Top 10 Swedes in the NHL Today

During the 2021-22 National Hockey League (NHL) season, a writer at The Hockey Writers tackled a complex list of who are the best Sweden-born players in the league. Historically, the country ranks among the best in international hockey, with a couple of Olympic gold medals and a boatload of World Championships.

Presently, seven Swedish players are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, with Henrik Lundqvist joining the group in November 2023. Furthermore, current stars like Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning), Niklas Bäckström (Washington Capitals), and Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche) have the skill set to earn recognition; however, their enshrinement will eventually come down to the voting committee.

Related: Swedish Players in the Hockey Hall of Fame

Although these three are considered among the best Swedish players of their generation, recent seasons have not been kind to the group. Backstrom only played 94 games over the past three seasons and his career may be over, while Hedman had a down 2022-23 with only 49 points, his lowest full-season total since 2015-16. Additionally, Landeskog has yet to skate since winning the Stanley Cup in the spring of 2022. Moreover, these three are not currently ranked among the country’s best players because a new wave of talent has taken over the scoring charts.

Substack Subscribe to the THW Daily and never miss the best of The Hockey Writers Banner

Instead of listing Sweden’s most distinguished players, we tackled the topic based on their 2022-23 numbers. Realistically, a handful of tenured players with solid resumes should be on the list; however, they were excluded for statistical purposes. Sadly, some had down years, resulting in many new players picking up the country’s banner last year.

Filip Forsberg – Nashville Predators

Since becoming a regular player for the Nashville Predators in 2014-15, Filip Forsberg had never missed the playoffs until the 2022-23 season, when the team came just three points shy of advancing to their ninth straight postseason. Last year, Forsberg finished fourth in team scoring with 42 points, his lowest total in an 82-game season.

However, he was on pace for another stellar season when it abruptly ended with an upper-body injury in Feb. 2023. Additionally, he averaged 17:28 of ice time, which ranked 13th on the Predators and amongst Swedish-born skaters. The native of Ostervala, Sweden, was a first-round pick (11th overall) in the 2012 Entry Draft and is a constant threat to score at least 20 goals a year. Furthermore, since earning a full-time roster spot, he’s been a staple in the lineup and powerplay, resulting in a career-high 41 goals in 2021-22. He has 560 points in 663 career games.

Filip Gustavsson – Minnesota Wild

In 2021-22, the Ottawa Senators employed a platoon of Swedish goalies, Anton Forsberg and Filip Gustavsson, which resulted in a 33-42-7 record and another season without attending the playoffs. Then, in July 2022, the team broke the tandem up by sending Gustavsson to the Minnesota Wild to serve as a backup for future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury.

Most experts pegged Fleury as the bonafide number-one goalie, who would only yield the crease now and then to stay fresh. Although they almost split the workload evenly, 46-39, surprisingly, Gustavsson had better numbers. Statistically, the native of Skelleftea, Sweden, has proven to be one of the league’s best backups and was among the league leaders in several categories based on minimum starts.

Filip Gustavsson Minnesota Wild
Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

The 25-year-old posted a 22-9-7 record in 39 games in 2022-23 with an impressive .931 save percentage (SV%) and 2.10 goals-against average (GAA). Even though he played behind a legend on a team that finished in third place in a division race, he ranked second in SV% and GAA among NHL netminders who appeared in at least 15 games. He’s following that up with a strong 2023-24.

Furthermore, Gustavsson struggled as an upcoming goalie in Ottawa, but after a fresh start in Minnesota, he has a bright future as a starter when Fleury decides to step away. The future Hall of Famer is in the final year of his current deal, Gustavsson re-signed a three-year extension in July 2023 to remain with the Wild.

Hampus Lindholm – Boston Bruins

Hampus Lindholm broke into the NHL during the 2013-14 season, becoming a regular on the Anaheim Ducks blueline out of training camp. His immediate impact resulted in a seventh-place finish in Calder Trophy voting, thanks to 30 points and a plus-29 rating, averaging 19:26 a night.

Moreover, as a consistent defender who rarely misses time and collects at least 20 points a year, Lindholm caught the eyes of the Boston Bruins, who paid a king’s ransom to acquire his services at the 2022 trade deadline. Although he only suited up for ten games in 2021-22, he earned five points, providing a preview of things to come.

During his first full campaign with the Bruins, he collected a career-high 53 points with 10 goals and 43 assists while leading the league with a plus-49 rating. Considering that Lindholm is a premier young defender in the game and is a central figure in the Bruins’ defensive corps, the Bruins were wise to lock Lindholm down for the next eight seasons as they believe the philosophy that defense wins championships.

