1
Erik Johnson (D)
DefensemanInactive
Swedes in the NHL DraftSwedes in the 2006 NHL Draft
Cohort: 1988
Highest selection
#4
WSHNicklas Bäckström (C)
Swedes selected
17
of 213 picks
In round 1
3
of 17 Swedes
Share of the draft
8 %
of all picks
The 2006 NHL Draft took place on June 24, 2006 in Vancouver, BC, Canada. 17 Swedes were selected, including 3 in the first round. Nicklas Bäckström was the first Swede selected, at number 4 in round 1. This ranked number 10 among the highest draft selections for a Swede in history.
5 of the 17 Swedes (29%) have played at least one NHL game since the draft. The class leaders in NHL games played are Nicklas Bäckström (1105 GP, 1033 P), Patrik Berglund (717 GP, 326 P), and Viktor Stålberg (488 GP, 168 P).
Across the draft archive, the year ranks 12 in Swedes selected and 4 in Swedish first-round selections. The Swedish draft class has combined for 1529 points in 2467 NHL regular-season games. That ranks as the 12th 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
17 Swedes were drafted
17
Swedes
12
Teams
7
Rounds
Round 1
3 PICKS
4
24
Dennis Persson (D)Defenseman
25
Round 2
2 PICKS
46
62
Dick Axelsson (F)Forward
Round 3
5 PICKS
64
70
Robin Figren (F)Forward
76
Tony Lagerstrom (C)Center
82
Daniel Rahimi (D)Defenseman
88
Jonas Ahnelov (D)Defenseman
Round 4
1 PICKS
114
Niclas Andersen (D)Defenseman
Round 5
1 PICKS
141
Kim Johansson (F)Forward
Round 6
2 PICKS
161
173
Stefan Ridderwall (G)Goaltender
Round 7
3 PICKS
184
Alexander Hellstrom (D)Defenseman
206
Viktor Sjodin (F)Forward
209
Per Jonsson (F)Forward
The draft class in the NHL
Best Swedish players from the 2006 Draft
NHL regular-season statistics: games played, goals, assists, points, plus save percentage, wins, and shutouts for goalies.
Skaters · most points
Nicklas Bäckström (C)
Drafted #4WSH
GP
1105
G
271
A
762
P
1033
Patrik Berglund (C)
Drafted #25STL
GP
717
G
170
A
156
P
326
Viktor Stålberg (L)
Drafted #161TOR
GP
488
G
82
A
86
P
168
Jonas Junland (D)
Drafted #64STL
GP
4
G
0
A
2
P
2
Goalies · most games
Jhonas Enroth (G)
Drafted #46BUF
GP
153
W
50
SV%
.909
SO
7
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 2007-2008. 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.