Daniel Rahimi (born 28 April 1987) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman who last played for IF Björklöven in the Hockeyallsvenskan (Allsv.).[1] He was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the third round (82nd overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Daniel Rahimi
Born (1987-04-28) 28 April 1987 (age 37)
Umeå, Sweden
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
National team  Sweden
NHL draft 82nd overall, 2006
Vancouver Canucks
Playing career 2007–2024

Playing career

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After playing with the junior and senior teams of IF Björklöven in the Swedish J20 SuperElit and HockeyAllsvenskan (Swe-1) leagues, Rahimi was selected 82nd overall in the third round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. Rahimi was scouted as a stay-at-home defenceman, drafted on the recommendation of the Canucks Swedish scout and former player Thomas Gradin.[2]

Upon being drafted, he returned to IF Björklöven in 2006–07, then joined the Manitoba Moose, the Canucks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, for the playoffs once his season in the HockeyAllsvenskan had finished. In 2007–08, he split the season between the Moose and the Victoria Salmon Kings, the Canucks' ECHL affiliate, scoring five points in 19 ECHL games and five points in 41 AHL games. After spending the 2008–09 season entirely with the Moose, he was traded by the Canucks along with fellow prospect Patrick White to the San Jose Sharks for defencemen Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich on August 28, 2009.[3]

He returned to Sweden and signed with the Elitserien (SEL) team Rögle BK for the 2009–10 season to make his debut in the top Swedish league.[4] In 55 games, he scored eight points, but in the 2010 Kvalserien regulation tournament, Rögle were relegated to the Swe-1 league. To remain in the SEL league, he signed a two-year contract lasting until the end of the 2011–12 season with HV71.[5] He then signed a two-year contract with Linköpings HC in the same league, expiring after the 2012–13 season.[6] In his last season at the club, 2015-6, he was the league's player who picked up the most penalty minutes in the regular season, with eighty-four PIM in 51 games.[7] This reflected his hard hitting style of defense play.

On 5 March 2016, he signed a one-year contract with HC Davos of the NLA. After one year in Switzerland, Rahimi returned to his native Sweden, signing with the Växjö Lakers in April 2017.[8] He was part their team that won the Le Mat Trophy in the 2017-18 season.[9]

After three years with the Lakers, he returned to his junior club, IF Björklöven for the 2020-21 season, although they were in the second division of Swedish hockey (HockeyAllsvenskan). He remained at the club until his retirement.[10]

International play

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Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing   Sweden
World Championships
  2014 Belarus

Rahimi has played for Sweden in two World Junior Championships. He made his debut at the 2006 World Junior Championships in British Columbia, tallying two points in five games as Sweden finished the tournament in fifth place. At the 2007 World Junior Championships the following year, in his home country, Sweden finished in fourth as the host country. Rahimi did not register a point during the tournament.

Rahimi has played for senior men's team on multiple occasions between 2013 and 2016, after making his international debut on 20 April 2013. That included representing his country in the World Cup tournaments in 2014 and 2015 and winning a bronze with them at the 2014 IIHF World Championships.[11] The defenseman also appeared for his country at the Euro Hockey Tournament every year between 2012-2015.[12]

Personal life

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Daniel Rahimi was born in Umeå, Sweden, to an Iranian father and a Swedish mother. He grew up a fan of countryman Mattias Öhlund.[2]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003–04 IF Björklöven J18 Allsv 10 0 3 3 14
2004–05 IF Björklöven SWE.2 U20
2005–06 IF Björklöven J20 40 3 10 13 78 6 3 2 5 37
2005–06 IF Björklöven Allsv 6 0 0 0 4
2006–07 IF Björklöven J20 8 0 2 2 18
2006–07 IF Björklöven Allsv 33 0 2 2 104 16 0 1 1 14
2006–07 Manitoba Moose AHL 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 2
2007–08 Victoria Salmon Kings ECHL 19 0 5 5 19
2007–08 Manitoba Moose AHL 41 3 2 5 37
2008–09 Manitoba Moose AHL 58 1 5 6 49
2009–10 Rögle BK SEL 55 1 7 8 67
2010–11 HV71 SEL 44 2 1 3 20
2010–11 IF Troja/Ljungby Allsv 4 0 0 0 16
2011–12 HV71 SEL 54 1 4 5 20 6 0 1 1 6
2012–13 Linköpings HC SEL 55 0 5 5 56 10 0 1 1 10
2013–14 Linköpings HC SHL 48 1 8 9 48 14 0 1 1 18
2014–15 Linköpings HC SHL 54 2 12 14 38 11 1 2 3 41
2015–16 Linköpings HC SHL 51 3 11 14 84 6 1 0 1 4
2016–17 HC Davos NLA 44 0 4 4 26 10 0 0 0 16
2017–18 Växjö Lakers SHL 43 4 10 14 75 13 2 2 4 39
2018–19 Växjö Lakers SHL 51 0 7 7 38 7 0 2 2 2
2019–20 Växjö Lakers SHL 52 0 4 4 32
2020–21 IF Björklöven Allsv 35 2 6 8 30 9 0 1 1 31
2021–22 IF Björklöven Allsv 51 4 5 9 40 18 1 2 3 69
2022–23 IF Björklöven Allsv 52 6 15 21 14 8 2 2 4 2
Allsv totals 181 12 28 40 208 45 3 6 9 112
SHL totals 507 14 69 83 478 67 4 9 13 120
AHL totals 100 4 7 11 88 4 0 0 0 2

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2007 Sweden WJC 4th 7 0 0 0 18
2014 Sweden WC   2 0 0 0 0
2015 Sweden WC 5th 6 0 0 0 14
Junior totals 7 0 0 0 18
Senior totals 8 0 0 0 14

Awards and honours

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Award Year
SHL
Le Mat Trophy 2018 [13]

References

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  1. ^ https://www.bjorkloven.com/article/njxasbe-2e4ad/view [bare URL]
  2. ^ a b "A year makes a difference". The Province. 18 September 2008. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
  3. ^ "Canuck sign Schneider; trade for Ehrhoff and Lukowich". The Sports Network. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  4. ^ "Rahimi klar för Rögle". HD (in Swedish). 18 September 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  5. ^ Daniel Wengel (2 September 2010). "HV71 förlänger med Rahimi" (in Swedish). HV71. Archived from the original on 9 December 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  6. ^ Hallgren, Rasmus (10 April 2012). "Fyra nyförvärv klara" (in Swedish). Linköpings HC. Archived from the original on 11 April 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  7. ^ "Elite Prospects - Award - SHL Most Penalized Player". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Daniel Rahimi klar för Växjö Lakers - Växjö Lakers". www.vaxjolakers.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  9. ^ "Växjö Lakers win the Swedish national championship 2017-8 - Eurohockey.com". www.eurohockey.com. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Daniel Rahimi at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Sweden - 2014 WM - International Ice Hockey Federation IIHF". www.iihfworlds2014.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  12. ^ "Daniel Rahimi at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Lakers dominant in SHL title win". eurohockeyclubs.com. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
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