1
Chris Phillips (D)
DefensemanInactive
Swedes in the NHL DraftSwedes in the 1996 NHL Draft
Cohort: 1978
Highest selection
#20
FLAMarcus Nilson (L)
Swedes selected
15
of 241 picks
In round 1
1
of 15 Swedes
Share of the draft
6 %
of all picks
The 1996 NHL Draft took place on June 22, 1996 in St. Louis, MO, USA. 15 Swedes were selected, including 1 in the first round. Marcus Nilson was the first Swede selected, at number 20 in round 1.
5 of the 15 Swedes (33%) have played at least one NHL game since the draft. The class leaders in NHL games played are Samuel Påhlsson (798 GP, 199 P), Andreas Dackell (613 GP, 250 P), and Marcus Nilson (521 GP, 168 P).
Across the draft archive, the year ranks 14 in Swedes selected and 6 in Swedish first-round selections. The Swedish draft class has combined for 633 points in 1980 NHL regular-season games. That ranks as the 31st 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
15 Swedes were drafted
15
Swedes
12
Teams
7
Rounds
Round 1
1 PICKS
20
Round 3
1 PICKS
62
Per-Anton Lundstrom (D)Defenseman
Round 4
4 PICKS
84
Mikael Simons (C)Center
91
93
Jonas Soling (L)Left wing
108
Johan Forsander (L)Left wing
Round 5
2 PICKS
124
Per-Ragnar Bergqvist (G)Goaltender
132
Elias Abrahamsson (D)Defenseman
Round 6
3 PICKS
136
144
Magnus Nilsson (L)Left wing
158
Ola Sandberg (D)Defenseman
Round 7
1 PICKS
176
Round 9
3 PICKS
224
Tobias Johansson (L)Left wing
234
Anders Soderberg (L)Left wing
237
The draft class in the NHL
Best Swedish players from the 1996 Draft
NHL regular-season statistics: games played, goals, assists, points, plus save percentage, wins, and shutouts for goalies.
Skaters · most points
Andreas Dackell (R)
Drafted #136OTT
GP
613
G
91
A
159
P
250
Samuel Påhlsson (C)
Drafted #176COL
GP
798
G
68
A
131
P
199
Marcus Nilson (L)
Drafted #20FLA
GP
521
G
67
A
101
P
168
Josef Boumedienne (D)
Drafted #91NJD
GP
47
G
4
A
12
P
16
Ronnie Sundin (D)
Drafted #237NYR
GP
1
G
0
A
0
P
0
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
5 of the class's Swedes have made their NHL debuts, the first in 1996-1997. 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.