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BIOGRAPHY HOME NEWS BIOGRAPHY STATISTICS SCHEDULE CAREER HIGHLIGHTS IMAGE GALLERY GUESTBOOK Nicklas Backstrom was born November 23 1987 in Gavle a small port city situated by the Baltic Sea in east central Sweden He is the second child born to Anders and Catrin Backstrom whose other son Kristoffer was born in 1985In his early days growing up in Gavle which is about 110 miles northwest of the capital city of Stockholm there wasnt a sport that Nicklas didnt like If he wasnt playing hockey he could most likely be found on a soccer pitch tennis court or golf course where he sports an 8handicap today Athletics consumed his childhood Sports encompass the entire Backstrom family Catrin and Anders have always been very athletic and they certainly have passed on their competitive genes to their two sons Catrin played pro handball in Sweden Anders played hockey for Brynas IF Gavle of the Swedish Elite League and was selected by the New York Rangers in the 10th round of the 1980 draft Nicklas and Kristoffer have always gone hard against one another at whatever game theyve played Early on Nicklas showed an incredible aptitude for hockey At 10yearsold he played on a local team coached by his dad Soon after Nicklas began playing up on teams that were two age groups older Once in secondary school he chose carpentry for his vocational studies thinking that it would land him a job upon graduation But by the time he turned 16 hockey had become an overwhelming priorityFor three seasons he played to rave reviews for Brynas in a Swedish U18 league He made the move up to the Swedish Junior League at the end of the 200304 season and two years later he was named the Swedish Elite Leagues rookie of the year when he scored 10 goals with 16 assists in 46 games That summer the Washington Capitals selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2006 draft which was held in Vancouver On hand that night to present Nicklas with a Caps jersey was Alexander Ovechkin The image of the pair on stage provided a window into to Caps future as the two would later form one of the most lethal scoring lines in NHL historyDespite the offer of a threeyear contract Nicklas elected to remain in Sweden for the 200607 campaign He also represented Sweden on the international stage playing in the World Junior Championships and World Championships After his final SEL season where he led Brynas with 40 points he shifted his career sights toward the National Hockey League A skilled playmaker Nicklas made his highly anticipated NHL debut on October 5 2007 when the Caps opened the 200708 season in Atlanta As an NHL rookie he was one of four Caps to appear in all 82 regularseason games He finished with 14 goals and 55 assists for 69 points good for secondbest among rookie point producers Nicklas was named one of the ...