One day after the trade to acquire defenseman Erik Gudbranson from the Florida Panthers, the Vancouver Canucks have signed right-handed defenseman Tom Nilsson. The 22-year-old has played for the Frolunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League the past season.
Nilsson is 6’0″ and 183 pounds, which is small for the type of hockey that likes to play. Nilsson is a hard-hitting defensive defenseman with good skating abilities. It is not easy to play an open-ice hitting game in larger rinks, and yet Nilsson has been able to limit his penalty minutes to just 36 in 44 games including the playoffs.