Jesper Bratt – New Jersey Devils

Jesper Bratt is a sixth-round pick (162nd overall) from the 2016 Entry Draft. Usually, prospects selected so late take a while to develop into NHL regulars if they ever make it all. Rarely do teams find hidden gems that become stars and eventually lead their team in scoring. Thus far, after six seasons, Bratt continues to defy those odds.

The native of Stockholm, Sweden, had a career year in 2021-22, scoring 26 goals with 47 assists for 73 points, nearly doubling his previous bests. Moreover, he saved his best performance for the final year of his expiring contract, forcing the New Jersey Devils to pay him in the offseason if they wanted to retain his services. Of course, the Devils rewarded him with a one-year deal worth $5.4 million.

Jesper Bratt New Jersey Devils
Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Ultimately, Bratt didn’t disappoint with his one-year agreement, tallying another 73 points while collecting 32 goals, a new career-high. Although he’s on a team with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, he finished fourth in scoring and was one of five Swedish players to reach the 30-goal plateau last year. As a member of the young core the Devils have assembled through years at the draft table, Bratt was plus-14 in 2022-23, the best mark of his career, highlighting the team’s overall improvement.

After posting back-to-back 73-point seasons, the Devils signed Bratt a lengthy eight-year extension, worth $64 million, in June 2023, keeping him in the fold until the start of the next decade.

Mika Zibanejad – New York Rangers

By the 2022-23 season, there have been over 364 Swedish players in the NHL; however, Mika Zibanejad is in a class all by himself. After a night to remember in 2020, he became the country’s first player with a Golden Goal in an international competition (2012 World Junior Championship) and a five-goal game in the NHL.

Mika Zibanejad New York Rangers
Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

The sixth-overall pick in the 2011 Entry Draft broke into the league with the Ottawa Senators in 2011-12 before becoming a regular two seasons later. Eventually, Zibanejad became a prolific goal scorer, averaging 20 or more in eight seasons, reaching a career-high 41 in the shortened 2019-20 campaign. Although his production dipped the following season, he potted 29 goals in 2021-22 and finished last year with 39.

Related: Revisiting Sweden’s World Junior Championship History

As the New York Rangers’ top center, he’s found chemistry with Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider as they frequently set each other up for goals. Moreover, he finished as the Rangers’ leading goal-scorer and was one of two players to crack 90 points after Panarin’s 99. As usual, his totals ranked among the top five regarding Swedish players, a spot he continues to occupy yearly. Although his best season may be in the past, Zibanejad remains one of the league’s lethal goal scorers requiring additional attention when he’s on the ice.

William Nylander – Toronto Maple Leafs

Anyone who pays attention to the Toronto Maple Leafs lately will be mesmerized by Auston Matthews scoring goals and Mitch Marner collecting points on a nightly basis. Unfortunately, William Nylander’s name gets lost in the shuffle despite tying Matthews with 40 goals, finishing behind Marner in assists with 47, and becoming the Maple Leafs second highest scorer with 87 points in 2022-23.

William Nylander Toronto Maple Leafs
William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)

At this point, eight seasons into his career, Nylander is used to playing behind two of the game’s best stars; however, if he were in any other market, he’d have a chance to be that team’s number-one star. In 2021-22, he had his best year as a professional, with 34 goals, 46 assists, and 80 points to finish third in team scoring and third among Swedish players. However, in 2022-23, he became a point-per-game player for the first time, with 87 points in 80 games.

Surprisingly, amongst Swedish-born skaters, he finished behind Adrian Kempe (41) in goals, ranked fifth in assists, and was among only four players to surpass 85 points. Interestingly, after Matthews inked an extension in the summer of 2023, all eyes shifted to Nylander, who signed an 8-year extension with the Leafs that will pay him more than Marner and John Tavares.

Rasmus Dahlin – Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres have been collecting top draft prospects over the years, with Rasmus Dahlin, one of their crown jewels, as a former number-one pick in the 2018 Entry Draft. As one of the game’s brightest stars, Dahlin took some time to round out his game, helping the Sabres’ resurgence in 2022-23.

In 2021-22, Dahlin had his best season in the NHL, posting 13 goals with 40 helpers to finish with 53 points and a minus-22 rating. Although the Sabres came close to ending the league’s longest playoff drought last year, the Lidkoping, Sweden native shattered his previous career highs, collecting 73 points in 78 games with 15 goals and 58 helpers. Additionally, he finished the campaign with a plus-12 rating, the first time he was a plus player in five seasons.

