The Complete World Hockey Association
www.surgent.net/wha

Ulf Nilsson • Ulf Gosta Nilsson

Height: 5-11
Weight: 175
Shoot: R
Born: 11 May 1950, Nynashamn Sweden

 

Regular Season & Playoff Scoring Record (key)

year team
gp
g
a
pts
pim
gp
g
a
pts
pim
1974-75 Winnipeg
78
26
94
120
79
1975-76 Winnipeg
78
38
76
114
84
13
7
19
26
6
1976-77 Winnipeg
71
39
85
124
89
20
6
21
27
33
1977-78 Winnipeg
73
37
89
126
89
9
1
13
14
12
Totals:
300
140
344
484
341
42
14
53
67
51

 

Excerpts from Pro Hockey, WHA 1975-76 (by Dan Proudfoot)

Hockey is full of centers who can only pass well to one side, if at all. Nilsson is one center who can pass accurately anywhere, which is a crucial asset when playing between wingers who move around as much as Bobby Hull and Anders Hedberg.

"He has to be great, just to avoid getting killed by those two dive-bombers playing on either side of him," says Jets hockey manager Rudy Pilous. "Believe me, he is."

Nilsson's 94 assists were second only to Andre Lacroix's 106 in the WHA playmaking statistics. "We wish to leave a good impression for our country," he says. Nilsson needn't worry.

 

Excerpts from Zander Hollander Complete Hockey Handbook, 1975-76 (by Reyn Davis)

Considered the ingenious director of two of the most dynamic and unregimented wingers in hockey... Takes a beating from opponents who don't have the talent to stop him and so rely on unnerving him instead... Gains more satisfaction from assists than goals... Set WHA rookie record for points, 120, and assists, 94... Has a dry sense of humor that keeps the multicultured Jets laughing... Twice, during his rookie year, he had clear-cut breakaways that ended with passes to a trailing teammate... Signed with Hedberg to become the first Europeans on the Jets roster... Now, nearly half the team is European... Jets seem to have found an uncommon market there.

 

Excerpts from Pro Hockey, WHA 1976-77 (by Dan Proudfoot)

It would be easy for center Ulf Nilsson to be overshadowed, with Bobby Hull playing to his left and Anders Hedberg on his right. But the man who makes the best passes in the WHA was voted the most valuable performer in the 1976 playoffs — proof that everyone notices the importance of his role.

... Even the most hard-nosed observers have to admit that it doesn't matter that Nilsson is inept at one traditional, North American hockey skill — fighting. In one game he was punched by Quebec's Serge Bernier, who's not a noted pugilist himself. "I should have been more ready," Nilsson said at the time. "Would I do that to him? I'm not like that."

 

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