The Forgotten Flames Superstar: The Story of Kent Nilsson 

When Forsberg scored his famous shootout goal in the 1994 olympic final the Swedish annonsers shouted "He does a Kent Nilsson goal!" He invented that move.

I bumped into Kent Nilsson about a decade ago or more. In Rexall Place in Edmonton. I said "Magic Man can I get an autograph?" He reached into his jacket to get a pen... he didn't have a pen. He apologized and we shook hands. This was during a rookie camp and no one was in the area where I saw him. Was a very cool moment. I'm glad I met him.

So underrated. Many of us haven't forgotten about Kent Nilsson, he was one of the top 5-6 players in the NHL for several years with Gretzky, Dionne, Trottier, Lafleur and Bossy,

Kent wanted to have fun and never understood why someone would want to defend when you could score goals. The goalie in the Swedish National Team in the 1980's, Peter Lindmark, once summed it all up: "He is a genius with the stick and the puck, but every time he crosses defensive blue, you wanna shot him".

Nilsson was truly magic. I was happy Oilers picked him up and they took a cup that year

Kent Nilsson reminds me of Alexei Kovalev - a magician on ice, yet lacking at times the appropriate drive to reach a higher level in his play. However, his contribution to both the WHA & NHL was very entertaining.

That was the most fantastic attempt of pronouncing Nynäshamn I've ever heard. In fact, the only time, but still, fantastic. I mean it. It was wonderful! Now I'm gonna continue watching the vid. C ya!

My father (of similar age as Kent) grew up in the house next door to his in Ösmo. And he says you always saw Kent, every day, outside on the yard practising his shots. I ran into him several times as a kid, and you always kind of stared at him. And he was always nice and said hello and such.

My first thought when I saw the title of this video was literally, "Kent Nilsson! I totally forgot about him..." He must have been exceptionally disinterested in defending to have gained that reputation in the 1980's. In any case, he certainly earned high praise from some of the greats from that era. Kent Nillson deserves to be remembered. Thanks for reminding us!

Kent was the local hero where I grew up in Sweden. Not really a big hockey fan myself but he was fun to watch.

Remembering a special goal he did from behind the goalie. He flipped the puck onto the blade and then threw it in from behind. The defenders went mad but as I remember it it was legit. Pure Magic.

One of my favourite players, saw him play many times in Calgary. Pure Talent and so much fun to watch. Thanks for sharing this

Magicman from Djurgården. Amazing player 💛❤️💙

Kent was one of the best offensive players in the game in the high scoring '80s and a blast to watch, even from an Edmonton perspective. In his 1987 season playing for Edmonton, Nilsson, Messier and Anderson was arguably the best second line ever in NHL history. Like several Euro players, he was accused of not caring about the NHL playoffs (which are a marathon grind) as much as the springtime world championships (where countries teams often consisted of players out of the NHL playoffs).

As a Djurgården fan he was my idol growing up. In a book about the club there’s a chapter on him and if I remember correctly there’s a quote about him that ”he’s equally dangerous at both ends” or something like that. Don’t remember who said it though. Amazing player with a happy-go-lucky attitude to life and to the sport. He still shows up every now and then at the Djurgården games.

