Inge Hammarström

Hans Inge Hammarström (born January 20, 1948 in Sundsvall, Sweden) is a retired Swedish professional Hockey Left Winger who played 7 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues. He is currently a European scout with the Vancouver Canucks.

Playing career
Inge played his first hockey games at the top national league level in 1963 for Timrå IK, at the age of 15. The 1968–69 season he left for Brynäs IF where he would win the Swedish Championship 4 times (1970, 1971, 1972 and later in 1980).

In 1973, Hammarström became the first player from Timrå IK ever to play in the NHL. He went on to spend five seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and two for the St. Louis Blues.

His career ended in 1982, aged 35, after another three seasons with Brynäs IF.

After retirement
After his playing career ended, Hammarström began working as a European-based hockey scout, including a stint with NHL Central Scouting Bureau. From 1990 to 2008, he was the chief European scout for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Most famously, Hammarström is credited with being the scout who pushed the hardest for Philadelphia to select Peter Forsberg with the sixth overall pick of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. At the time, the pick was considered a surprise — and a bit of a gamble. Forsberg had been ranked considerably lower by The Hockey News in its 1991 Draft Preview, and most observers expected the player to be taken late in the first round or early in the second round of the draft.