PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Many Swedes have left a big mark in the NHL.
Now the very best Europeans of all time in the world’s best hockey league have been named.
And as many as 19 Swedes take their place in the top 50 and it’s blue and yellow in first place.
The deceased Börje Salming became the pioneer who accelerated Swedish exports to North America. His self-sacrificing style of play and iron will caused the entire NHL to open their eyes to the Swedish Vikings from the Nordics.
Best NHL Swedes
Since then, many, many Swedes have moved across the Atlantic to succeed in the world’s best hockey league. And it has gone very well, many of our blue-yellow ice warriors believe.
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When the respected hockey magazine Pro Hockey got the chance to name the very best Europeans of all time who played in the NHL, there was a big Swedish party in the rankings. They enlisted the help of an expert panel and a total of 19 Swedes took a place in the top 50 – where three Swedes made it into the coveted top 10 places, see the full list below.
He tops the list
In competition with big names like Jaromir Jagr, Dominik Hasek, Teemu Selanne and Alex Ovechkin so it is actually a Swede who is at the top of the list. And no one will be particularly surprised that it is Nicklas Lidström who is singled out as the best European in the NHL of all time.
– You notice such a difference now that Lidström is no longer there, how spoiled you were. Everything worked out because he was there. It has been a big adjustment for us as a team. We have not been able to maintain the same quality. It can’t really be explained, says the Detroit teammate Niklas Kronwall to Pro Hockey when the list was made in 2013.
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Kronwall then gets to give his view on the image of “Lidas” as the “perfect man”.
– Yes, but that’s how it felt, replies Kronwall with a laugh.
– It didn’t matter what it was about, but you knew that as long as he was involved it would be good. He has no ego at all, and hanging out with him never feels awkward. He makes everyone feel at home.
READ MORE: Wayne Gretzky’s powerful tribute to Nicklas Lidström would have made anyone weak in the knees: “My God”
Otherwise, it is most remarkable that Mats Sundin doesn’t even make it into the top 10, but is only found in eleventh place in the ranking. Keep in mind that this list was made in 2013 by hockey magazine and that players who entered the NHL after that are not included, see all 50 names below.
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Full list:
1. Nicklas Lidström
2. Jaromir Jagr
3. Dominik Hasek
4. Peter Forsberg
5. Jari Kurri
6. Teemu Selanne
7. Alex Ovechkin
8. Börje Salming
9. Sergei Fedorov
10. Pavel Bure
11. Mats Sundin
12. Pavel Datsyuk
13. Peter Stastny
14. Evgeni Malkin
15. Zdeno Chara
16. Henrik Zetterberg
17. Henrik Lundqvist
18. Daniel Alfredsson
19. Henrik Sedin
20. Ilya Kovalchuk
READ MORE: Peter “Foppa” Forsberg reveals the secret nickname – which only his closest friends call him
21. Alexander Mogilny
22. Sergei Zubov
23. Daniel Sedin
24. Miikka Kiprusoff
25. Marian Hossa
26. Patrick Elias
27. Alex Kovalev
28. Peter Bondra
29. Markus Näslund
30. Igor Larionov
31. Teppo Numminen
32. Mats Näslund
33. Slava Fetisov
34. Sergei Gonchar
35. Jere Lehtinen
36. Thomas Steen
37. Milan Hejduk
38. Erik Karlsson
39. Pelle Lindbergh
40. Kent Nilsson
41. Håkan Loob
42. Tomas Sandström
43. Saku Koivu
44. Sigmund Palffy
45. Esa Tikkanen
46. Slava Kozlov
47. Bobby Holik
48. Ulf Samuelsson
49. Marian Gaborik
50. Tomas Holmström
(Swedes in italics)
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