Niclas Hävelid

Niclas Hävelid
Niclas Hävelid
Born	Niclas Anders Hävelid; April 12, 1973 (age 53); Enköping, Sweden
Occupation	Professional ice hockey defenseman (retired)
Years active	1988–2013
Known for	Playing in the NHL for Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils; Olympic gold medalist 2006

Niclas Anders Hävelid (born April 12, 1973) is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey defenseman who concluded his career with Linköpings HC in the Swedish Elitserien during the 2012–13 season. He earned a gold medal representing Team Sweden at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Playing career

Originally from Enköping, Hävelid launched his hockey journey competing in Division 1 under the SIHA. He later joined AIK based in Stockholm, where he remained until the end of the 1998–99 campaign before transferring to the Malmö Redhawks.

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1999-2004)

Selected 83rd overall at age 28 by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim during the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Hävelid made his North American debut in 1999. His rookie year featured nine points across 50 games, with his inaugural NHL goal and assist coming against the Chicago Blackhawks on November 19. Early in 2000, a broken finger sidelined him for 22 games, after which he resumed play following conditioning assignments with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks.

During the 2000–01 season, Hävelid recorded a personal best four-game scoring streak but suffered an ACL and partial MCL injury that caused a 35-game absence. Despite this setback, he maintained an average ice time of 21:51 per game.

While his output dipped in 2001–02, Hävelid rebounded in 2002–03 by achieving career highs: 11 goals, 22 assists, and 33 points in all 82 contests. He ranked third among Ducks players with a plus-five rating and led all defensemen with five game-winning goals. Highlights included a two-goal performance versus the Phoenix Coyotes and celebrating his 200th NHL appearance in January 2003.

In the playoffs that year, Hävelid played a key role as Anaheim captured their first Western Conference title and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, contributing four assists over 21 games. The Ducks ultimately fell to the New Jersey Devils in a seven-game series.

The subsequent season saw Hävelid improve to 26 points in 79 games, topping Ducks defensemen in goals and power-play tallies. He set personal records for shots on goal and assists and reached his 300th NHL game milestone before being traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Kurtis Foster during summer 2004.

Amidst the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Hävelid signed with Södertälje SK, where he amassed four points over 46 games and contributed two points in playoff semifinals.

Post lockout (2005-2009)

After the conclusion of the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Hävelid returned to compete for the Atlanta Thrashers during the 2005–06 NHL season. In early November 2005, he led all NHL players with a plus-eight rating for the week of November 7–13 and ended the season with a plus-14 rating over his final 18 contests, recovering from an initial minus-six across the first 64 games. He blocked shots in 76 out of 82 matches, ranking second on Atlanta with 190 blocked attempts, while leading the team in shifts taken—2,510 total—with an average of 30.6 shifts per game placing him eleventh league-wide.

Hävelid led his team in ice time on 37 occasions and among defensemen on 45 occasions, posting a career-best average of 24:25 minutes per game—19th among NHL players—and marking an increase of nearly two minutes compared to his previous season with Anaheim. Playing all 82 games matched his personal single-season record; when he was on ice, Atlanta compiled a franchise-best record of 41–33–8 and improved to an impressive 17–5–2 when he registered points. He reached his milestone of 100 career points on December 28, 2005, against Philadelphia.

Ranking third among Thrashers defensemen in goals and second in multi-point games (five), Hävelid tallied a total of 32 points (four goals, 28 assists), placing tenth overall on the team. His contributions earned him the prestigious Dan Snyder Memorial Award as Atlanta's Unsung Hero, followed by signing a three-year contract extension that summer.

During the 2006–07 season, Hävelid appeared in 77 games and recorded 21 points (three goals, eighteen assists), again finishing third among team defensemen. The Thrashers posted a strong record of 13–4–1 when he scored and went 38–27–11 when he was on ice. He led Atlanta with an impressive total of 225 blocked shots—third highest across the NHL—improving by thirty-five from the prior year. Hävelid maintained neutral or positive plus-minus ratings in forty-six contests, including multiple multi-game streaks above zero.

He notched his one hundredth NHL assist against Phoenix on January 6, 2007, followed by scoring two goals within four games later that month. Between late February and mid-March, Hävelid contributed six assists over ten games and recorded points in nineteen matches overall, including two performances featuring two assists each.

His average time on ice rose substantially; he logged more than twenty minutes in seventy-two games and exceeded thirty minutes six times, reaching a career-high peak of thirty-three minutes and fifty-nine seconds against Philadelphia on October 26. With an average time on ice (ATOI) of twenty-five minutes and sixteen seconds per game, he ranked fifteenth league-wide.

The Thrashers qualified for their inaugural appearance in the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs, though they were eliminated by a sweep at the hands of the New York Rangers in the Quarterfinals. Hävelid led team defensemen with two assists across four playoff games while averaging second-most ice time at twenty-four minutes and fourteen seconds per contest.

By the onset of the 2007–08 season, Hävelid had accumulated a total of one hundred thirty-eight points (31 goals,107 assists) over four hundred sixty-nine NHL appearances split between Anaheim and Atlanta. During this span, he missed only eight games over four seasons. While playing for Atlanta alone, he averaged franchise-leading ice time of twenty-four minutes and forty-nine seconds across one hundred fifty-nine games. On March 2, 2009, Hävelid was traded alongside Myles Stoesz to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Anssi Salmela.

Conclusion of playing career

On May 14, 2009, Hävelid committed to a 1+1 year agreement with Linköpings HC. He publicly declared his retirement in April 2013.

Honors

2006 – Recipient of the Dan Snyder Memorial Award

Regular season and postseason

[...]

			Regular Season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1988–89	Enköpings HK	SWE III	7	0	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Enköpings HK	SWE III	24	1	2	3	28	—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	R/A 73 HC	SWE II	30	2	3	5	22	—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	AIK	SEL	10	0	0	0	2	3	0	0	0	2
1992–93	AIK	SEL	22	1	0	1	18	—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	AIK	Allsv	18	0	2	2	6	2	0	0	0	2
SEL totals			513	50	84	134	378	57	4	14	18	62
NHL totals			628	34	137	171	342	32	0	7	7	4

International

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1991	Sweden	"EJC"	"6"	"1"	"0"	"1"	"—"
"1993"	"Sweden"	"WJC"	"7"	"0"	"0"	"0"	"10"
"1998"	"Sweden"	"WC"	"9"	"0"	"2"	"2"	"8"
"2004"	"Sweden"	"WC"	"9"	"0"	"2"	"2"	"0"
"2006"	"Sweden"	"OG"	"7"	"0"	"0"	"0"	"4"
"Junior totals"	"14"	"1"	"0"	"1"	"—"
"Senior totals"	"25"	"0"	"4"	"4"	"12"

Career moves

Selected by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the third round as the eighty-third overall pick during the NHL Entry Draft in 1999.
On June 26, 2004, exchanged to the Atlanta Thrashers in return for Kurtis Foster.
Traded to the New Jersey Devils on March 2, 2009, in exchange for Anssi Salmela.

Philanthropic initiatives

During his tenure with the Thrashers, Hävelid established Havelid's Helpers, a charitable organization based in Atlanta collaborating with Habitat For Humanity to aid housing efforts for families with limited income.

Personal life

Hävelid’s son, Mattias Hävelid, was selected by the San Jose Sharks as the forty-fifth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

External links