"Mr. Magic" Kent Nilsson was truly indeed an ARTIST on the ice. The way he could handle a stick skillfully at high speed with the puck and score points was on a rare level. He had an awesome tallent...but sadly he was not playing well defense hockey and that "drive" at all cost was something he did not have on the same level as other greats, something he have even admited himself by his own words he felt he never really manage do develop and could understand fans/critics frustration. Regardless, he won a lot of league championship titles and is described as "The Champion of 6 Countries/Leagues" # WHA = 2-time Avco Cup Champion - 1978 & 1979. # NHL = Stanley Cup Champion - 1987. # Sweden = Swedish Elitserien Champion "SM-Guld" - 1989. # Swizerland = Swiz National League Champion - 1988. # Italy = Italian Serie-A League Champion - 1988. # Spain = Super Liiga Espanola League Champion - 1998. # IIHF World Championship silver medalist - 1990. # Canada Cup silver medalist - 1984. # Canada Cup bronze medalist - 1987. # IIHF European Championship gold medalist - 1990. # IIHF European Championship bronze medalist - 1989. # Lou Kaplan Trophy (WHA Rookie of the Year) - 1978. # Paul Daneau Trophy (WHA Most Gentlemanly Player) 1979. # Guld Pucken (Swedish MVP of the Year) - 1989. # Swedish Elitserien League Scoring Champion - 1976. # Italian Serie-A League MVP - 1988. # Italian Serie-A League Scoring Champion - 1988. # Inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame - 2006. # Most points scored by a Swedish born player in a single NHL season (131 in 1980-81). # Calgary Flames team record for points in a single season (131 in 1980-81). # Calgary Flames team record for assists in a single season (82 in 1980-81). # Calgary Flames team record for shorthanded goals in a single season (9 in 1983-84). # # SPA totals: 6 games, 8 goals, 12 assists = 20 / 2 games, 3 goals, 8 assists = 11. # ITA totals: 35 games, 60 goals, 72 assists = 132 / 8 games, 14 goals, 14 assists = 28. # SNL totals: 88 games, 71 goals, 72 assists = 143 / 15 games, 7 goals, 13 assists = 20. # SEL totals: 147 games, 90 games, 86 assists = 176 / 7 games, 2 goals, 4 assists = 6. # WHA totals: 158 games, 81 goals, 133 assists = 214 / 19 games, 5 goals, 19 assists = 24. # NHL totals: 553 games, 264 goals, 422 assists = 686 / 59 games, 11 goals, 41 assists = 52. # Internationals: 47 games, 22 goals, 32 assists = 52.

a true artist...its not always easy for them to fit in

"When He Wants To Be" is what will get him inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He didn't want to carry the whole team on his back. He didn't want to be a superstar. He wanted other players to pull their weight.

Your are the only media talking about the players that we forget. Thank you.

When he came back to Sweden and played for my beloved Djurgården, and Tre Kronor (the national team), you could see he was so far ahead of everyone else thought wise. Great passes got wasted because team mates didn't read the game as quickly and unorthodox as he did, so he had to adapt his play.

Kent Nilsson remembers Ron Hextall, I'm pretty sure..... 🚬😎

Legend!

He's deffo not forgotten.

Nice to see Dale Hawerchuk snippet (R.I.P.) BTW A giant bronze statue of Dale is being revealed in Winnipeg this Aug (2022) at the Scotiabank building downtown...

Great video, so many underrated players from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Kent Nilsson made it enjoyable here in Calgary to be a Flames fan during their first season. Especially love the footage of the old Stampede Corral. The Flames filled the oppositions net quite often that season. One televised game I recall watching was when the Flames massacred the Islanders at the Corral. The score may have been 11-3! Maybe Kent didn’t have a lot of playoff success but he deserves a lot of credit in creating excitement and interest in the Flames during their early seasons in Calgary. The decision made by the Winnipeg Jets GM John Ferguson to protect defenceman Scott Campbell in the 1979 Expansion Draft came back to haunt the franchise. Campbell got injured early in the 1979-80 and was never able to recover. The Jets suffered badly during their first two seasons in the NHL. The silver lining was they were able to draft Dale Hawerchuk first overall in 1981.

Again a home run i have forgot this player thank you to put him on the map again he was a great talent.

Great video!!!

Unfortunately, Nilsson was traded from the Flames before I was watching them (heck, I wasnt even 10 yet!) but I've seen a lot of replays and highlights over the years. Just wow. Also, another just wow - hearing Wayne Gretzky say that Nilsson was the most talented player he'd ever seen. O__O

Played in very dull, loose skates; and he would practice passing to himself with his stick and skates while skating creatively. Fantastic hockey player with iconic talent

He was Magic. Sure, he was the type of gifted forward who was a liability on defense, but he got his name on the Cup in a great post-season and put up amazing numbers while helping solidify the presence of top European players into the NHL.

