Niklas Sundblad

Niklas Sundblad (born January 3, 1973) is a Swedish professional ice hockey coach and a former Swedish professional ice hockey player.

Niklas Sundblad
Born (1973-01-03) January 3, 1973
Stockholm, Sweden
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for Calgary Flames
National team  Sweden
NHL Draft 19th overall, 1991
Calgary Flames
Playing career 1990–2009

Playing career

Sundblad started his career in the youth teams at AIK close to his native Stockholm. He made his debut in the Swedish top-flight SHL during the 1990–91 season. He was a first round draft pick of the Calgary Flames, 19th overall, in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.

He headed to North America before the 1993–94 season and spent two years with the Saint John Flames of the American Hockey League, then an affiliate of the Flames. He played two National Hockey League games for the Flames in the 1995–96 season, while continuing to get playing time in the AHL. He then opted to return to Europe.

Sundblad spent two years with HC TPS in Finland's top-tier competition Liiga, which included capturing the European Hockey League title in 1997 and a trip to the Liiga finals the same year, followed by two years in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) with the Malmö Redhawks. In 2000, he signed with Düsseldorfer EG of Germany, before joining local rivals Kölner Haie, where he played from 2001 to 2003, winning the 2002 German championship with the Haie squad.

Sundblad returned to the Malmö Redhawks for a second stint in 2003–04. He played for Füchse Duisburg in Germany from 2004 to 2006 and spent time in Italy and Japan in his later playing days.

In 2006–07, Sundblad played for HC Alleghe of the Italian Serie A. On October 7, 2008, he left Alleghe and moved back to Sweden. After four appearances for AIK in the 2008-09 campaign, Sundblad called it a career and turned to coaching.

International career

Sundblad has represented his native Sweden several times in international competition. He won silver medals in both 1992 and 1993 at the World Junior Hockey Championships, as well as another silver medal at the 1997 Ice Hockey World Championships.

Coaching career

On October 22, 2008, Sundblad was named head coach of Herner EV,[1] a minor league team in Germany. On December 3, 2009, he accepted a position as assistant coach with the Kölner Haie[2] organization of the German elite league DEL. He served as head coach on an interim basis, when the club sacked Bill Stewart in November 2010,[3] before returning to his role as assistant.

Sundblad left Köln after the 2012–13 season, taking up an offer from fellow DEL team ERC Ingolstadt where he became head coach.[4] After finishing the 2013-14 regular season in 9th place, Sundblad directed his team to one of the most surprising playoff runs in DEL history, making it to the finals where they defeated Köln to give ERC its first ever German championship.[5] Following the championship, Sundblad did not come to terms on a new contract with ERC and parted ways with the club.[6]

In October 2014, Sundblad was named head coach of Kölner Haie to replace Uwe Krupp who he served under as an assistant coach during his earlier stint with the Haie organization.[7] Köln were in 10th place in the DEL standings, when Sundblad was sacked on January 20, 2016.[8]

On January 5, 2017, he took over the head coaching position at Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).[9] He was fired from the role on December 4, 2018.

Personal

Sundblad is the father of two girls, Jessica and Madeleine.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1989–90 AIK SWE U20 ————— —————
1990–91 AIK SEL 3913414 —————
1991–92 AIK SEL 33921120 33140
1992–93 AIK SEL 2254954 —————
1992–93 AIK Allsv 1845942 21122
1993–94 Saint John Flames AHL 7613193275 41122
1994–95 Saint John Flames AHL 729514151 20006
1995–96 Calgary Flames NHL 20000 —————
1995–96 Saint John Flames AHL 7416203666 1604414
1996–97 TPS SM-l 5015213693 1122424
1997–98 TPS SM-l 4717163368 40006
1998–99 Malmö IF SEL 43211233104 811212
1999–00 Malmö IF SEL 4722103275 62246
2000–01 Düsseldorfer EG DEL 5922224454 —————
2001–02 Kölner Haie DEL 5920224287 13381132
2002–03 Kölner Haie DEL 527111830 150118
2003–04 MIF Redhawks SEL 50156110 —————
2004–05 Füchse Duisburg GER-2 4914213576 1205510
2005–06 Füchse Duisburg DEL 51571281 —————
2006–07 HC Alleghe ITA 3215193440 1812112336
2007–08 Nippon Paper Cranes AL 101128 —————
2007–08 HC Alleghe ITA 217152226 1226812
2008–09 AIK SWE-2 40114 —————
NHL totals 20000 —————
SEL totals 234593695377 17641018
DEL totals 2215462116252 28391240

International
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1990 Sweden EJC 6 3 5 8 20
1991 Sweden EJC 5 4 1 5 38
1992 Sweden WJC 7 2 3 5 10
1993 Sweden WJC 7 0 3 3 10
1997 Sweden WC 11 2 1 3 22
Junior totals 25 9 12 21 78
Senior totals 11 2 1 3 22

References
  1. Niklas Sundblad neuer Trainer des Herner EV
  2. Niklas Sundblad verlässt den HEV - Herne - WAZ - DerWesten
  3. "Kölner Haie verlieren auch ohne Bill Stewart". General-Anzeiger Bonn. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  4. EISHOCKEY.INFO. "ERC Ingolstadt: Niklas Sundblad wird neuer Chef-Trainer - Wechsel von Köln nach Ingolstadt". EISHOCKEY INFO. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  5. GmbH, SPOX Media (4 May 2014). "Ingolstadt feiert seine Meister – Sport – Spox.com". Spox.com. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  6. "Eishockey: Meister-Trainer Sundblad verlässt Ingolstadt". Der Spiegel. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  7. Heinrich, Marc (2014-10-10). "Kölner Haie Sundblad löst Krupp ab". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  8. "DEL: Kölner Haie werfen Sundblad raus". RP ONLINE. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  9. "Nu är de nya tränarna på plats i Örebro: "Det finns mycket potential i laget"". Hockeysverige. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
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