Claimed:The tales of Niklas/Nicklas Lindberg/Lundberg

[boubabi 4,725]

#91 | C | - Niklas Lindberg 

Toronto Legion/Vasteras Iron Eagles

6'04 - 205 lbs.

Drafted 12th overall by the Toronto Legion

Birthplace : Stockholm, Sweden

Experience : 8 Years

 

 

 
On the night of the S33 VHL Entry draft, the Toronto Legion drafted the young Swedish forward Niklas Lindberg 12th overall with their second draft pick. This draft pick would eventually become one of the most successful players of his generation along with Odin Tordahl. An interesting fact about this duo is that both of them was drafted by the same team and could have been one of the most dynamic duos the VHL have ever seen, but Odin’s agent wasn't comfortable with the situation in Toronto so he was eventually traded later in his career. 
 
Born from a Swedish father and a French mother, the journey of Niklas started in Stockholm. At the age of 8, he showed an early interest in playing hockey so he first joined his local hockey team months later.  His dad, who was the CEO of IKEA, grew up as a fan of the legendary Scotty Campbell and the Vasteras Iron Eagles and his dream of playing in the VHL was transferred to his kid, Niklas Lindberg.

 

"Lindberg playing for his country at the world cup"
 

 

Junior Hockey

 
Growing up, Niklas decided to step his game up to eventually join a junior hockey team in North America. His effort was rewarded when he was drafted by the Sherbrooke Phoenix 7th overall in the European draft.  His family decided to follow him to North America to fulfill his dream of playing professional hockey.  He learned French and Swedish when he was younger so he didn’t have any language barrier in the French speaking city of Sherbrooke. His junior hockey career went pretty well. He led the LHJMQ at 17 years old with 120pts in 62 games. At the end of the season, he surprised everybody and he declared himself ineligible to be selected in the NHL draft. He went on to do the same for every year of his eligibility. He was more interested in finishing his junior career with the Phoenix and eventually finishing high school than joining the NHL. At the end of his junior career, he was drafted by the Bratislava Watchmen, a relatively new team in the VHL’s minor league, the VHLM. The GM at the time, Vince Wong, took a gamble on this highly hyped player who wasn’t sure to ever play for the team. Eventually, he would join the team in the S32 season and he made a sudden impact on the team recording 90pts in 72 games. He was named the Watchmen of the year after this magnificent season. The next season, Niklas Lindberg racked up the points on a stacked team with 126 points in 72 games. The same season, the team won the Founder’s Cup and Lindberg was named the playoff MVP.  Funny story, Niklas Lindberg was register as “Niklas Lundberg” in his early career since he hadn’t played in Europe before going to VHLM. 

 

"Niklas playing for the Sherbrooke Phoenix in his junior career"
 
 

 

Just before the S33 VHL entry draft, VHL scouts weren’t paying that much attention to the young prospect at the time since Lindberg’s agent made it clear that his client planned to try the NHL camp next fall. His parents, still living in Sherbrooke, were hoping that their son would sign with the Montreal Canadiens and become the next NHL superstar.  Again, Lindberg took the hockey world by surprise. Developing chemistry with some young stars in the VHLM, he decided to become eligible for the S33 VHL Entry draft one week before the actual draft. In a blooming league, his goal was now to become the best VHL player he could be.

 
“Honestly, I had very little idea who this guy was. The S33 draft was marked by the ‘Big 7’ at the time, so almost all of my focus pertaining to that draft was on securing two players I wanted with my picks in that range. One ended up being Lindberg’s teammate for a brief time (Tordahl) and was selected before my picks, but even though Lindberg would end up being better than the two guys I selected, Felix Zamora and GIYGAS, at the time there was just so little info on him that he wasn’t going to break into that, and it’s a shame for his sake. Toronto, however, have to be happy that he wasn’t better known.”
 

– Jason Glasser, GM of the Calgary Wranglers

 

 

"Lindberg was a dominant player when he was playing with the Wacthmen"

 

VHL Career.

 Drafted by the Toronto Legion in the second round, Lindberg started his professional career the same way he did in the VHLM, with a grammatical mistake.  After a couple of games, Niklas Lindberg was hyped by many. He was interviewed by many and his name was written the North American way: Nicklas instead of Niklas. However, it didn’t bother him since his name was written like that during his junior hockey with Sherbrooke. Niklas Lindberg did pretty well in his first season with the Legion. He registered a point per game with a 72 point effort on the season in a losing cause. The Legion did not make the playoffs this year but it was enough to win the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy, awarded to the player deemed to be the top rookie in the VHL. At the Award Ceremony he said:

“I’m honoured to win this trophy. We only have 1 first impression to make and I’m glad I did it the way I did. However, I would trade this trophy for a Continental Cup anytime. Thank you to everyone who supported me in my young career and I hope to bring success to the Legion next year.”

