Robert Nilsson

Robert Åke Nilsson (born January 10, 1985) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey forward. He last played with the ZSC Lions of the National League (NL).

Playing career Nilsson began his career in the Elitserien with Leksands IF in 2002–03. He recorded 21 points in his rookie season, breaking Markus Näslund's 13-year mark for most points by a 17-year-old in the league. Nilsson was then drafted by the New York Islanders with the 15th overall pick in the 2003 NHL entry draft.

He remained in Sweden an additional two seasons, which included a brief, seven-game stint with HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the Swiss Nationalliga A, before joining the Islanders in 2005–06. Nilsson scored his first NHL goal within a month of his debut on October 29, 2005, against the Buffalo Sabres. Nilsson, however, struggled to adjust to the NHL style of play and was sent down to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Islanders' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. After scoring 28 points (8 goals, 20 assists) in 29 games for the Sound Tigers, Nilsson was recalled to finish the year with the Islanders, recording 20 points in 53 total games during his NHL rookie season. At one point, Nilsson played on the top line with team captain Alexei Yashin and close friend Sean Bergenheim.

In 2006–07, Nilsson was sent back to the Sound Tigers to start the season. He remained with the club until February 27, 2007, when he was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers with Ryan O'Marra and the Islanders' first-round pick in the 2007 NHL entry draft for Ryan Smyth. Nilsson transferred AHL teams accordingly and began playing in the Oilers' farm system with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. During a call-up, he scored his first goal as an Oiler on March 15, 2007. He would go on to record a combined 70 points during his next two seasons with the Oilers.

On June 30, 2010, the remainder of Nilsson's contract was bought out by the Oilers. He had one year remaining on his original three-year contract, and would have earned $2.5 million with a $2 million hit against the salary cap. With this buyout, Nilsson became an unrestricted free agent.

On July 22, 2010, it became known that Nilsson had signed a 2-year contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League.

He transferred to fellow KHL side Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod during the 2011–12 season, where he also spent the following 2012-13 campaign.

Nilsson signed a three-year deal with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss top-flight National League A (NLA) in 2013. Throughout ZSC's 2013-14 championship run, he scored 10 goals and assisted on 24 more in 31 games. He converted the championship-winning penalty in game 4 of the finals against Kloten.

During the 2015–16 season, Nilsson would spend time on a line with coveted draft prospect Auston Matthews, finding chemistry with the young centre, winning the Swiss Cup competition with the Lions that season.

International play Nilsson represented Sweden at the 2008 and 2011 IIHF World Championships, winning silver in 2011, as well as at the 2003, 2004 and 2005 World Junior Championships.

Personal life Nilsson was born in Canada while his father, Kent Nilsson, was a member of the NHL's Calgary Flames. The majority of his childhood, however, was spent in Sweden. He is cousins with former professional ice hockey player Niklas Persson.

In 2016, Nilsson married Sasha Khabibulin, the daughter of former teammate, Nikolai Khabibulin.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2000–01 Leksands IF J20 18 11 25 36 20 5 3 3 6 6 2001–02 Leksands IF J20 21 13 18 31 24 1 0 0 0 0 2001–02 Leksands IF SWE.2 14 1 4 5 8 — — — — — 2002–03 Leksands IF SEL 41 8 13 21 10 5 0 1 1 2 2003–04 Leksands IF J20 4 2 8 10 4 — — — — — 2003–04 Leksands IF SEL 34 2 4 6 6 — — — — — 2003–04 HC Fribourg–Gottéron NLA 7 1 3 4 2 4 1 0 1 2 2004–05 Djurgårdens IF J20 8 8 4 12 12 — — — — — 2004–05 Djurgårdens IF SEL 23 2 4 6 6 3 0 0 0 0 2004–05 Hammarby IF SWE.2 7 0 4 4 4 — — — — — 2004–05 Almtuna IS SWE.2 3 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 2005–06 New York Islanders NHL 53 6 14 20 26 — — — — — 2005–06 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 29 8 20 28 12 7 1 4 5 0 2006–07 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 50 12 34 46 34 — — — — — 2006–07 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 19 6 14 20 14 11 3 12 15 8 2006–07 Edmonton Oilers NHL 4 1 0 1 4 — — — — — 2007–08 Edmonton Oilers NHL 71 10 31 41 22 — — — — — 2007–08 Springfield Falcons AHL 5 2 2 4 4 — — — — — 2008–09 Edmonton Oilers NHL 64 9 20 29 26 — — — — — 2009–10 Edmonton Oilers NHL 60 11 16 27 12 — — — — — 2010–11 Salavat Yulaev Ufa KHL 41 5 22 27 28 21 3 7 10 2 2011–12 Salavat Yulaev Ufa KHL 15 0 5 5 6 — — — — — 2011–12 Toros Neftekamsk VHL 2 1 3 4 0 — — — — — 2011–12 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod KHL 35 12 12 24 30 13 2 6 8 2 2012–13 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod KHL 17 5 7 12 2 — — — — — 2013–14 ZSC Lions NLA 31 10 24 34 12 18 2 2 4 4 2014–15 ZSC Lions NLA 44 11 20 31 18 18 5 8 13 4 2015–16 ZSC Lions NLA 48 12 40 52 16 4 1 1 2 0 2016–17 ZSC Lions NLA 46 14 37 51 14 1 0 1 1 0 2017–18 ZSC Lions NL 21 7 19 26 0 — — — — — SEL totals 98 12 21 33 22 8 0 1 1 2 NHL totals 252 37 81 118 90 — — — — — NLA/NL totals 197 55 143 198 62 45 9 12 21 10

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2001 Sweden WJC18 7th 6 2 0 2 0 2002 Sweden WJC18 9th 8 2 3 5 8 2003 Sweden WJC 8th 6 4 2 6 4 2004 Sweden WJC 7th 6 2 5 7 6 2005 Sweden WJC 6th 6 1 3 4 8 2008 Sweden WC 4th 9 2 4 6 6 2011 Sweden WC 9 1 6 7 0 Junior totals 32 11 13 24 26 Senior totals 18 3 10 13 6