Cristopher Nihlstorp Explained

Birth Date:16 February 1984
Birth Place:Malmö, Sweden
Height Ft:6
Height In:3
Weight Lb:192
Position:Goaltender
Catches:Right
Played For:Rungsted Seier Capital
Graz 99ers
Malmö Redhawks
Växjö Lakers
Dallas Stars
Färjestads BK
Rögle BK
Draft:Undrafted
Career Start:2003
Career End:2021

Cristopher Daniel Karlsson-Nilstorp (born 16 February 1984) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 6 games in the National Hockey League with the Dallas Stars during the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons. The rest of his career, which lasted from 2003 to 2021, was mainly spent in the Swedish Hockey League. He currently serves as the goaltending coach for the Malmö Redhawks.

Playing career

Undrafted, Nilstorp's youth team was the Malmö Redhawks. After helping Rögle BK gain promotion to the then Swedish Elite League and later capturing a Championship title with Färjestads BK, on 5 June 2012 Nihlstorp signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Dallas Stars.[1] In the 2012–13 season, Nilstorp made his NHL debut with the Stars, appearing in 5 games for 1 win.

In his second season within the Stars organization, Nilstorp failed to establish an NHL roster spot. However, he helped lead affiliate, the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League (AHL), to their first Calder Cup Championship in the 2013–14 season.

Two days after capturing the Calder Cup, Nilstorp opted to return to Sweden in search of a first choice goaltending role on a two-year contract with Växjö Lakers of the SHL on 23 June 2014.[2] Following his two-year stint with Växjö, he returned to the Malmö Redhawks for the 2016–17 season.[3]

On 30 April 2019, Nihlstorp left the Redhawks and the SHL, agreeing to a one-year contract with Austrian club, Graz 99ers of the EBEL.[4]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP W L T OTL MIN GA SV%GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2000–01Malmö Redhawks J18SWE U188 4.27 .880
2001–02Malmö Redhawks J20SWE U209 3.95 .853
2002–03Malmö Redhawks J20SWE U2029 2.88 .9086 3.67 .880
2003–04Malmö RedhawksSWE5 2 2 0 0 3.33 .859
2003–04Malmö Redhawks J20SWE U2022 2 2.19 .9148 2.25 .920
2004–05Malmö RedhawksSWE4 0 3 0 0 3.06 .878
2004–05Malmö Redhawks J20SWE U201 2 1.00 .958
2004–05Mörrums GoIS IKSWE-218 3.46 .892
2005–06Malmö Redhawks J20SWE U2011 0 2.64 .909
2005–06Malmö RedhawksSWE-21 1 0 0 0 3.00 .864
2005–06Nybro Vikings IFSWE-28 3 4 0 1 3.22 .912
2006–07Rögle BK J20SWE U202 1 1.20 .957
2006–07Rögle BKSWE-27 4 1 1 1 1.28 .957
2006–07Jonstorps IFSWE-31 4.02 .867
2007–08Rögle BKSWE-230 21 6 1 4 1.88 .929
2008–09Rögle BKSWE15 5 8 0 782 45 0 3.45 .883
2008–09Växjö LakersSWE-21 1 0 0 0 2.00 .895
2009–10Rögle BKSWE33 9 22 0 1949 98 1 3.02 .904
2010–11Färjestad BKSWE23 13 8 0 1268 46 2 2.18 .9245 4 1 0 1.60 .944
2011–12Färjestad BKSWE45 22 19 0 2590 88 5 2.04 .9287 400 12 1 1.80 .944
2012–13Dallas StarsNHL5 1 3 1 292 15 0 3.09 .897
2012–13Texas StarsAHL39 19 13 3 2146 85 4 2.38 .9079 4 5 547 21 1 2.30 .922
2013–14Dallas StarsNHL1 0 0 0 40 3 0 4.56 .824
2013–14Texas StarsAHL45 27 12 4 2570 105 3 2.45 .91819 13 5 1051 38 1 2.17 .919
2014–15Växjö LakersSWE38 22 13 0 2135 70 5 1.97 .91316 11 5 3 1.66 .924
2015–16Växjö LakersSWE38 19 18 0 2202 93 3 2.53 .89810 6 4 0 2.02 .914
2016–17Malmö RedhawksSWE23 7 14 0 1312 60 1 2.74 .9004 2 2 0 3.16 .875
2017–18Malmö RedhawksSWE2 1 0 0 80 1 0 0.75 .966
2018–19Malmö RedhawksSWE18 4 12 0 879 43 2 2.94 .909
2019–20Graz 99ersEBEL33 18 14 0 1938 90 0 2.79 .9143 1 2 0 2.75 .934
2020–21Rungsted Seier CapitalDEN32 .912.923
NHL totals6 1 3 1 331 18 0 3.26 .890

Awards and honors

AwardYear
SHL
Le Mat trophy2011, 2015
AHL
Calder Cup (Texas Stars)2014[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dallas Stars' Nilstorp leads AHL prospects into second round . rantsports.com . 2013-05-07 . 2013-05-07.
  2. Web site: . 2014-06-23 . 2014-06-23 . Nilstorp ready for Vaxjo Lakers . Swedish.
  3. Web site: Cristopher Nihlstorp flyttar hem till Malmö Redhawks. Malmö Redhawks. 2016-06-01.
  4. Web site: Two time Swedish champion Nihlstorp the new number 1 for Graz . . 30 April 2019 . 30 April 2019 . German . 4 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190604104832/http://www.99ers.at/zweifacher-schwedischer-meister-neue-nummer-1-bei-den-99ers/ . dead .
  5. Web site: Dallas Stars' affiliate wins AHL Calder Cup . . 2014-06-18 . 2014-06-18.