Portland selects Eric Nilson in 2025 CHL Import Draft

Portland, Ore. – The Portland Winterhawks Hockey Club today selected 2007-born Swedish forward Eric Nilson 34th overall during the 2025 CHL Import Draft.

Portland did not make a selection with its third-round pick (156th overall), as Ondřej Štěbeták and Max Pšenička will return for the 2025-26 season. 

A native of Örebro, Sweden, the 18-year-old appeared in 37 games with Djurgårdens U20 club last season in the top Swedish junior league, recording 12 goals, 26 assists, and 38 points.

In the 2025 NHL Draft, the Anaheim Ducks selected him in the second round, 45th overall, one pick before current Winterhawks import defenseman Max Pšenička was drafted by the Utah Mammoth. 

"I think he might be a little bit of a hidden gem."

Watch the moment we took Eric Nilson 45th overall. #NHLDraft | @Honda pic.twitter.com/HlLx6kRKDK

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) June 28, 2025

Nilson has also represented his country at the international level on several occasions. He won a bronze medal with Sweden at the 2024 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. Then, at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he scored a hat trick in the bronze medal game, helping Sweden take home another medal. Lastly, he was a member of Sweden’s World Junior A Challenge team, which took home a silver medal. Nilson finished the tournament tied for seventh in scoring with two goals and four assists in five games. 

He is the first Swedish-born player Portland has drafted in the CHL Import Draft since 2017. 

The CHL Import Draft is an annual event in which every club in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) can draft players from outside of North America. The three-round CHL Import Draft took place online, with the order of selection rotating between the clubs of each of the CHL’s three-member leagues.

He is committed to playing NCAA hockey at Michigan State University.