Christian Bäckman

2.1. Club career

Bäckman began his professional journey after being drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the first round, 24th overall, in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. He officially signed an NHL contract and made his debut in the 2002-03 NHL season. In his inaugural NHL season, Bäckman played only four games for the Blues, spending the majority of his time with their AHL affiliate, the Worcester IceCats. For the IceCats, he recorded 27 points (8 goals, 19 assists) and 66 penalty minutes in 72 games.

Between the 2003-04 and 2007-08 seasons, Bäckman established himself as a regular defenceman for the St. Louis Blues. During this period, he accumulated 64 points (19 goals, 45 assists) and 130 penalty minutes over 228 games. During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Bäckman returned to Sweden to play for his youth club, Frölunda HC, in the Elitserien. He contributed 19 points in 50 games and was part of the team that won the Elitserien playoffs.

On August 10, 2006, the St. Louis Blues re-signed Bäckman to a multi-year contract. While specific details were not officially disclosed, it was reported by the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that the contract was valued at approximately 50.00 M SEK (approximately 7.00 M USD) over three years.

Bäckman's tenure with the Blues concluded on February 26, 2008, when he was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. Just a few days later, on March 2, 2008, in only his second game as a Ranger, Bäckman scored his first goal for the team against Antero Niittymäki of the Philadelphia Flyers, with assists from veteran players Brendan Shanahan and Scott Gomez.

His time with the Rangers was brief, as he was traded again on July 2, 2008, this time to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The trade involved Bäckman and Fedor Tyutin being sent to Columbus in exchange for Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche. In October 2009, Bäckman decided to conclude his career in North America and returned to play for Frölunda HC in Sweden, where he continued to be a key player.

2.2. International career

Christian Bäckman was a prominent member of the Swedish national ice hockey team, participating in several major international tournaments and achieving significant success. He secured a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

In the World Championships, Bäckman earned a silver medal at the 2004 IIHF World Championship held in the Czech Republic. He also contributed to the team's bronze medal win at the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany. His international career began earlier with the junior teams, where he won a gold medal at the 1998 IIHF European U18 Championship in Sweden and a silver medal at the 1997 IIHF European U18 Championship in the Czech Republic.

4.1. Club statistics

4.2. International statistics