Anders Hedberg

Anders Hedberg (born 25 February 1951) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who was one of the first European-born players to make an impact in North America. He played internationally for the Sweden men's national ice hockey team, and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1997. Along with countryman Ulf Nilsson, Hedberg signed a contract to play for the Winnipeg Jets in the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1974, after having represented both Modo Hockey and Djurgårdens IF in his native Sweden. Hedberg subsequently played during seven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers. He was twice voted best junior in Sweden and as such the only one (1969 and 1970) and is a graduate from the Stockholm School of Physical Education (GIH).

Anders Hedberg
Anders Hedberg at the Swedish Sports Awards inside the Stockholm Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden in January 2013
Born (1951-02-25) 25 February 1951
Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Left
Played for Modo AIK
Djurgårdens IF
Winnipeg Jets
New York Rangers
National team  Sweden
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 1967–1985
Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Men's ice hockey
European Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1968 Finland
Bronze medal – third place 1970 Switzerland
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1970 Sweden
Bronze medal – third place 1972 Czechoslovakia
Bronze medal – third place 1973 Soviet Union
Bronze medal – third place 1974 Finland

Playing career

In the early 1970s Hedberg worked as an intern with Jerry Wilson, a Canadian former hockey player who was studying the physiology of hockey players, specifically their heart and lung conditioning.[1] Wilson had been asked by the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association (WHA) to watch out for any notable Swedish hockey players, and he recommended both Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson, who was one of Wilson's subjects.[2] Both would join the Jets in 1974.[3] At the time the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League owned Hedberg's NHL rights, but by going to the WHA there was no compensation required.[3]

Hedberg was an instant sensation in the WHA, recording 100 points in 65 games in his first season, and playing alongside established superstar Bobby Hull. He scored at least 50 goals and 100 points in his other three WHA seasons, peaking with 70 goals and 61 assists in 1976-77 despite only playing 68 games that year.

Hedberg played a starring role when the Jets won the Avco World Trophy WHA championship in 1976 and 1978. By this time both Hedberg and Nilsson were looking to join the NHL, as they had nothing left to prove in the WHA. They were also looking for a massive increase in salary: both had earned around $125,000 in the 1976–77 season.[4] With their high salary demands, the only NHL team capable of signing them was the New York Rangers.[5] While the Jets stated they wanted to re-sign both players, the team did not have the financial backing to do so.[6]

In the summer of 1978, Nilsson and Hedberg signed with the Rangers. Each signed contracts $600,000 per season for two years.[7] Their signings further weakened the struggling WHA which would cease operations after just one more season. This was one of the first open acknowledgements that the quality of the WHA was on par with the NHL, making a merger with the WHA possible the following summer.

In his first NHL season, Hedberg was a member of the member of the NHL All-Stars that faced the USSR National Team in the 1979 Challenge Cup.

Hedberg recorded 856 professional points in North American hockey over 751 games, and retired from the Rangers in 1985.

Post-playing career

After his active career, Hedberg became an assistant to general manager Craig Patrick of the New York Rangers, the first European to have a front office job in the NHL.[8] Between 1991 and 1997 he worked as a scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs before moving up to the position as assistant general manager from 1997 to 1999.

In 2000, he was appointed general manager of the Swedish national ice hockey team, later serving with the Ottawa Senators as Director of Player Personnel from 2002 to 2007.[9] In August 2007, he returned to the New York Rangers as the Head Professional European Scout. He was elected to the Swedish Hockey Hall of Fame on 11 February 2012.[10]

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1966–67Svedjeholmens IKSWE III1624—24——————
1967–68Modo AIKSWE2412618——————
1968–69Modo AIKSWE191013232—————
1969–70Modo AIKSWE14914232—————
1970–71Modo AIKSWE1476130—————
1971–72Modo AIKSWE2101063580
1972–73Djurgårdens IFSWE1263921467134
1973–74Djurgårdens IFSWE141061621477144
1974–75Winnipeg JetsWHA65534710045—————
1975–76Winnipeg JetsWHA76505510548131361915
1976–77Winnipeg JetsWHA687061131482013162913
1977–78Winnipeg JetsWHA77635912260996152
1978–79New York RangersNHL80334578331854912
1979–80New York RangersNHL803239712193257
1980–81New York RangersNHL80304070521488166
1981–82New York RangersNHL40110—————
1982–83New York RangersNHL7825345912948124
1983–84New York RangersNHL793235671651010
1984–85New York RangersNHL642031511032132
NHL totals 465 172 225 397 144 58 22 24 46 31
SWE totals 99 55 48 103 8 34 16 19 35 8
WHA totals 286 236 222 458 201 42 35 28 63 30

International
Year Team Comp   GP G A Pts PIM
1968 Sweden EJC 5 6 1 7 0
1969 Sweden EJC 5 5 0 5 2
1970 Sweden EJC 5 6 — — —
1970 Sweden WC 9 2 3 5 0
1972 Sweden WC 10 6 5 11 4
1973 Sweden WC 10 2 5 7 0
1974 Sweden WC 10 7 3 10 2
1976 Sweden CC 5 3 2 5 4
1981 Sweden CC 5 4 2 6 0
Junior totals 15 17 — — —
Senior totals 49 24 20 44 10

References
  1. Kirbyson, Geoff (2016). The Hot Line: How The Legendary Trio of Hull, Hedberg and Nilsson Transformed Hockey and Led the Winnipeg Jets to Greatness. Winnipeg: Great Plains Publications. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-927855-65-2.
  2. Kirbyson. The Hot Line. p. 32.
  3. Kirbyson. The Hot Line. p. 34.
  4. Kirbyson. The Hot Line. p. 113.
  5. Kirbyson. The Hot Line. pp. 110–111.
  6. Kirbyson. The Hot Line. pp. 112–114.
  7. Kirbyson. The Hot Line. p. 120.
  8. Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 140–141. ISBN 978-0470736197. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  9. "Anders Hedberg, Director of Player Personnel". Ottawa Senators.
  10. "Hedberg och Loob i Hall of fame" (in Swedish). allehanda.se. 2012-02-11. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
  11. "Anders Hedberg". Swedish Hockey Hall of Fame (in Swedish). 11 February 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  12. "WHA Hall of Fame Members". Archived from the original on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
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