Nils Åman (born 7 February 2000) is a Swedish professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He was drafted by the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

in the sixth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft with the 167th overall pick, though he never played for the organization.

Early life

Nils Åman is from the town of Skogsbo, near

Avesta The Avesta (, Book Pahlavi: (), Persian language, Persian: ()) is the text corpus of Zoroastrian literature, religious literature of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. Mod ...

, Sweden. His youth club was Skogsbo SK until U14, after which he joined .

Playing career

Åman joined

Leksands IF Leksands Idrottsförening is a Swedish professional ice hockey team from the town of Leksand in the region of Dalarna. The team plays in the top-tier league, Swedish Hockey League (SHL), after succeeding through the 2019 SHL qualifiers and thus ...

's junior ranks on 29 March 2016. During his third season with Leksand, Åman was promoted from the

J20 SuperElit J20 Nationell is a junior ice hockey league composed of 20 teams in Sweden. Previously known as the J20 SuperElit, it is the highest-level junior ice hockey league in Sweden. The teams are divided in two groups, or divisions, ''Norra'' (North) ...

and made his professional debut in the

HockeyAllsvenskan HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league, and the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system, after the Swedish Hockey League, SHL. Since the 2009–10 season, t ...

, appearing in three games of the 2018–19 season. He made four further appearances in qualification, helping Leksand gain promotion to the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

(SHL). Åman continued his development in the following 2019–20 season, accounting for 47

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

in 30 matches in J20. For six games, he was loaned to

Karlskrona HK Karlskrona HK is a Swedish ice hockey club located in Karlskrona, Sweden, established in 2001. They played three seasons in the top-tier Swedish Hockey League (SHL) between the 2015–16 and 2017–18 seasons. Their home arena is NKT Arena Karl ...

of the HockeyAllsvenskan. He returned to Leksand and played 8 games in the SHL, posting one goal and two assists for three points. He then signed a two-year men's team contract with Leksands IF on 19 March 2020. Showing an offensive touch with a strong two-way game, Åman was selected in the sixth round, 167th overall, of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the

. In the following 2020–21 season, his first full year in the SHL, Åman made 51 appearances with Leksands IF as a depth forward, posting two goals and eight assists for 10 points. He recorded his first playoff goal in a first-round loss to

Örebro HK Örebro Hockeyklubb, commonly referred to as Örebro HK or Örebro Hockey, (formerly ''HC Örebro 90'') is a Swedish professional ice hockey club located in Örebro. The team is currently playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL; formerly Elitse ...

. On 23 December 2021, having increased his ice time and scoring totals, Åman was signed to a three-year contract extension to remain with Leksands IF until 2025. He completed the 2021–22 season having notched six goals and 8 assists for 14 points in 51 appearances. With the Colorado Avalanche opting not to sign Åman before his draft rights expired on 1 June 2022, he was signed as a free agent to a two-year, entry-level contract with the

on 8 June 2022. After a successful training camp, Åman was announced to have made the Canucks 2022–23 season's opening night roster. Åman played 68 games for the Canucks in his first season, with 4 goals and 12 assists. He also played 17 games for the

Abbotsford Canucks The Abbotsford Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The team began play in the 2021–22 season with home games at Abbotsford Centre as the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hocke ...

, the Vancouver Canucks'

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate. Åman stated that he thought the move to Abbotsford was beneficial for his development, as he was exposed to more offensive play and played more minutes.

International play

Åman joined the Swedish national team, following the completion of the 2021–22 season, and following five friendly games was later selected to the preliminary squad to compete at the 2022 World Championship on 11 May 2022.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Åman, Nils 2000 births Living people Abbotsford Canucks players Colorado Avalanche draft picks Ice hockey people from Dalarna County Leksands IF players Karlskrona HK players 21st-century Swedish sportsmen People from Avesta Municipality Swedish ice hockey centres Vancouver Canucks players