Interestingly, Dahlin opened the 2022-23 season by setting an NHL record for scoring in five straight games and registered the first five-point game of his career in a 6-5 overtime win over the Wild on Jan. 7, 2023. Besides Erik Karlsson’s historic season of 101 points, Dahlin was the country’s second-highest defenceman, with 73 points, which tied Bratt for fifth on the list.

Ultimately, after a career year, while helping the Sabres come within a point of the playoffs, the organization rewarded their star defender with a massive extension worth $88 million over eight years. After inking the new deal in Oct. 2023, Dahlin became one of the league’s top-paid players with an annual salary of $11 million.

Elias Pettersson – Vancouver Canucks

Elias Pettersson is a former fifth-overall selection (2017 Entry Draft) who made his NHL debut at 20, collecting 66 points in 71 games to win the Calder Trophy. At the time, it seemed like only the beginning, and more important things were on the horizon.

Sadly, Pettersson struggled to reach his potential due to size, 6-foot-2 and 178 pounds, plateauing around 66 points when he was healthy enough to play an entire season. However, things turned around in 2021-22 when the gifted center scored 32 goals and 68 points to set career highs in each category. Although the Vancouver Canucks struggled for most of the 2022-23 season, Pettersson finally collected his first 100-point campaign.

Elias Pettersson Vancouver Canucks
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Statistically, the native of Sundsvall, Sweden, finished as the country’s leading scorer, becoming one of 12 players to tally 100 points in an NHL season. Although he had 102 points, Pettersson did not finish atop any other categories, ranking third in goals, second in assists, and tenth in plus/minus. Interestingly, the 24-year-old is wrapping up a three-year agreement with the Canucks and is set to become a free agent in the summer of 2024.

Erik Karlsson – Pittsburgh Penguins

At the beginning of 2022-23, only a few people would have said Erik Karlsson if anyone asked the experts who would lead the San Jose Sharks in scoring and be one of the best defensemen and Swedish players in the NHL. The former two-time Norris Trophy winner had declined the last few seasons, failing to reach 50 points between 2018-19 and 2021-22. After turning 32, it appeared that his best days were behind him.

However, Karlsson became only the sixth defenseman in NHL history to score 100 points, joining a list with Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, Al MacInnis, Denis Potvin, and Brian Leetch. As a reward for his historic efforts on the fourth-worst team in the standings, he earned his third Norris Trophy, becoming only the ninth defender to win the award on three occasions. Interestingly, as one of the most talked about available players on the trade market, the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired him in a blockbuster trade in Aug. 2023.

Linus Ullmark – Boston Bruins

The Bruins had the most remarkable statistical regular season of all time in 2022-23, thanks partly to their goaltenders, Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. After compiling a 40-6-1 record in 49 games, the native of Lugnvik, Sweden, became the country’s third Vezina Trophy winner behind Pelle Lindbergh and Lundqvist.

Statistically, Ullmark tied Alexandar Georgiev with 40 wins while leading the league with a .938 SV% and 1.89 GAA, which led to the Bruins’ netminders capturing the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals. Additionally, the Nordic goalie received votes for the Hart Trophy and Lady Byng Trophy while earning first-team All-Star honors. Moreover, to cap off such a fantastic season, he scored a goal against the Canucks on Feb. 25, 2023.

Interestingly, Ullmark debuted with the Sabres in 2015-16 before signing a massive contract in June 2021 to join the Bruins, a move many questioned because Tuukka Rask and Swayman were the main guys in Boston. However, after departing upstate New York with a 50-47-13 record, he’s currently 80-21-5 with the Bruins, highlighting his abilities to be a number-one goalie and serve as the backbone of a Stanley Cup contender.

Honorable Mentions

After ranking this year’s top ten Swedish players, the list did not include a handful of players who deserve recognition for their most recent efforts. Here are the names of those who didn’t make the list, including Elias Lindholm (Calgary Flames), Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings), Victor Olofsson (Buffalo Sabres), Rickard Rakell (Pittsburgh Penguins), Joel Eriksson Ek (Minnesota Wild), Erik Gustafsson (Washington Capitals), and Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings).

Related: Swedish-Born Captains in NHL History

In 2022-23, 106 Swedish players (11 goalies) skated in the NHL. A handful had career seasons, while the rest continue to do what they do best: score goals and make saves. Nevertheless, this list looks unlike the previous one because it was presented differently. Furthermore, if we continue to base best-player lists on career resumes, there’s always a chance to miss some of the brightest stars in today’s game.