I was privilaged to see Kent play in Winnipeg with the Jets of the WHA. He was Magic even at that young age.

Cool insight. I had only heard of Kent Nilsson through the NHL player interviews. After seeking out clips of him playing, I can see why he was so highly regarded. He skated and handled the puck almost at ease. And that goal at 7:00 is what Pavel Datsyuk did years later. Wish there were more highlights of him.

Can you do Loob next?

I went to dinner with Kent Nilsson in Calgary. My dad won it in a auction. really nice man. I naively asked him why they didn't body check Gretzky more. He said they couldn't catch them.

wow the Hawks Phil Russell. Now that's another name I forgot. This channel is great it gives me many NHL & AHL flashbacks w/o drinking. Happy Holiday to all from Philippines..... 😇

I thoroughly believe that if Nilsson had any kind of aspiration and drive to be the best he could be rather than just doing it for the pure love of the game we would be talking about him with the same reverance as we do Gretzky and Lemieux.

the magic man. lanny once scored 67 goals-a flames record-playing on his rw. too bad nilsson, just like the flames, were overshadowed by gretz and oil in the 80's. magic man kent was also the last active atlanta flame when he retired in 1995..

haha nononoo! XD Not Nynash amn! Ny-näs-hamn ... New-isthmus-harbor! No matter what, damn, Kent Nilsson made ice hockey into an art!

Awesome player!

Another superb video. Well done.

”Kenta” is far from forgotten in Sweden, I tell you that much.

I used to work with Kent's brother Bosse Nilsson as painters he was supposed to have been an even greater talent as a youth some sort of disorder like diabetes or something ended his carrer though. Nice nostalgia!

Harry Nilsson should be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and Kent Nilsson should be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. No relation.

Great video! Noticed one of Datsuyks moves😎 at 0.10 and of course the predecessor to the Foppa penalty shot at 0.27.

I remember a between period filmed segment where Dave Hodge from Hockey Night in Canada asked him how many shots he would need to hit the crossbar from center ice. He said 3 but did it on his first try.

Best season: 49 + 82 Not too shabby

This is the guy who inspired Peter Forsbergs famous goal on Corey hirsch ( Shootout in the olympics.

He was in fact one of the most talented players of all time. during the 80s he was right up there with Stastny...Savard. Nobody was in Gretzky's class but Nilsson was in that 2nd tier. I think people felt that maybe he was lacking in that consistant passion and intensity and sometimes you felt he could be even better. He scored 130pts one year and honestly he couldve probably put up 150 if he went max effort every shift

A Hero from little town with Baltic Sea Nynäshamn!

10th all time in points per game? That would make him pretty under rated

Fletcher is a wizard.

He was the scapegoat when the Flames got beat by the Jets in the 85 playoffs. I wonder what the Flames would have been like had they kept him and Brett Hull.

Great video, thank you! He was my favorite player. As a matter of fact he was my fave player , with goalie Jom Craig, before the Atlanta flames became Calgary flames. Regardless of what the media said about him, he was a very inspiring player. They accused him of not giving his all, something he's clearly admitted wasn't his strength, yet his "less than 100%" was leagues above 99% of all other NHL players. I saw it as a kind of jealousy that he didnt have to give 100% to get results, while literally the rest of the league had to give 110% nightly or else they'd get shipped down.

I love these stories on WHA players...they gotta do one on Kevin Morrison...

The magic man

I remember Hextall's vicious slash on him in the Finals (87?)

7:47 Forsberg move, before Forsberg did it. So it should actually be a Kenta move.

@ 1:10 The Flames originally drafted him as Torbjorn Nilsson who, I believe was a Swedish Soccer player, so they had to draft him again the next year with his real name!

Also known as Mr. Magic

Holy F..K..I have never ever heard anyone butcher the pronunciation of Nynäsham that badly...or any swedish towns name for that matter. Credits to you for that achievement!

I think it was Gretsky who said that Kent was the most skilled player he ever saw

The Oilers absolutely did not “…roll past the Flyers.” That series went 7 games and the Flyers were an injured team.

