Mikael Backlund

Mikael Backlund (born March 17, 1989) is a Swedish professional ice hockey centre in the Calgary Flames organization of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a first round selection, 24th overall, of the Flames in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career
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 sixteen-year-old. In his debut on November 2, 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 twelve 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. 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 among European players. 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 to Västerås back in HockeyAllsvenskan. After his success in the 2009 World Junior Championships, he returned to Calgary and made his NHL debut on January 8, 2009, in a 5–2 win against the New York Islanders. Soon thereafter, the Flames assigned him to the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL for the remainder of the 2008–09 season. Competing for the Rockets in the 2009 WHL playoffs, Backlund was named Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Player of the Week on April 21, after scoring 5 points in 2 games against the Vancouver Giants in the semifinals.

International play
Backlund played for Sweden in the 2006 World U18 Championships, scoring one goal in three games. In 2007 he led Sweden to a U18 bronze medal when he scored a natural hat-trick in a 8–3 win over Canada in the bronze medal game. He led the tournament in goal-scoring with six goals in six games.

Backlund was a member of the Swedish team that won back-to-back silvers in the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Championships, losing to Canada in both instances. He scored the game winning goal in overtime in the 2008 semi-final against Russia. The next year, he recorded a two-goal game in the semi-final against Slovakia.

Awards

 * Won the TV-pucken MVP Award in 2006.
 * Won the TV-pucken Sven Tumba Award (Best Forward) in 2006.
 * Named CHL Player of the Week on April 21, 2009.