Nils Ekman

Nils "Nisse" Ekman (born 11 March 1976) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey right winger. During his 15-year career as a player at the professional level he played in the National Hockey League, Swedish Elite League (SEL), Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), and SM-liiga. He played for the SEL team Djurgårdens IF when he suffered a stroke in December 2010, forcing him to retire from hockey on 10 August 2011.
==Playing career==
===Junior career===
Ekman spent his formative years playing in his native Sweden. In season 1993–94, after scoring four goals and five assists in eleven games for Hammarby IF in the Swedish Junior League, Ekman was called up to the parent team in the Swedish tier 2-league HockeyAllsvenskan, where he scored nine points in 18 games. Catching the eye of the Calgary Flames, he was drafted by the team in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft in the 5th round as the 107th pick overall. In the 1994–95 season, after a short two-game stint in the Swedish junior league, he totalled 10 goals and 7 assists in 29 games for the parent club. After another year in Hammarby, where he scored 9 goals and totalled 7 assists in 26 games, he went to play in Finland.
===Finnish career===
Ekman played a large part of his early years in Finland. In season 1996–97, he played with Kiekko-Espoo of the SM-liiga, scoring 24 goals and adding 19 assists in 50 games. He also added two goals in four playoff games. The next year, his totals declined, as he notched 14 goals with 14 assists in 42 games, causing many to believe he was another European-drafted bust. However, Ekman had a strong playoffs with two goals and two assists in seven games.
Following his team's elimination from the playoffs, Ekman signed a contract with Calgary, who were impressed at his development, and Ekman joined the Saint John Flames in the American Hockey League (AHL). However, he did not play in any games and returned to Kiekko-Espoo for the 1998–99 season, notching 34 points in 52 games. He would not return to play in Europe for three years as he left for North America.
===NHL career===
Having no room for him, on November 20, 1999, Calgary traded Ekman to the Tampa Bay Lightning along with a 4th round selection (Vladimir Gorbunov) in the 2000 Entry Draft for Andreas Johansson. He made his debut with the Lightning that season, but scored only 4 points in 28 games. To gain more experience, he joined the IHL and split the 1999–2000 season with the Detroit Vipers and the Long Beach Ice Dogs, notching 32 points in 37 games and earning rookie of the year honors. He also had 6 points in 5 playoff games for Long Beach. During the 2000–01 season, after 36 points in 33 games for Detroit, he was recalled to the NHL, where he improved on his earlier showing and scored 20 points in 43 games. However, he had a very low plus/minus rating of -15.
In the summer of 2001 he was traded to the New York Rangers, but after failing to get a place on the squad he moved back to Sweden and played with Djurgårdens IF in Swedish elite league Elitserien for a season and scored 31 points in 38 games while playing a strong two-way game. Determined to make the NHL, in the 2002–03 NHL season he came back to North America and played with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL. Showing how far he had developed, Ekman put up 30 goals and 36 assists in 57 games. However, he was unable to crack the New York lineup because the team preferred to give veterans playing time over youngsters.
On August 12, 2003, Ekman was traded to the San Jose Sharks for Chad Wiseman. A team that had completely flopped the previous season, the Sharks were willing to give the untested Ekman a chance. For the 2003–04 NHL season he posted a career high in goals (22) and had 33 assists, as well as a franchise-record plus 35 rating, negating all doubts about defensive struggles. Still, he had only 3 assists in 16 games for San Jose in the playoffs.
===NHL lockout===
During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Ekman proved that 2004 was no fluke with 18 goals and 27 assists in 44 games for Djurgården. This was the highest total on the team, and fifth-highest in the league (eighth-highest in goals) that had players like Peter Forsberg and Henrik Zetterberg.
===Post-lockout===
Ekman started the 2005–06 NHL season rather slowly coming back from the lockout. In fact in his first 29 games he only scored seven points. However, he started to click on a line with Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo, and he responded by scoring 29 points in his next 23 games, including a four-game span when he had three four-point games. During this season, he set a new career high for assists and points with 36 and 57 respectively, along with 21 goals in 76 games.
On July 20, 2006, Ekman was traded along with goaltending prospect Patrick Ehelechner to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a 2007 second-round draft-pick. Later in the same year, November 8, he scored a natural hat trick in four minutes and ten seconds in the second period against the Tampa Bay Lightning, setting a Penguins franchise record.
Ekman dislocated his left elbow in a home game win (4-1) against Toronto Maple Leafs on December 29, 2006. He was forced to sit out for three months before he could return to the ice and made his comeback against the Ottawa Senators on March 6 and had four penalty minutes and -1, logging nearly 8 minutes of ice time.
For season 2007–08, Ekman moved to Russia for play with Khimik Moscow Oblast in the Russian Super League. Next season, he signed with SKA Saint Petersburg in the newly formed Kontinental Hockey League.
