Niclas Bergfors

Niclas Bergfors (born 7 March 1987) is a Swedish professional ice hockey right winger currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Djurgårdens IF then of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He was drafted by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s New Jersey Devils in the first round, 23rd overall, at the 2005 NHL entry draft, playing for the organization for four-and-a-half seasons before joining the Atlanta Thrashers 2010, Florida Panthers in 2011 and Nashville Predators via free agency in 2011. He later joined the KHL's Ak Bars Kazan in late 2011 before signing with Severstal Cherepovets. In 2013, he joined Admiral Vladivostok, where he played for three seasons before joining Amur Khabarovsk in a mid-season trade.

Playing career In 2004–05, prior to being drafted to the NHL, Bergfors played for hometown club Södertälje SK of the Elitserien.

Bergfors spent the 2005–06 season with the New Jersey Devils' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Albany River Rats, scoring 17 goals and 40 points in 65 games. During the season, he represented Sweden at the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, scoring three goals and six points in six games.

In 2006–07, Bergfors played for New Jersey's new AHL affiliate, the Lowell Devils, where he scored 13 goals and 32 points in 60 games. He once again played with Sweden in the 2007 World Junior Championships, where he posted two assists in seven games.

Bergfors returned to Lowell for the 2007–08 season, where he saw his production decrease to 12 goals and 27 points in 66 games. He did make his NHL debut, however, going pointless in one game with New Jersey. He spent the majority of the 2008–09 season with Lowell, scoring 22 goals and 51 points in 66 games, also playing in eight games with New Jersey, scoring one goal.

In 2009–10, Bergfors made the Devils' opening day roster, and in 54 games with New Jersey, he scored 13 goals and 27 points. On 4 February 2010, however, the Devils traded Bergfors, along with Johnny Oduya, Patrice Cormier and their first-round pick in 2010, to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Ilya Kovalchuk, Anssi Salmela and Atlanta's second-round pick in 2010.

Bergfors finished 2009–10 with Atlanta, where he scored eight goals and 17 points in 27 games. After the season, he was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team after scoring 21 goals and 44 points in 81 games with both the Devils and Thrashers. In 2010–11, Bergfors saw his numbers slide, scoring 11 goals and 29 points in 52 games with Atlanta. On 28 February 2011, the Thrashers traded Bergfors and Patrick Rissmiller to the Florida Panthers for Radek Dvořák and Florida's fifth-round draft pick in 2011.

On 4 July 2011, Bergfors signed a one-year, $575,000 contract with the Nashville Predators as a free agent. He was put on unconditional waivers by the Predators on 24 November 2011, making him a free agent.

Bergfors then signed with the Ak Bars Kazan on 2 December 2011, playing just eight games before joining Severstal Cherepovets on a two-year contract. In June 2013, he was drafted at the KHL Expansion Draft by Admiral Vladivostok.

After 12 years playing professionally abroad, Bergfors returned to his native Sweden agreeing to a two-year contract with Linköpings HC of the SHL on May 4, 2016. On February 15, 2017, Niklas left mid-season to sign a contract with fellow SHL club, Djurgårdens IF Hockey until the end of the 2018 season.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2002–03 Södertälje SK J18 Allsv 44480 ————— 2002–03 Södertälje SK J20 100442 ————— 2003–04 Södertälje SK J18 Allsv 5144184 20116 2003–04 Södertälje SK J20 3113173022 21120 2004–05 Södertälje SK J20 2118163425 30334 2004–05 Södertälje SK SEL 251012 20000 2005–06 Albany River Rats AHL 6517234010 ————— 2006–07 Lowell Devils AHL 601319328 ————— 2007–08 Lowell Devils AHL 6612152722 ————— 2007–08 New Jersey Devils NHL 10000 ————— 2008–09 Lowell Devils AHL 6622295114 ————— 2008–09 New Jersey Devils NHL 81010 ————— 2009–10 New Jersey Devils NHL 5413142710 ————— 2009–10 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 2789170 ————— 2010–11 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 521118296 ————— 2010–11 Florida Panthers NHL 201672 ————— 2011–12 Nashville Predators NHL 111122 ————— 2011–12 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 80112 ————— 2011–12 Severstal Cherepovets KHL 134374 60110 2012–13 Severstal Cherepovets KHL 45810182 90330 2013–14 Admiral Vladivostok KHL 5417193618 51122 2014–15 Admiral Vladivostok KHL 6021234414 ————— 2015–16 Admiral Vladivostok KHL 2538116 ————— 2015–16 Sokol Krasnoyarsk VHL 20000 ————— 2015–16 Amur Khabarovsk KHL 23671310 ————— 2016–17 Linköpings HC SHL 3732510 ————— 2016–17 Djurgårdens IF SHL 102352 33142 2017–18 Djurgårdens IF SHL 5214132714 112242 2018–19 Djurgårdens IF SHL 526152112 192686 2019–20 Djurgårdens IF SHL 5212112322 ————— 2020–21 Djurgårdens IF SHL 5215122714 30112 2021–22 Djurgårdens IF SHL 502358 ————— SHL totals 330555911484 387101712 NHL totals 17335488320 ————— KHL totals 228597113056 201562

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2004 Sweden WJC18 5th 6 1 2 3 6 2005 Sweden WJC 6th 6 2 1 3 2 2005 Sweden WJC18 7 6 0 6 0 2006 Sweden WJC 5th 6 3 3 6 2 2007 Sweden WJC 4th 7 0 2 2 0 Junior totals 32 12 8 20 10