One post-career job is not mentioned, coaching me and 15 other nerds in ice hockey in a reality tv show

Hakan Loob was also a forgot talent.

Love Love Love Your Channel!!!!! Nillson also reminds me a bit of Mario Lemieux

Could you do? The forgotten Canucks Superstar: The story of Petri Skriko

Kent had many highlight-reel goals, not shown here, but the move to Edmonton forced him to show up every night with a high caliber young team. Should have stayed in Edmonton as Sather unshackled offensive players.

This is cool basically A Swedish Hockey Ronaldinho

Should have been a Hall of Famer. But he just didn't have the hunger and drive to be one.

Small village 😂 lived around 10,000 in Nynäshamn when he grew up there

how did you play defense in the 80s? hook a play and get a free ride? there are many players in todays NHL who are terrible defensively, but they get a pass because its always the goalies fault if they let in a goal.

Basically a Datsyuk of that generation...

Kent started with the WHA Jets… i was at the game when he scored his first pro goal…

Second best Swede ever after Forsberg.

'Kent Nilsson grew up in a small village called' - *linguistic slaughter * . 😆

He’s a forgotten superstar because he played in the same era as Wayne Gretzky Peter Stasny,etc

0:38

Lmao. Those names picked in draft alot didn't make it RIP Kent nielsen

very bad decision for the jets not to protect kent nilsson... terrible

When ever I hear his name, I am reminded of the beggar from "Kids"!

He was the highest paid player on the North Stars, clearing $400K per season. Rather than waiting for his check to arrive, he would go to the North Stars office to pick it up as early as possible. I sold him a $42 picture of himself. He arrived at my house and sat in his Mercedes until I came out as apparently, he expected curb service. He handed me two twenties and said he would get the rest to me when he had more cash on him. I saw him numerous times in the dressing room and he never seemed to have the $2. Not much I could do about it. Only NHL player to short change me. Magic Man? I think Cheap Skate would be more appropriate.

Rotflol at 0:38 pronunciation of Nynäshamn.

The Magic Man,,, usually disappeared at playoff time !

Years later "Magic Man" is what Pavel Datsyuk was named....and if you ask Google or Siri "who is the magic man?" Pavel Datsyuks BIO appears! 😄

🐔🐔🐔

Good video, I liked everything except the pronounciation of "Nynäshamn"

Ny-naes-hamn

The magic wore off, when Messier got pissed off with him once and threw him up against the wall. He was lucky to be on some great teams, like the WHA Jets.

the 86-87 oilers did NOT "roll" over the flyers. philly took them to 7 games, all without the mighty tim kerr. even gretzky said that was the best team he'd played against in the playoffs, even better than the 93 habs.

When u wear a helmet like that , no one wants to remember you

He grew up in what? ngrewjerdhgujha.....no it's Ny-Näs-Hamn. My god. Btw i heard that Gretzy was born in Cuouoninadioa (Canada)

We called him the magic man because every year he would disappear in the playoffs

What's with all the................ weird pauses?

the moral of the story....possessing talent cannot prevent someone from becoming a loser.

This is the cat scumbag Hextall slashed ...for a Messier love tap and I'm a goalie with a temper. You missed that one ...

Calgary could be tested for banned substance use has to be that only they could have beat the ducks if they were doing drugs? the next game they should be tested throw the game to the whining wisely of their head coach and should just pay like the rest of the whining fans in Calgary why to cheap to pay to watch a minor ledge team too

career plus minus -25, never had 50 goals, had some good point totals but all during some of the easiest scoring years of the NHL.

Joey News ...punk. 2003 Cup Finals...first he quit against the Sens..then my beloved DEVILS without him best Ottawa gm 7 and then ILLEGAL PADS JIZZY ..OOPS JIGGY and the clucks ...who is the first out to host the cup with HIS CRIPPLED back??? Joey News, hate him

You need to work on how to pronounce Nynäshamn. That was the worst try, ever. Great player. I walk last hos house in Nynäshamn every now and then. It is a great little port town.