Tom Nilsson (born August 19, 1993) is a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...
, currently playing under contract to
Frölunda HC
Frölunda Hockey Club, previously known as the Frölunda Indians, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Gothenburg. They currently play in the highest Swedish league, the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), formerly the Elitserien, where th ...
in the
Swedish Hockey League
The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...
(SHL). Nilsson was drafted by the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
, 100th overall in the
2011 NHL Entry Draft
The 2011 NHL entry draft was the 49th entry draft for the National Hockey League. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the ...
, while playing in the Swedish
HockeyAllsvenskan
HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league, and the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system, after the Swedish Hockey League, SHL. Since the 2009–10 season, t ...
with
Mora IK
Mora IK (or Mora Ishockeyklubb) is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Mora in northern Dalarna. After failing the 2019 SHL qualifiers, Mora has been relegated for play in the second-tier league, HockeyAllsvenskan. Mora has previously p ...
.
Playing career
On March 19, 2013, Nilsson was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was loaned to further develop in the
Swedish Hockey League
The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...
with
Frölunda HC
Frölunda Hockey Club, previously known as the Frölunda Indians, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Gothenburg. They currently play in the highest Swedish league, the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), formerly the Elitserien, where th ...
for the
2013–14 season. After his first season in North America with the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, the
Toronto Marlies
The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies are owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a c ...
, Nilsson was traded approaching the final year of his contract, along with four other prospects, to the New York Islanders in exchange for
Michael Grabner
Michael-René Grabner (born 5 October 1987) is an Austrian former professional ice hockey player. Grabner grew up playing for the local team in Villach, EC VSV. He moved to North America at the age of 17 and joined the Spokane Chiefs of the major ...
on September 17, 2015.
On October 8, 2015, after an unsuccessful attempt to make the Islanders roster and little interest in continuing in the AHL, Nilsson was mutually released from contract with the Islanders. He returned to Sweden and re-joined Frölunda HC into the
2015–16 season, on a three-year contract on October 9, 2015.
After his first season in his return with Frölunda HC, in which he won the Swedish championship as well as the
Champions Hockey League
The Champions Hockey League is a European first-level ice hockey tournament. Launched in the 2014–15 season by 26 clubs, 6 leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the tournament features top teams across Europe.
Backgrou ...
, Nilsson was again attracted by NHL interest and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...
on May 26, 2016. Unable to make the Canucks opening night roster, Nilsson was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the
Utica Comets
The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated with the National Hockey League's (NHL) New Jersey D ...
where he played out the duration of his contract for the
2016–17 season.
As an impending restricted free agent, Nilsson opted to return to his homeland in agreeing to a two-year deal with an optional third year with Djurgårdens IF of the SHL on May 2, 2017.
Following Djurgårdens IF relegation to the HockeyAllsvenskan in the
2021–22 season, Nilsson opted to remain in the SHL by originally agreeing to a two-year contract with
Örebro HK
Örebro Hockeyklubb, commonly referred to as Örebro HK or Örebro Hockey, (formerly ''HC Örebro 90'') is a Swedish professional ice hockey club located in Örebro. The team is currently playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL; formerly Elitse ...
on 16 April 2022. However, before the commencement of his deal, Nilsson opted to cancel his contract and later returned to Frölunda HC for the
2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
season on 18 July 2022.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Tom
1993 births
Living people
21st-century Swedish sportsmen
Djurgårdens IF (men's hockey) players
Frölunda HC players
Ice hockey people from Stockholm County
Mora IK players
People from Tyresö Municipality
Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in Canada
Swedish ice hockey defencemen
Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks
Toronto Marlies players
Utica Comets players