Nations in the NHL

Swedish NHL players 2008–09

54 Swedish players played in the NHL in 2008–09. Together they scored 1 374 points, the fourth most of any country, and Sweden finished third of 9 in the nations league. Nicklas Bäckström scored the most, 88 points.

NHL players

1 374

Points

3rd

Nations league

Goalie wins

2008–09Last season82/82 games

2007–08 2009–10

SWEDISH LEADERS

In the nations league

3rd

of 9 ranked nations

league points

Rate2ndTop trio3rdBlue line6thGoalies5thPer million4th

Sweden accounts for 5.5% of the NHL's players and 7.2% of its points.

The full nations league

Swedish goalies

Regular season. Most games first.

Goalie	GP	W-L-OTL	SV%	GAA	SO
Henrik LundqvistNYR	70	38-25-0	.916	2.43	3
Johan HedbergATL	33	13-12-0	.886	3.49	0
Erik ErsbergLAK	28	8-11-0	.900	2.64	0
Mikael TellqvistPHX	21	9-6-0	.912	2.74	0

Every Swedish player in the NHL, team by team

54 players across 23 teams.

DETDetroit Red Wings8 players

Henrik ZetterbergINACTIVE

C · 77 GP · 31G 42A73P

Johan FranzénINACTIVE

RW · 71 GP · 34G 25A59P

Nicklas LidströmINACTIVE

D · 78 GP · 16G 43A59P

Niklas KronwallINACTIVE

D · 80 GP · 6G 45A51P

Mikael SamuelssonINACTIVE

RW · 81 GP · 19G 21A40P

Tomas HolmströmINACTIVE

LW · 53 GP · 14G 23A37P

Andreas LiljaINACTIVE

D · 60 GP · 2G 11A13P

Jonathan EricssonINACTIVE

D · 19 GP · 1G 3A4P

DALDallas Stars5 players

Loui ErikssonINACTIVE

LW · 82 GP · 36G 27A63P

Fabian BrunnströmINACTIVE

LW · 55 GP · 17G 12A29P

Nicklas GrossmannINACTIVE

D · 81 GP · 2G 10A12P

Joel LundqvistINACTIVE

C · 43 GP · 1G 5A6P

Tom WandellINACTIVE

C · 14 GP · 1G 2A3P

VANVancouver Canucks5 players

Daniel SedinINACTIVE

LW · 82 GP · 31G 51A82P

Henrik SedinINACTIVE

C · 82 GP · 22G 60A82P

Alexander EdlerINACTIVE

D · 80 GP · 10G 27A37P

Mats SundinINACTIVE

C · 41 GP · 9G 19A28P

Mattias ÖhlundINACTIVE

D · 82 GP · 6G 19A25P

CBJColumbus Blue Jackets3 players

Kristian HuseliusINACTIVE

LW · 74 GP · 21G 35A56P

Fredrik ModinINACTIVE

LW · 50 GP · 9G 16A25P

Christian BäckmanINACTIVE

D · 56 GP · 2G 5A7P

NJDNew Jersey Devils3 players

Johnny OduyaINACTIVE

D · 82 GP · 7G 22A29P

Niclas HävelidINACTIVE

D · 78 GP · 2G 17A19P

Niclas BergforsINACTIVE

RW · 8 GP · 1G 0A1P

NYRNew York Rangers3 players

Markus NäslundINACTIVE

LW · 82 GP · 24G 22A46P

Fredrik SjöströmINACTIVE

LW · 79 GP · 7G 6A13P

Henrik LundqvistINACTIVE

G · 70 GP · 38 W · .91638W

TORToronto Maple Leafs3 players

Alexander SteenINACTIVE

LW · 81 GP · 8G 20A28P

Anton StrålmanINACTIVE

D · 38 GP · 1G 12A13P

Jonas FrögrenINACTIVE

D · 41 GP · 1G 6A7P

WSHWashington Capitals3 players

Nicklas BäckströmINACTIVE

C · 82 GP · 22G 66A88P

Michael NylanderINACTIVE

C · 72 GP · 9G 24A33P

Staffan KronwallINACTIVE

D · 3 GP · 0G 0A0P

Show all 23 teams

ATLAtlanta Thrashers2 players

Tobias EnströmINACTIVE

D · 82 GP · 5G 27A32P

Johan HedbergINACTIVE

G · 33 GP · 13 W · .88613W

