Height: 5-11
Weight: 175
Shoot: R
Born: 11 May 1950, Nynashamn Sweden
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Regular Season & Playoff Scoring Record (key)
| year | team | |||||||||||
| 1974-75 | Winnipeg | |||||||||||
| 1975-76 | Winnipeg | |||||||||||
| 1976-77 | Winnipeg | |||||||||||
| 1977-78 | Winnipeg | |||||||||||
| Totals: |
• Member, Swedish Hockey Hall of Fame.
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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. |
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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. |
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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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Jets Get Supercharge From Flashy Nilsson • by Reyn Davis • The Sporting News • October 30, 1976
Since neither Canada nor Sweden can lay full claim to producing Winnipeg's top line, its center has a suggestion. "I think we should be called the Australian Line," said the deadpan Ulf Nilsson. "The Kangaroo Connection sounds nice." Nilsson's dry humor keeps the Jets laughing while his brilliant play keeps them winning. Now 26, and slightly heavier (178) on a lanky (5-11) frame, he is coming off a tremendous year capped by his firm leadership of Winnipeg's almost uninterrupted drive to the Avco World Trophy. The Jets, spearheaded by the crafty Nilsson, won 12 of 13 playoff games. During the regular campaign, while the Jets were finishing in first place, he tied Quebec's Real Cloutier for third place in the scoring race, parlaying 38 goals with a league high of 76 assists. Though he has recently been denied the luxury of Bobby Hull on his left while Bobby's fractured wrist heals, Nilsson still is formidable in the presence of All-Star right winger Anders Hedberg. This is the beginning of Nilsson's third pro season. He signed in May of 1974, leaving his native Sweden with Hedberg by his side to cast his lot in pro hockey. An All-Star, too, Nilsson has endured the worst physical treatment ever inflicted on a WHA player who wished to play hockey. But he bears no malice — publicly, at least — to the paranoid pros who tried to chase him back to Sweden. He skated through a veritable gauntlet of club-wielders who had heard somewhere that Swedes wouldn't hit back and could be intimidated easily. They were wrong. Two-time scoring champion Andre Lacroix of the San Diego Mariners said the reason so many pros played out of character around the Swedes was because "they are taking jobs away from Canadians." Nilsson doesn't disagree. "I can understand why Lacroix is worried," he said, "This always has been Canada's game. But he's wrong if he thinks there are a lot more players over there who can play in the major leagues." What a pity it would be if the World Hockey Association set its ideals anywhere short of universal in its quest to put the best possible product on the ice. Three knee operations when Nilsson was a youngster spoiled three straight summers, causing him to lose touch with soccer, the sport championed by his father, who played in the Swedish First Division. But soccer had a strong influence on his hockey. Today he believes the two sports complement each other. "In soccer you are always moving to the spots that are open," he said. "Hockey is like that, too." Bandi, the European version of shinny, helped him become a better stickhandler. As a schoolboy he carried his short bandi stick, always ready for a pickup game with a dozen other guys. "In bandi you use only one hand on the stick, so you become good with both hands," he said, "The stick is about the same size as Peter Sullivan's," he added, giving his teammate a dig. One of his first hockey idols was Jackie McLeod, a one-time New York Ranger who later made repeated visits to Europe with Canadian teams chasing the world championship. As a kid he remembers receiving a stick from the player he idolized in Sweden. "Besides," he said, "he was the only righthanded shooter on the team." Later, they played on the same line together for Stockholm AIK. Although he is pulling down a six-figure salary, Nilsson still finds it difficult to believe hockey is his job. "I have fun, maybe because I'm playing well," he said. "l know how difficult it must be to be playing poorly and making a lot of money. Then it would seem like a terrible job." His biggest adjustments to pro hockey were finding something to do in the empty afternoons following morning practices and the "wasted time" it takes to travel. Last year in his spare time he built two pieces of furniture. Of all the inherent qualities professionals have, the one he likes best is their "nice feeling for winning." The burning desire to triumph has rubbed off. Hedberg, especially sees no other alternative. Mark Howe of the Houston Aeros and Mark Napier of the Birmingham Bulls are the best young players Nilsson has seen in professional hockey. Of the older set, he has seen no greater players than Hull or Gordie Howe. He recalled what he knew about Hull before he came to Canada to be his teammate. "He's a much better hockey player than I thought he was," said Nilsson. "I knew and I had heard about his great shot. But I didn't know he was such a great passer, and that he knows the game so well." Ulf's one regret is that their line was unable to play together against the world's great lines in the recent Canada Cup series. He is satisfied the unit can be compared with anybody's. |
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