Niklas Persson

Niklas Persson
Date of birth	March 26, 1979
place of birth	Ösmo , Sweden
size	188 cm
Weight	93 kg
position	Center / right wing
number	# 23
Shot hand	Left
Career stations
1994-1995	Huddinge IK
1995-2006	Leksands IF
2006-2009	Linköpings HC
2009-2011	Neftechimik Nizhnekamsk
2011-2013	HK CSKA Moscow
2013-2015	Rapperswil-Jona Lakers
2015-2018	Linköpings HC

Niklas Persson (born March 26, 1979 in Ösmo ) is a former Swedish ice hockey player who was active in the Svenska Hockeyligan at Leksands IF and Linköpings HC , among others . With the Swedish national team he won one gold, one silver and two bronze medals at world championships .

Career

Niklas Persson began his career in the youth of Huddinge IK , for which he was active in the 1994/95 season. He then moved to the youth department of Leksands IF , for whose professional team he made his debut in the Elitserien in the 1997/98 season . After ten years Persson left the club in 2006 and signed a contract with its league rivals Linköpings HC , with whom he was then Swedish runner- up in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons. By participating in the final in 2008, the striker and his team qualified for the newly founded Champions Hockey League , in which he was used in all four group games and scored six points.

In late April 2009 Persson was committed by Neftechimik Nizhnekamsk from the Continental Hockey League . A year later, in July 2010, he was given a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning but failed to make it onto the franchise's NHL roster. Instead, he should play for the Norfolk Admirals , but decided to return to Neftechimik Nizhnekamsk. Persson completed a total of 108 KHL games for this club in two seasons, in which he scored 57 points. After his contract with Neftechimik expired, Persson moved within the KHL to HK ZSKA Moscow in May 2011 , before joining Rapperswil-Jona Lakers from the Swiss National League A in summer 2013 . After two seasons there, Persson returned to Sweden for the 2015/16 season and signed again with Linköpings HC, where he acted as team captain.

In 2018 he ended his career and moved to the management of the LHC.

International

For Sweden Persson took part in the U20 World Junior Championships in 1998 and 1999 . In the senior division, he played at the 2009 World Cup , on the final day of which he won the bronze medal with the Tre Kronor selection with a 4-2 victory over the United States . In the following two years he also took part in the world championships and won another bronze and silver medal.

At the 2013 World Cup in Stockholm and Helsinki he was again part of the national team and won the gold medal with it.

Achievements and Awards

• 2007 Swedish runner-up with Linköpings HC
• 2008 Swedish runner-up with Linköpings HC

International

• 1997 silver medal at the European Junior Championships
• 2009 bronze medal at the world championship
• 2010 bronze medal at the world championship
• 2011 silver medal at the world championship
• 2013 gold medal at the world championship

KHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Main round	2	94	16	36	52	62
Playoffs	2	14th	1	4th	5	4th

(Status: end of the 2010/11 season)

Web links

• Niklas Persson at eurohockey.com
• Niklas Persson at eliteprospects.com (English)