Nicklas Backstrom won’t play his first regular-season SHL game until next month, but he’s already back on the ice in a Brynäs IF uniform.
Backstrom took part in Brynäs’ annual “Black and White” game on Friday, joining SHL and NHL players at the charity scrimmage. Though he often participated as an NHL player, this year’s event came less than two weeks after Backstrom signed a deal with Brynäs for the 2025-26 season.
Before making his NHL debut, Backstrom previously spent six seasons in Brynäs’ organization from 2001 to 2007, playing at both the junior and professional level.
Both the team and its fans took the chance to celebrate Backstrom’s homecoming at the event. Brynäs aired a tribute video before his entrance, and fans greeted him with what SVT Sport called “the biggest cheer of the evening,” as translated by Google Translate.
Backstrom highlighted the effect that warm reception had on him postgame.
“This experience was something I will never forget in my life,” he said of the day, translated by Google Translate. “It was a magical feeling. I got goosebumps, and if I hadn’t played the match right after, I probably would have shed a few tears, to be honest.”
Emotional as he was after the tribute, Backstrom wasted no time making an impact on the ice and scored Black’s first goal in the opening period, per Expressen’ Svante Störlingen. White ultimately won the game with a final score of 8-4.
The event featured several other former Capitals players, including Christian Djoos, Michal Kempny, and Axel Jonsson-Fjällby. All three will be Backstrom’s teammates on Brynäs in 2025-26, with the latter two signing contracts earlier this offseason ahead of Backstrom’s deal. Active NHL players in the scrimmage included Elias Lindholm (BOS), Jesper Boqvist (FLA), and Calle Jarnkrok (TOR).
Backstrom is set to play professional hockey this fall for the first time in nearly two years, re-joining his former junior team after a lingering hip injury ended his 17-season NHL career. After undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in 2022, he struggled to return to his former level of play, recording just one point in eight games during his final season. He formally stepped away from the team in November of 2023 and remained on long-term injured reserve until his contract expired this July.
After signing with Brynäs this summer, Backstrom acknowledged how difficult his recovery has been, at times thinking he’d be forced to hang up his skates for good.
“If I’m being completely honest, I think that at some point in time it has probably popped up,” Backstrom told Aftonbladet’s Amanda Zaza, via a translation by Google Translate. “But the love and desire to continue playing have always been there and burned for me.”
With the Black and White game under his belt, Backstrom’s second tenure in the SHL will likely begin against the Vaxjo Lakers on September 13.
