Niklas Backstrom
Niklas Backstrom was born in Backstrom gained experience in his stint with Team In the middle part of the 2006-07 season, starter and goaltender Manny Fernandez got injured and the Wild needed another guy to provide support. Backstrom didn’t disappoint the whole organization as he took his chance by playing exceptionally well during the second half of the NHL 2006-07 and helped the Wild into finishing a respectable 48-26 win-loss record. Records and Awards During his stint in the SM-liiga, Backstrom became the first hockey player ever to win Jari Kurri trophy in both 2003-04 and 2004-05 by providing his best performance ever. He also won the Urpo Ylonen trophy as the best goaltender in back-to-back solid performances in 2003-04 and 2004-05, both of which he led the league in goals against average. That record is should be enough to gain interest from NHL’s Minnesota Wild. He also received the Roger Crozier Saving Grace award after having the best save percentage of the season. Backstrom also tied the franchise’s record of five shutouts in 36 starts, which was recorded recently by Dwayne Roloson. Together with Manny Fernandez, Backstrom also received the William M. Jennings Trophy, a season trophy awarded to a goaltender/s that played a 25 games in minimum for a team in NHL with the fewest goals scored. Early Career Backstrom was a Team Finland’s third goaltender back before he was signed by the Minnesota Wild for a one-year contract. He gained the nod of Team On that period, he played for teams SaiPa, Karpat, HIFK and provided Karpat with his left-catching performance by leading them to two successive league titles back in the year 2004 and 2005. The 6-foot Backstrom decided to be a part with the Minnesota Wild at the start of the 2006-07 season by signing a one-year contract on June 1, 2006. |