Thomas Gradin

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SwedenSweden  Thomas Gradin Ice hockey player
Date of birth February 18, 1956
place of birth Långsele , Sweden
size 180 cm
Weight 79 kg
position center
Shot hand Right
Draft
NHL Amateur Draft 1976 , 3rd round, 45th position
Chicago Blackhawks
WHA Amateur Draft 1976 , 1st lap, 9th position
Winnipeg Jets
Career stations
until 1971 Långsele AIF
1971-1976 MODO hockey
1976-1988 AIK Solna
1978-1986 Vancouver Canucks
1986-1987 Boston Bruins
1987-1990 AIK Solna
1996-1997 VIK Västerås HK

Thomas Kjell Gradin (born February 18, 1956 in Långsele ) is a former Swedish ice hockey player who played for the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League from 1969 to 1997 . His brother Peter was also a professional ice hockey player.

Career

Thomas Gradin began his career as an ice hockey player in the youth department of Långsele AIF, for whose first team he was active from 1969 to 1971 in Division 3, which was then still third. He then switched to MODO Hockey , but his license to play was denied by the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation, so he had to suspend ice hockey for the entire 1971/72 season. After the license was granted, the center was on the ice from 1972 to 1976 for the professional team of MODO Hockey in the highest Swedish league - first in Division 1 and in the 1975/76 season in the newly founded Elitserien . As a MODO player, he received the Årets Junior award for the best Swedish junior player of the year in 1975. After he had scored 16 goals and 23 assists in 35 games in the 1975/76 season for MODO in the Elitserien, he was in the third round of the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft as the 45th player of the Chicago Blackhawks and in the 1976 WHA Amateur Draft selected by the Winnipeg Jets as the ninth player in the first round . He then decided on the offer of the Chicago Blackhawks, but initially stayed for another two years in his Swedish homeland, where he played for AIK Solna in the Elitserien, with which he was runner- up in the 1977/78 season.

Lettering in honor of Gradin in Rogers Arena , Vancouver

On June 14, 1978 Grandin was transferred to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a second round vote for the 1980 NHL Entry Draft . At the Canucks, the Swede quickly developed into a leading player and was one of the top scorers of his team in the eight years in which he played for Vancouver in the National Hockey League . Following the 1981/82 season , in which he had scored 105 points, including 46 goals, in 93 games for the Canadians, he was awarded the Viking Award , which is given annually to the best Swedish player in the NHL. In 1985 he took part in the NHL All-Star Game . On June 24, 1986, the right-shooter signed a contract as a free agent with the Boston Bruins , for which he again scored twelve goals in 68 NHL games and gave 35 assists in the 1986/87 season . He then returned to Sweden, where he was under contract from 1987 to 1990 at his ex-club AIK Solna in the Elitserien. He then ended his career at the age of 34, but laced up again towards the end of the 1996/97 season for the VIK Västerås HK in the Elitserien and achieved relegation with his team in the Kvalserien . From 1994 to 2010 Gradin worked as a scout for his former team Vancouver Canucks from the NHL. First he was an amateur scout for four years and then, from 1998, the Canadian chief scout.

International

For Sweden , Gradin took part in the junior division of the U19 European Junior Championships in 1974 and 1975 and the U20 Junior World Championships in 1974 and 1976 . At the U19 European Championship 1974 he won the gold medal with his team, at the U19 European Championship 1975 the bronze medal; at the U19 European Championship in 1974 he was also named the best striker. He was also elected to the All-Star Team at the U20 World Cup in 1974.

At senior level he was in the squad of his country in the 1978 World Cup and 1981 and 1984 at the Canada Cup . In 1984 he finished second with Sweden in the Canada Cup.

Achievements and Awards

  • 1975 Årets Junior
  • 1978 Swedish runner-up with AIK Solna

International

statistics

Seasons Games Gates Assists Points Penalty minutes
NHL Regular Season 9 677 209 384 593 298
NHL playoffs 8th 42 17th 25th 42 20th
Elitserien main round 7th 215 94 105 199 121
Elitserien Playoffs 4th 16 3 6th 9 20th

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Gradin, Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gradin, Thomas Kjell
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH February 18, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Långsele , Sweden