Born	March 17, 1989 (1989-03-17) (age 20), Västerås, Sweden
Height Weight	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position	Center
Shoots	Left
NHL team (P) Cur. team	Calgary Flames Abbotsford Heat (AHL)
NHL Draft	24th overall, 2007 Calgary Flames
Pro career	2008 – present

Mikael Backlund (born March 17, 1989) is a Swedish professional ice hockey centre for the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was a first round selection, 24th overall, of the Calgary Flames in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, and made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut for the Flames in 2008–09.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 International play 3 Awards 4 Career statistics 4.1 Regular season and playoffs 4.2 International 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Playing career

Backlund began his junior hockey career with the VIK Västerås HK organization in the J20 SuperElit, Sweden's premier junior league. His impressive two-way play earned him the opportunity to play for Västerås' senior team in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan as a sixteen-year-old. In his debut on November 2, 2005, during an away game against Växjö Lakers, Backlund scored a goal in the first period of a 4–0 win and was selected as the player of the game for his team.^{[citation needed]} He tallied four points in his twelve games in HockeyAllsvenskan during the 2005–06 season. That same season, Backlund was dominant in the 2006 TV-pucken, a national under-17 tournament in Sweden played among districts. Leading the tournament in goal- and point-scoring, he was selected as the most valuable player and given the Sven Tumba Award as best forward in the tournament.^[1]

Backlund played another two seasons for Västerås HK, splitting time in the J20 SuperElit and HockeyAllsvenskan. During this time, he was selected in the first round, 24th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Scouts had ranked him second among European players.^[2] Following the 2007–08 season, Backlund signed an entry-level contract with the Flames.^[3] He impressed during the rookie camp but was not as successful during the main training camp,^[4][5] and started the 2008–09 season playing on loan for Västerås back in HockeyAllsvenskan.^[5] After his success in the 2009 World Junior Championships, he returned to Calgary and made his NHL debut on January 8, 2009, in a 5–2 win against the New York Islanders. Soon thereafter, the Flames assigned him to the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL for the remainder of the 2008–09 season. Competing for the Rockets in the 2009 WHL playoffs, Backlund was named Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Player of the Week on April 21, after scoring 5 points in 2 games against the Vancouver Giants in the semifinals.^[6]

[edit] International play

Medal record
Competitor for  Sweden
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Silver	2009 Ottawa
Silver	2008 Pardubice
World U18 Junior Championships
Bronze	2007 Tampere

Backlund played for Sweden in the 2006 World U18 Championships, scoring one goal in three games. In 2007 he led Sweden to a U18 bronze medal when he scored a natural hat-trick in a 8–3 win over Canada in the bronze medal game. He led the tournament in goal-scoring with six goals in six games.^[7]

Backlund was a member of the Swedish team that won back-to-back silvers in the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Championships, losing to Canada in both instances. He scored the game winning goal in overtime in the 2008 semi-final against Russia. The next year, he recorded a two-goal game in the semi-final against Slovakia.

[edit] Awards

• Won the TV-pucken MVP Award in 2006.
• Won the TV-pucken Sven Tumba Award (Best Forward) in 2006.
• Named CHL Player of the Week on April 21, 2009.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2005–06	Västerås HK	J20		25	15	16	31	30		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Västerås HK	Swe-2		12	2	2	4	14		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Västerås HK	J20		7	5	4	9	8		5	1	0	1	4
2006–07	Västerås HK	Swe-2		18	1	2	3	14		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Västerås HK	J20		9	7	6	13	20		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Västerås HK	Swe-2		37	9	4	13	24		14	6	3	9	4
2008–09	Västerås HK	J20		2	3	2	5	0		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Västerås HK	Swe-2		17	4	4	8	39		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Calgary Flames	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Kelowna Rockets	WHL		28	12	18	30	26		19	13	10	23	26
J20 totals				43	30	28	58	58		5	1	0	1	4
Swe-2 totals				84	16	12	28	91		14	6	3	9	4
NHL totals				1	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0
WHL totals				28	12	18	30	26		19	13	10	23	26

[edit] International

Year	Team	Comp	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2006	Sweden	U18	3	1	0	1	0
2007	Sweden	U18	6	6	1	7	6
2008	Sweden	WJC	6	3	4	7	10
2009	Sweden	WJC	6	5	2	7	6
Junior int'l totals			21	15	7	22	22

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mikael Backlund's career stats at Eliteprospects.com
• Mikael Backlund's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Mikael Backlund – player profile and career stats at European Hockey.Net

Preceded by Leland Irving

Calgary Flames first round draft pick 2007

Succeeded by Greg Nemisz