—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	San Jose Sharks	NHL	5	0	0	0	2	—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Chicago Wolves	IHL	65	17	47	64	49	10	2	2	4	10
1999–2000	Chicago Wolves	IHL	52	20	21	41	59	9	6	1	7	4
1999–2000	New York Islanders	NHL	17	3	7	10	8	—	—	—	—	—
1999–2000	Nashville Predators	NHL	7	0	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Chicago Wolves	IHL	66	33	39	72	81	16	1	14	15	14
2000–01	Calgary Flames	NHL	11	0	1	1	4	—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Västra Frölunda HC	SEL	41	14	32	46	64	7	0	2	2	6
2002–03	Västra Frölunda HC	SEL	49	24	18	42	59	15	3	7	10	8
2003–04	Västra Frölunda HC	SEL	46	17	19	36	80	7	1	7	8	2
2004–05	Frölunda HC	SEL	44	14	27	41	16	14	10	3	13	4
2005–06	Frölunda HC	SEL	50	13	38	51	53	17	6	10	16	10
2006–07	Frölunda HC	SEL	51	21	27	48	75	—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Frölunda HC	SEL	48	12	37	49	50	7	2	4	6	12
2008–09	Frölunda HC	SEL	52	16	21	37	22	11	3	4	7	10
2009–10	Frölunda HC	SEL	54	15	17	32	50	7	2	3	5	29
2010–11	Frölunda HC	SEL	53	14	30	44	30	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals			165	29	53	82	85	—	—	—	—	—
SEL totals			548	176	295	471	529	85	27	40	67	81

International

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1988	Sweden	EJC	6	4	9	13	2
1989	Sweden	EJC	6	6	3	9	8
1989	Sweden	WJC	7	2	0	2	0
1990	Sweden	WJC	7	3	3	6	6
1991	Sweden	CC	6	0	1	1	0
1991	Sweden	WJC	7	5	3	8	8
1996	Sweden	WC	6	1	1	2	8
1996	Sweden	WCH	1	0	0	0	0
1997	Sweden	WC	11	0	2	2	9
2002	Sweden	WC	8	3	2	5	2
2003	Sweden	WC	9	1	5	6	4
2004	Sweden	WC	9	1	1	2	2
Junior totals			33	20	18	38	24
Senior totals			50	6	12	18	24

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Henrik Zetterberg	Golden Puck 2003	Succeeded by Johan Davidsson
Preceded by Jonas Johnson	Frölunda HC captains 2008–2009	Succeeded by Joel Lundqvist