Nils Ekman
| Nils Ekman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
11 March 1976 , Sweden |
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| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Left Wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
NHL Tampa Bay Lightning San Jose Sharks Pittsburgh Penguins SM-liiga Espoo Blues RSL Khimik Moscow Oblast KHL SKA St. Petersburg SEL Djurgårdens IF |
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| National team |
 Sweden
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| NHL Draft | 107th overall, 1994 Calgary Flames |
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| Playing career | 1996–2011 | ||
Nils Karl Johannes "Nisse" Ekman (born 11 March 1976) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey right winger. During his 15-year career as a player at the professional level he played in the National Hockey League, Swedish Elite League (SEL), Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), and SM-liiga. He played for the SEL team Djurgårdens IF when he suffered a stroke in December 2010, forcing him to retire from hockey on 10 August 2011.
Ekman spent his formative years playing in his native Sweden. In season 1993–94, after scoring four goals and five assists in eleven games for Hammarby IF in the Swedish Junior League, Ekman was called up to the parent team in the Swedish tier 2-league HockeyAllsvenskan, where he scored nine points in 18 games. Catching the eye of the Calgary Flames, he was drafted by the team in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft in the 5th round as the 107th pick overall. In the 1994–95 season, after a short two-game stint in the Swedish junior league, he totalled 10 goals and 7 assists in 29 games for the parent club. After another year in Hammarby, where he scored 9 goals and totalled 7 assists in 26 games, he went to play in Finland.
Ekman played a large part of his early years in Finland. In season 1996–97, he played with Kiekko-Espoo of the SM-liiga, scoring 24 goals and adding 19 assists in 50 games. He also added two goals in four playoff games. The next year, his totals declined, as he notched 14 goals with 14 assists in 42 games, causing many to believe he was another European-drafted bust. However, Ekman had a strong playoffs with two goals and two assists in seven games.
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