Niklas Sundblad
Niklas Sundblad ( born January 3, 1973 in Stockholm ) is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey player and current coach. Since 2013 he has been head coach of the ERC Ingolstadt in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.
- 2.1 International
Career
Niklas Sundblad began his career as a hockey player in his youth for AIK Solna, for the first team, he made his debut in the Elitserien in the 1990/91 season. In his rookie year he scored in 39 games overall scorer four points, including a goal. Then he chose the Calgary Flames in the NHL Entry Draft in 1991 in the first round than a total of 19 players. After the attackers had spent two more years at AIK, he played from 1993 to 1996 for Calgary's farm team in the American Hockey League, the Saint John Flames. He also graduated in the 1995/96 season two games for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League, where he remained point and impunity. After three years in North America, the right-handed shooter returned to Europe, where he received a contract with TPS Turku in the Finnish SM- liiga. With the Finns he won in the 1996/97 season the European Hockey League in the same season and was runner-up with his team.
From 1998 to 2000 Sundblad played back in his native Sweden in Malmö Redhawks before he was taken from the Düsseldorf EC under contract, for which he in his first DEL season in 59 games a total of 44 points scorer, including 22 goals scored. Following the season, he moved to Düsseldorf Rhenish rivals Cologne Sharks, with whom he became German champion in the 2001/ 02 season. In Cologne, the former Swedish international was one more game time before it ran aground on a season for his former club Malmö Redhawks in the Elitserien. After just one year, the winger returned in 2004 returned to Germany, where he worked with the Duisburg Foxes promotion to the DEL reached in the 2004/05 season, in which he stood for Duisburg another year on the ice before it from 2006 to 2008 aground in the HC Alleghe in the Italian Serie A. In the 2007 /08 season the Swede scored in ten games also two points scorer, including a goal for the Nippon Paper Cranes in the East Asian League Ice Hockey Asia professional league. The season 2008/ 09 he joined his hometown club AIK Solna, who was staying in the meantime in the HockeyAllsvenskan. A short time later, he left the club and ended his active career Hockey to subsequently sign a contract as head coach at the Oberliga Herner EV. This he left on 2 December 2009 to work under the Italo -Canadian Bill Stewart as an assistant coach for his former club Kölner Haie. After his release 6 November 2010 Niklas Sundblad was until end of season head coach of the KEC. Since the 2013/2014 season, he has been head coach of the ERC Ingolstadt.
For the 2011/12 season Sundblad was again an assistant coach at the Cologne Sharks after they Uwe Krupp had as their new head coach, and remained in that position until 2013.
Internationally
For Sweden Sundblad took part in the Junior World Championships in 1992 and 1993 and the 1997 World Series.