- Christian Bäckman
-
Christian Bäckman 
Born 28 April 1980
Alingsås, SwedenHeight 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) Position Defenceman Shoots Left SEL team
Former teamsFrölunda HC
St. Louis Blues
New York Rangers
Columbus Blue JacketsNational team 
SwedenNHL Draft 24th overall, 1998
St. Louis BluesPlaying career 1998–present Medal record Competitor for SwedenMen's ice hockey Olympic Games Gold 2006 Turin World Championships Bronze 2010 Germany Silver 2004 Prague Christian Bäckman (born 28 April 1980 in Alingsås) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman, currently playing for Frölunda HC of the Swedish Elitserien.
Contents
Playing career
Bäckman was drafted by St. Louis Blues in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, 1st round, 24th overall. It was not until the 2002–03 NHL season that he got a contract for play in the NHL. He only played four games for St. Louis in his first season, spending the rest of the season playing for Worcester Ice Cats in the American Hockey League (AHL). Between 2003–04 and 2007–08 he was a regular for St. Louis recording 64 points (19 goals, 45 assists), and 130 penalty minutes in 228 games.[1]
Bäckman is a big defenceman, moving confidently with the puck who is often seen successfully dumping it towards the net which gives his teammates in front of the goaltender good scoring chances.[1]
During the 2004–05 NHL lockout Bäckman played for his Swedish youth club Frölunda in Elitserien where he totalled 19 points in 50 games, winning the Elitserien playoffs.[1]
St. Louis announced on 10 August 2006 that the club re-signed Bäckman for a multi-year contract, although no contract details was released.[2] According to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet the contract gives Bäckman 50 million Swedish kronor (approx. $7 million) over three years.[3]
On 26 February 2008, Bäckman was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for a 4th round draft pick. On 2 March 2008, in his second game as a Ranger, Bäckman scored his first goal as a Ranger on Antero Niittymäki of the Philadelphia Flyers, off assists from Brendan Shanahan and Scott Gomez.[4]
On 2 July 2008, Bäckman was traded, along with Fedor Tyutin, to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche.
In October 2009, Bäckman signed with Frölunda HC.
Personal life
Bäckman is married to wife Jeanette and has two children, a boy and a girl. He spends the off-season in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1998–99 Västra Frölunda HC SEL 49 0 4 4 4 4 0 0 0 0 1999–00 Västra Frölunda HC SEL 27 1 0 1 14 5 0 0 0 0 2000–01 Västra Frölunda HC SEL 50 1 10 11 32 3 0 2 2 2 2001–02 Västra Frölunda HC SEL 44 7 4 11 38 10 0 0 0 8 2002–03 Worcester IceCats AHL 72 8 19 27 66 3 0 1 1 5 2002–03 St. Louis Blues NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2003–04 Worcester IceCats AHL 4 1 2 3 2 — — — — — 2003–04 St. Louis Blues NHL 66 5 13 18 16 5 0 2 2 4 2004–05 Frölunda HC SEL 50 4 15 19 40 14 2 7 9 10 2005–06 St. Louis Blues NHL 52 6 12 18 48 — — — — — 2006–07 St. Louis Blues NHL 61 7 11 18 36 — — — — — 2007–08 St. Louis Blues NHL 45 1 9 10 30 — — — — — 2007–08 New York Rangers NHL 18 2 6 8 20 8 0 0 0 12 2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 56 2 5 7 32 — — — — — 2009–10 Frölunda HC SEL 47 10 18 28 46 7 1 2 3 6 2010–11 Frölunda HC SEL 21 4 13 17 8 — — — — — SEL totals 288 27 64 91 182 43 3 11 14 26 NHL totals 302 23 56 79 182 13 0 2 2 16 International
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1999 Sweden Jr. WJC 6 0 3 3 0 2000 Sweden Jr. WJC 7 1 1 2 6 2004 Sweden WC 9 1 2 3 6 2005 Sweden WC 9 1 1 2 6 2006 Sweden OG 8 1 2 3 6 2010 Sweden WC 9 0 3 3 10 Junior int' totals 59 9 20 29 40 Senior int' totals 65 6 14 20 50 Awards
- Silver medal at the 2004 World Championships.
- Olympic gold medal with Sweden in 2006.
- Elitserien champion with Frölunda HC in 2005.
References
- ^ a b c "Christian Bäckman". Elite Prospects. http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=290. Retrieved 11 August 2006.
- ^ "Blues Sign Christian Backman To Multi-Year Contract". St. Louis Blues Hockey Club L.L.C. Archived from the original on 13 August 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060813180638/http://www.stlouisblues.com/News/0607/060809.html. Retrieved 11 August 2006.
- ^ (Swedish) "Bäckmans lönehöjning: 10 miljoner per år". Aftonbladet.se. http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/sport/story/0,2789,869592,00.html. Retrieved 11 August 2006.
- ^ "Rangers 5, Flyers 4, SO". 2008-03-02. http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&page=Recap&gameNumber=990&season=20072008&gameType=2. Retrieved 2008-03-04.[dead link]
External links
- Backman55.se — Official website
- Christian Bäckman's career stats at Eliteprospects.com
- Christian Bäckman's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
- Christian Bäckman – player profile and career stats at European Hockey.Net
Awards and achievements Preceded by
Marty ReasonerSt. Louis Blues first round draft pick
1998Succeeded by
Barret JackmanCategories:- 1980 births
- Living people
- People from Alingsås Municipality
- Columbus Blue Jackets players
- Frölunda HC players
- Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- New York Rangers players
- Olympic gold medalists for Sweden
- Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden
- St. Louis Blues draft picks
- St. Louis Blues players
- Swedish ice hockey players
- Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Worcester IceCats players
- Olympic medalists in ice hockey
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