After two seasons with the St. Petersburg-based club, scoring 21 goals and 62 points in 83 games, Ekman signed a three-year deal with his former club Djurgården in May 2010.
=== Retirement ===
In what would be his final season, Ekman played 20 games, scoring 4 goals and 9 points before suffering a stroke in late December 2010. Ekman was hospitalized until March 14, 2011, when he was discharged and missed the remaining games of the 2010–11 Elitserien season. Subsequently, Ekman announced his retirement on August 10, 2011, at the age of 35 when neurologists of Karolinska University Hospital said it would not be safe to resume playing hockey.
==Awards==
* Awarded the Gary F. Longman Memorial Trophy (IHL Rookie of the Year) in 2000.
== Career statistics ==
 	 	 		Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season		Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs
Season 	Team 	League 		GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM 		GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM
1993–94 	Hammarby IF 	Swe-2 		18 	7 	2 	9 	4 		2 	0 	0 	0 	2
1994–95 	Hammarby IF 	Swe-2 		32 	10 	8 	18 	18 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1995–96 	Hammarby IF 	Swe-2 		26 	9 	7 	16 	53 		1 	0 	0 	0 	0
1996–97 	Espoo Blues 	SM-l 		50 	24 	19 	43 	60 		4 	2 	0 	2 	4
1997–98 	Espoo Blues 	SM-l 		43 	14 	14 	28 	86 		7 	2 	2 	4 	27
1997–98 	Saint John Flames 	AHL 		— 	— 	— 	— 	— 		1 	0 	0 	0 	2
1998–99 	Espoo Blues 	SM-l 		52 	20 	14 	34 	96 		3 	1 	1 	2 	6
1999–00 	Tampa Bay Lightning 	NHL 		28 	2 	2 	4 	36 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1999–00 	Long Beach Ice Dogs 	IHL 		27 	11 	12 	23 	26 		5 	3 	3 	6 	2
1999–00 	Detroit Vipers 	IHL 		10 	7 	2 	9 	8 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2000–01 	Tampa Bay Lightning 	NHL 		43 	9 	11 	20 	40 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2000–01 	Detroit Vipers 	IHL 		33 	22 	14 	36 	63 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2001–02 	Djurgårdens IF 	SEL 		38 	16 	15 	31 	57 		4 	1 	0 	1 	32
2002–03 	Hartford Wolf Pack 	AHL 		57 	30 	36 	66 	73 		2 	0 	2 	2 	4
2003–04 	San Jose Sharks 	NHL 		82 	22 	33 	55 	34 		16 	0 	3 	3 	8
2004–05 	Djurgårdens IF 	SEL 		44 	18 	27 	45 	106 		12 	4 	5 	9 	20
2005–06 	San Jose Sharks 	NHL 		77 	21 	36 	57 	54 		11 	2 	2 	4 	8
2006–07 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	NHL 		34 	6 	9 	15 	24 		1 	0 	0 	0 	0
2007–08 	Khimik Moscow Oblast	RSL 		57 	22 	21 	43 	87 		4 	0 	1 	1 	0
2008–09 	SKA St. Petersburg 	KHL 		46 	12 	20 	32 	50 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2009–10 	SKA St. Petersburg 	KHL 		37 	9 	21 	30 	36 		3 	0 	0 	0 	2
2010–11 	Djurgårdens IF 	SEL 		20 	4 	5 	9 	33 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
SM-liiga totals	SM-liiga totals 	SM-liiga totals		145 	58 	47 	105 	242 		14 	5 	3 	8 	37
SEL totals 	SEL totals 	SEL totals 		102 	38 	47 	85 	196 		16 	5 	5 	10 	52
IHL totals 	IHL totals 	IHL totals 		70 	40 	28 	68 	97 		5 	3 	3 	6 	2
AHL totals 	AHL totals 	AHL totals 		57 	30 	36 	66 	73 		3 	0 	2 	2 	6
NHL totals 	NHL totals 	NHL totals 		264 	60 	91 	151 	188 		28 	2 	5 	7 	16
KHL totals 	KHL totals 	KHL totals 		83 	21 	41 	62 	86 		3 	0 	0 	0 	2
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
==References==
==External links==
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Category:Born in 1976
Category:Calgary Flames draft picks
Category:Detroit Vipers players
Category:Djurgårdens IF Hockey players
Category:Espoo Blues players
Category:Hartford Wolf Pack players
Category:HC Atlant Moscow Oblast players
Category:Long Beach Ice Dogs players
Category:Pittsburgh Penguins players
Category:Saint John Flames players
Category:San Jose Sharks players
Category:SKA Saint Petersburg players
Category:Swedish ice hockey players
Category:Retired in 2011
Category:Tampa Bay Lightning players