1
Rick Green (D)
DefensemanInactive
Swedes in the NHL DraftSwedes in the 1976 NHL Draft
Cohort: 1956
Highest selection
#5
CGSBjörn Johansson (D)
Swedes selected
5
of 135 picks
In round 1
1
of 5 Swedes
Share of the draft
4 %
of all picks
The 1976 NHL Draft took place on May 27, 1976 in Montreal, QC, Canada. 5 Swedes were selected, including 1 in the first round. Björn Johansson was the first Swede selected, at number 5 in round 1. This ranked number 13 among the highest draft selections for a Swede in history.
4 of the 5 Swedes (80%) have played at least one NHL game since the draft. The class leaders in NHL games played are Thomas Gradin (677 GP, 593 P), Kent Nilsson (553 GP, 686 P), and Anders Håkansson (330 GP, 98 P).
Across the draft archive, the year ranks 22 in Swedes selected and 6 in Swedish first-round selections. The Swedish draft class has combined for 1379 points in 1575 NHL regular-season games. That ranks as the 14th best Swedish draft class of all time by total points. None are still active in the NHL today.
The draft's top picks
The first 10 selections
Every drafted Swede
5 Swedes were drafted
5
Swedes
4
Teams
5
Rounds
Round 1
1 PICKS
5
Round 3
1 PICKS
45
Round 4
1 PICKS
64
Round 12
1 PICKS
130
Goran Lindblom (D)Defenseman
Round 14
1 PICKS
134
The draft class in the NHL
Best Swedish players from the 1976 Draft
NHL regular-season statistics: games played, goals, assists, points, plus save percentage, wins, and shutouts for goalies.
Skaters · most points
Kent Nilsson (C)
Drafted #64AFM
GP
553
G
264
A
422
P
686
Thomas Gradin (C)
Drafted #45CHI
GP
677
G
209
A
384
P
593
Anders Håkansson (L)
Drafted #134STL
GP
330
G
52
A
46
P
98
Björn Johansson (D)
Drafted #5CGS
GP
15
G
1
A
1
P
2
Drafting teams
Teams that drafted Swedish players
Sorted by the number of Swedish players selected.
The road to the NHL
The draft class's NHL debuts
4 of the class's Swedes have made their NHL debuts, the first in 1976-1977. Pick a season to see every debutant.
More about the NHL Draft and the Swedes
Explore Swedish Draft history
Best draft classes→The best Swedish draft classes by NHL career output.First round→Every Swedish first-round selection, ordered by pick number.Teams→Which NHL teams have drafted the most Swedes?
From draft pick to NHL contract – what an entry-level contract means and how salary, bonuses and AAV work.