 

His wish would eventually come true next season as the Legion topped the Seattle Bears for the last spot in the North American conference with 45 wins and 96 points in 72 games. The same season, he led the Legion in terms of points with 103 and finished 7th in the league in that category.

 

"The Swedish forward had a great time with the Legion.

 

His career went on to be filled with success. He finally won the Continental Cup in season 37 against the Davos powerhouse along with VHL superstars Remy Lebeau, Jakub Kjellberg, Anatoli Zhumbayev, Jack Sound and Ville Sixten.  That would be his second straight finals since he lost in his first attempt against those same Davos Dynamo. He eventually reached the finals 3 times in a row but 2 of those times he lost versus his eternal rival, the Dynamo. Individual record wise, he recorded his best season in S37 with 114 points, one point behind the mighty Odin Tordahl, the leading scorer of this season. He might break that total this season as thus far, he has been scoring at a rate of two points per game. At this pace, he could end up with an impressive 144 point season, but that is unlikely to happen. Speaking of player movement, after years of competing, the Toronto Legion decided to trade Lindberg along with Ville Sixten to the Vasteras Iron Eagles and their quest of winning a Continental cup.

Pros and Cons

With a successful career like Niklas Lindberg achieved, finding pros wasn't so hard. Here are some scout reports I was able to get.

 

PROS

 

Skating: Bringing the European style to North America, Niklas Lindberg has a strong skating ability to move the puck in both the defensive and offensive zones. Although he is 6’4, he moves his legs fast enough to surpass his opponent quite easily. He does some clear cuts and he’s able to change direction quickly. When Lindberg hits his full speed, he becomes an automatic threat to any team.

 

Passing ability: The young Swedish forward has the ability to feed his teammates wherever they are. On a 2 vs. 1, he tends to do a magnificent saucer pass to his teammate. Combine that with a top line scorer, and the combination is deadly. He makes intelligent passes without putting his team in trouble. He would rather move the puck himself in the neutral zone and do a back pass when he enters the offensive zone.

 

2-way game: Playing center his whole career, his junior coaches made sure to teach him to play in both zones. Even though he has a big body at 6’4 205 lbs., he uses his tall stick to prevent and create turnovers in the neutral zone. He has good faceoff ability, not the best, but he makes sure that his team has puck possession when he’s on the ice. Combined with his skating ability, he is often the third man on the back check to support his defensemen.

 

CONS

 

Discipline: Lindberg plays a very aggressive type of game; he’s not afraid to go in the dirty areas. Combined with an active stick play, he will usually get a lot of penalty minutes. His elbows are usually high on a check, which is not his strength, so he tends to commit a lot of stupid penalties. He won’t fight much but he makes other people lose their minds with his aggressive play so he’s often trapped in a roughing penalty.

 

Checking: Niklas Lindberg always wants to be involved physically in the game. However, his technique isn’t perfect yet. When he’s playing the body, he does not tend to bring his opponent near the boards so he doesn’t trap his opponent. The consequence is that agile players will often get past him easily. Even if he is able to get the opponent near the boards, he hasn’t developed his techniques to get the puck after the check. He needs to improve and practice his body checks.

 

Size : Even at 6’4, he only weights 205 lbs. His junior hockey wasn’t affected by his shape but when he is playing professional hockey with some bigger men, he will likely not have the same success. Playing with opponents in excess of 230 lbs will make things difficult around the net. If he finds an aggressive defenseman, he needs to keep his head up and not receive an unwanted hit. He always favoured speed over size, let’s see if he will change his mind after a couple of games with the pros.

 

 

Edited October 16, 2014 by boubabi

[boubabi 4,725]

Thank you to Jason Glasser (diamond_ace) who helped me A LOT with my grammar and my phrase structure. I hope you guys will enjoy your read, I appreciated doing it and I hope you will feel the same way I did when you'll read it.

[Da Trifecta 1,896]

Overview: 3/3 This was a really great read. Lindberg has had a great career. It's awesome you won a cup because if not, you definitely would have been so deserved of it.

Grammar: 2/2 Jason really helped you out here

Presentation: 1/1 Nice work

Pros: 2/2 Great job

Cons: Definitely

 

FINAL: 10/10

[Frank 5,054]

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