CHIChicago Blackhawks2 players

Samuel PåhlssonINACTIVE

C · 65 GP · 7G 11A18P

Niklas HjalmarssonINACTIVE

D · 21 GP · 1G 2A3P

COLColorado Avalanche2 players

Daniel TjärnqvistINACTIVE

D · 37 GP · 2G 2A4P

Per LedinINACTIVE

LW · 3 GP · 0G 0A0P

LAKLos Angeles Kings2 players

Oscar MöllerINACTIVE

RW · 40 GP · 7G 8A15P

Erik ErsbergINACTIVE

G · 28 GP · 8 W · .9008W

PHXPhoenix Coyotes2 players

Joakim LindströmINACTIVE

C · 44 GP · 9G 11A20P

Mikael TellqvistINACTIVE

G · 21 GP · 9 W · .9129W

STLSt. Louis Blues2 players

Patrik BerglundINACTIVE

C · 76 GP · 21G 26A47P

Jonas JunlandINACTIVE

D · 1 GP · 0G 0A0P

BOSBoston Bruins1 player

Per-Johan AxelssonINACTIVE

LW · 75 GP · 6G 24A30P

BUFBuffalo Sabres1 player

Henrik TallinderINACTIVE

D · 66 GP · 1G 11A12P

CGYCalgary Flames1 player

Mikael Backlund

C · 1 GP · 0G 0A0P

CARCarolina Hurricanes1 player

Niclas WallinINACTIVE

D · 64 GP · 2G 8A10P

MINMinnesota Wild1 player

Kim JohnssonINACTIVE

D · 81 GP · 2G 22A24P

NSHNashville Predators1 player

Patric HörnqvistINACTIVE

RW · 28 GP · 2G 5A7P

OTTOttawa Senators1 player

Daniel AlfredssonINACTIVE

RW · 79 GP · 24G 50A74P

SJSSan Jose Sharks1 player

Douglas MurrayINACTIVE

D · 75 GP · 0G 7A7P

TBLTampa Bay Lightning1 player

Janne NiskalaINACTIVE

D · 6 GP · 1G 2A3P

Season by season

Sweden had 22 players in the NHL in 1989–90 and 103 in 2025–26. The peak was 2019–20, with 111. Under each bar is the nations league placing, in gold for the 6 seasons Sweden won.

In the NHL Draft

25 Swedish players were picked in the 2026 NHL Draft, seven of them in the first round. Ivar Stenberg went first, at number 2 to the San Jose Sharks.

Every pick in 2026 →The draft through the years →

Swedish NHL players all time

Regular season, whole careers. The record seasons count completed seasons only.

Most points by Swedish players

Most goalie wins

Best seasons by a Swedish player

Sweden against Russia

The nations league's five categories plus raw points and player count. The higher value takes the round.

Sweden

3rd in the league

3–4

Russia

1st in the league

Russia wins 4–3 against Sweden.

0.48Points per game0.66

252Best trio320

0.31Defencemen's points per game0.38

.907Goalies' save percentage.911

5.1NHL players per million inhabitants0.2

1 374Total points1 103

54Players in the NHL32

Sweden against Russia season by season

Pick a rival

USA

Continue reading

Top scorer

Nicklas Bäckström

Sweden's top scorer in 2008–09.

The team

Washington Capitals

Where Nicklas Bäckström plays.

Nations in the NHL

Every nation in the NHL

How many players each country has in the NHL, with a page for each.

Nations league

NHL battle of the nations 2008–09

The countries compared per player rather than in raw totals.

Home

The Swedes in the NHL today

The rest of the site follows the Swedes in the NHL.

The Swedes

Every Swede in the NHL

Team by team, with position and stats.