Mikael Backlund

Mikael Backlund (born 17 March 1989) is a Swedish professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).

In his debut on 2 November 2005, during an away game against Växjö Lakers, Backlund scored a goal in the first period of a 4–0 win and was selected as the player of the game for his team.

He tallied four points in his 12 games in HockeyAllsvenskan during the 2005–06 season.

That same season, Backlund was dominant in the 2006 TV-pucken, a national under-17 tournament in Sweden played among districts.

Leading the tournament in goal- and point-scoring, he was selected as the most valuable player and given the Sven Tumba Award as best forward in the tournament.

Backlund played another two seasons for Västerås HK, splitting time in the J20 SuperElit and HockeyAllsvenskan.

Backlund was a first round selection, 24th overall, of the Flames in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, and made his NHL debut in 2008–09.

He played junior hockey for VIK Västerås HK in the J20 SuperElit and the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

During this time, he was selected in the first round, 24th overall, by the Calgary Flames in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Scouts had ranked him second amongst European skaters.

Following the 2007–08 season, Backlund signed an entry-level contract with the Flames.

He impressed during the rookie camp but was not as successful during the main training camp, and started the 2008–09 season playing on loan for Västerås back in HockeyAllsvenskan.

Soon thereafter, the Flames assigned him to the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.

He was a member of Kelowna's WHL championship team in 2009.

Internationally, Backlund has represented Sweden on several occasions—he was a member of two silver medal-winning teams at the World Junior Championship, and has won a bronze, silver and gold medals with the Swedes at the World Championship.

Backlund began his junior hockey career with the VIK Västerås HK organization in the J20 SuperElit, Sweden's premier junior league.

His impressive two-way play earned him the opportunity to play for Västerås' senior team in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan as a 16-year-old.

After his success in the 2009 World Junior Championships, he returned to Calgary and made his NHL debut on 8 January 2009, in a 5–2 win against the New York Islanders.

Competing for the Rockets in the 2009 WHL playoffs, Backlund tied teammate Jamie Benn for the League lead with 13 goals in 19 games as Kelowna defeated the Calgary Hitmen in the final to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Backlund began the 2009–10 season with the Flames' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat.

On 26 January 2010, he was called up to play on the NHL squad, and scored his first NHL goal on 28 January against the Phoenix Coyotes.

He split the season between the AHL and NHL, scoring 32 points in 54 games in Abbotsford, and ten points in 23 games with Calgary.

Though he spent most of the 2010–11 season in Calgary, Backlund struggled offensively early, and after scoring just eight points in his first 32 games, was sat out of six consecutive games as a healthy scratch before being sent to Abbotsford on a brief conditioning stint.

He appeared in 73 games for the Flames, scoring ten goals and 25 points.

Backlund's 10 goals and 27 points were just 11th and 12th on the Flames, but he only played 52 games in the regular season.

He continued struggling into the playoffs, only recording 1 goal and 1 assist in 11 games played.

Injuries plagued Backlund throughout 2011–12.

He was expected to centre the Flames' top line between Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay, but suffered a broken finger in training camp that twice required surgery to repair and caused him to miss the first six weeks of the season.

He then suffered a shoulder injury in a mid-February game while attempting to confront a Vancouver Canucks player he felt had injured a teammate.

The injury ended his season, and in 41 games, he scored only 11 points.

Following the season, the Flames re-signed Backlund to a new contract for the 2012–13 season, a one-year deal worth US$725,000.

However, with the season's start delayed by a labour dispute, Backlund returned to Sweden for the balance of the lockout.

He re-joined Västerås and appeared in 23 games for the team, scoring 12 goals and 30 points before returning to North America after a new deal between the NHL and its players was reached.

His performance with Västerås provided a confidence boost for Backlund, who said that he wanted to return to Calgary and "show everybody I can play way better."

Backlund enjoyed a solid NHL season upon coming back to Calgary, missing 16 games but still managing to post one point every two games on average for the first time in his career.

His eight goals and sixteen points were eighth and tenth on a rebuilding Flames team which badly missed the playoffs.

In July 2013, the Flames signed Backlund to a two-year, $3 million contract extension.

That season, he recorded the best totals of his career in every offensive category, finishing third on the Flames in goals (18) and fourth in points (39).

While the team around him regressed to the worst finish in team history, Backlund asserted himself as one of its top offensive threats.

In 2014–15, Backlund faltered slightly, suffering through injuries and trade rumours; however, the Flames surprisingly skyrocketed up the standings en route to their first playoff berth in six years.