Nils Höglander (born 20 December 2000) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who is a winger for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 40th overall, by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2019 NHL entry draft.
Early life Nils Höglander is from the village of in rural northern Sweden, near the town of Malå. As Bockträsk only had a population of about 20 people, Höglander often played with his older sister, Tilda. He started playing hockey at age three, having learned to skate on lake. As a youth, he played for Malå IF. As he grew up, his family moved to Arvidsjaur, and then Skellefteå, so he and Tilda could play hockey. He did not succeed in tryouts for Skellefteå AIK, and instead played for . In 2012, when Höglander was 11 years old, Tilda died suddenly of a ruptured coronary artery.
In 2015, Höglander played for Timrå IK's U16 and U18 squads. Höglander's future Canucks teammate Elias Pettersson was also at Timrå during this time, though they played in different age groups.
Playing career From 2016 to 2018, Höglander played in Stockholm for AIK IF of the HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden's second-highest men's hockey league. In 2018, when he was 17 years old, he moved further south to Ängelholm to play for Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League, the top league in Swedish hockey. On 30 April 2020, Höglander signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks. With the 2020–21 North American season delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Höglander was returned to begin the season on loan to Rögle BK until the resumption of NHL training camp in January 2021.
Höglander made his NHL debut and scored his first NHL goal on 13 January 2021, in the Canucks' season opener against the Edmonton Oilers. On 18 May, Höglander was awarded the Pavel Bure Most Exciting Player Award by Canucks fans.
In the 2022–23 season, Höglander played 25 games with the Canucks, in addition to 45 games with the Canucks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. A restricted free agent, Höglander re-signed with the Canucks on a two-year, $2.2 million contract on 9 July 2023.
Höglander had a successful 2023–24 season, setting a career high in goals (24) and points (36). The Canucks qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in his career, where he had one goal and one assist in 13 games before the Canucks were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers. On 6 October 2024, Höglander signed a three-year, $9 million contract extension with Vancouver.
On 29 June 2026, Höglander was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2029 third-round pick.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2016–17 AIK J20 12 2 1 3 18 4 0 1 1 4 2016–17 AIK Allsv 24 5 3 8 18 3 0 0 0 0 2017–18 AIK J20 22 14 8 22 53 — — — — — 2017–18 AIK Allsv 34 3 4 7 6 5 0 1 1 4 2018–19 Rögle BK SHL 50 7 7 14 22 2 0 0 0 0 2019–20 Rögle BK SHL 41 9 7 16 39 — — — — — 2020–21 Rögle BK SHL 23 5 9 14 33 — — — — — 2020–21 Vancouver Canucks NHL 56 13 14 27 16 — — — — — 2021–22 Vancouver Canucks NHL 60 10 8 18 24 — — — — — 2022–23 Vancouver Canucks NHL 25 3 6 9 6 — — — — — 2022–23 Abbotsford Canucks AHL 45 14 18 32 44 6 3 3 6 18 2023–24 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 24 12 36 51 11 1 1 2 2 2024–25 Vancouver Canucks NHL 72 8 17 25 30 — — — — — 2025–26 Vancouver Canucks NHL 38 2 3 5 8 — — — — —SHL totals 114 21 23 44 94 2 0 0 0 0NHL totals 331 60 60 120 135 11 1 1 2 2
International
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 2016 Sweden U17 6 0 0 0 18 2018 Sweden U18 7 0 0 0 2 2020 Sweden WJC 7 5 6 11 27Junior totals 20 5 6 11 47
References
External links