The book on … Niklas Sundstrom

Sporting News, The, Dec 20, 1999 by L.W.

Sharks, RW / 6-0, 105

Some nights, all a coach looks for is versatility. That's when having a forward like Niklas Sundstrom comes in handy.

Filling in for injured teammates, Sundstrom played all three forward positions in a December 2 game against Pittsburgh. He also played the most important role on his team--trying to check Penguins star Jaromir Jagr.

When the game was finished, Sundstrom had held Jagr without a point, and San Jose had a 4-2 victory. Sundstrom also managed to chip in an assist on the winning goal by rookie defenseman Brad Stuart.

It was only the third time all season Jagr had been held scoreless, but it was no surprise to Sharks G.M. Dean Lombardi, who had long been told by the Rangers that Sundstrom was an untouchable.

"I tried to get him for well over a year," Lombardi remembers. "But the answer was always no.

"Finally, when Tampa Bay managed to get him away from the Rangers at the draft this year, I tried one more time--and got lucky."

He was able to sweet-talk the Lightning into trading Sundstrom and a third-round draft choice in 2000 for defense-men Bill Houlder and Andrei Zyuzin and wingers Shawn Burr and Steve Guolla.

Lombardi likens Sundstrom to a Bob Gainey or Jere Lehtinen--a player who, because of his great checking ability, can be the team's MVP without putting up great stats. And yet, you still can count on Sundstrom scoring around 20 goals.

"It's one thing to hack at someone in an attempt to stop him from scoring," Jagr says. "It's another to have the skills to skate with a guy and just plain shut him down. That's what Nik can do."

The talent of this checker extraordinaire was obvious when the Rangers made him the eighth overall pick in the 1993 draft. He's a great skater and tenacious checker and has good enough stick presence to be a threat to score.

And you would be right in thinking Lombardi is now the one telling opposing G.M.s that Sundstrom is not available.

--L.W.

TSN's Power Poll

Rk.   Team             W-L-T-RT    Comment

 1.   Detroit          19-8-3-1    Verbeek has had a resurgence on
                                     team's No. 1 line.
 2.   Philadelphia     17-9-4-1    Rookie Kimmo Timonen making
                                     points on defense.
 3.   Los Angeles      16-8-6-1    Amazing. Now they're winning
                                     without Ziggy Palffy.
 4.   St. Louis        19-9-2-0    Checkers Conroy and Pellerin
                                     begin to make impact.
 5.   Phoenix          18-9-3-0    Steady D Numminen gets rich new
                                     contract.
 6.   Toronto          17-10-4-2   Berard winning raves for his
                                     improved defense.
 7.   Florida          16-10-2-2   Kozlov is coming of age quickly
                                     on offense.
 8.   New Jersey       15-10-3-2   Bickering with Ftorek is growing
                                     and growing.
 9.   San Jose         17-13-4-2   Sutter has deal with Sharks;
                                     he's not going to Chicago.
10.   Dallas           15-13-3-1   Lost three third-period leads
                                     already this season.
11.   Colorado         14-13-3-1   With Sakic and Forsberg back,
                                     look out.
12.   Boston           11-10-8-0   A sputtering 0-3-3 in last six
                                     home games.
13.   Ottawa           14-11-4-1   Offense suddenly has sprung a
                                     leak.
14.   Carolina         12-11-7-0   Coffey's speed on defense is a
                                     welcome addition.
15.   Pittsburgh       10-14-3-4   It will be a miracle if Brooks
                                     doesn't fix Penguins.
16.   Anaheim          13-13-4-1   If Olausson can pick up his
                                     game, Ducks will be tough.
17.   Vancouver        11-12-7-1   Messier had better hurry back.
18.   Buffalo          12-14-4-1   Power play has been a penalty
                                     killer for Sabres.
19.   Washington       10-12-5-1   With Bondra injured, there's no
                                     offense.
20.   Tampa Bay        10-14-4-2   Gratton's leadership is
                                     beginning to make a
                                     difference.
21.   N.Y. Rangers     10-14-4-1   Is Daigle's resurgence for real?
                                     Not likely.
22.   Edmonton         9-14-7-5    Seven one-goal losses on road
                                     have been killers.
23.   Calgary          11-15-3-1   Brathwaite's goaltending makes
                                     Fuhr an afterthought.
24.   Montreal         10-18-2-1   You might not find a harder-
                                     working team in NHL.
25.   Atlanta          7-18-2-2    17,000 fans haven't been turned
                                     off by standings.
26.   Nashville        9-19-1-2    Rookie Kimmo Timonen making
                                     points on defense.
27.   N.Y. Islanders   6-16-4-0    With Luongo around, Potvin trade
                                     rumors won't quit.
28.   Chicago          7-18-4-2    Under Pulford, two steps
                                     forward, three steps back.