Michael Nylander

Status: Washington Capitals center.

Ht: 6-foot-1 Wt: 195 pounds

Birthplace: Oct. 3, 1972 In: Stockholm, Sweden

Childhood Heroes/Inspirations: "I think Wayne Gretzky was a hero in my younger days. And outside of that, James Bond movies (smiles)."

Nicknames: "Pretty much they just call me Mike or Nyles."

Hobbies/Leisure Activities: "I like to play golf, cook food, and – pretty simple – hang out with the family, with my kids."

Favorite Movies: "A really good one I saw was The Departed. When E.T. came out it was a great movie. I remember Indiana Jones and Kevin Costner movies like Dances With Wolves."

Favorite TV Shows: "Well, when I was a kid it was a cowboy series, it was in Sweden, watched that every Friday. And Dallas and Falcon Crest were super big in Sweden."

Musical Tastes: "I like Bruce Springsteen, rock. Pretty all over, well-rounded, but Bruce is the standout guy."

Early Hockey Memory: "Yeah, we had a pretty successful team when I was young. Lots of memories from there, like winning a league in Sweden. We had the playoffs every year and you got to see the newspapers. I remember those were great times."

First Job: "Cleaning windows, I think I did (age 14)."

First Car: "I had a Subaru X7. (Color?) Metallic blue."

Favorite Meal: "I would say Italian food."

Favorite Breakfast: "Oatmeal and eggs on the side, with toast."

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: "Vanilla."

Pre-game Feeling: "Just trying to focus on game; that we have to play the system right and focus on being able to go out and skate hard and work hard."

Greatest Sports Moment: "Different things. Most recent was when I won the World Championship was fun, lots of fun. Good memory. Coming to the NHL was a great experience (with Hartford in '91). And playing in the league is lots of fun."

Most Painful Moment: "Losing playoff rounds, it's really tough. It doesn't matter where and what, it's a painful feeling."

Favorite Uniforms: "I like the Original Six teams, they have really nice uniforms. I think all of them."

Favorite Arena(s) To Play: "MSG is unbelievable, fun feeling to play in. And Montreal is good, and going to Philly, they have good crowds there. And Boston."

Closest Hockey Friends: "I don't really hang out much with hockey players. Swedish hockey players."

Toughest Competitors: "Lots of players, in different ways. It's hard to pick out somebody."

Funny Hockey Memory: "Of course, winning makes you happy. Lots of jokes, you laugh in the moment. There's too many. People do jokes all the time. It's hard to remember specific ones."



Embarrassing Hockey Moment: "There's a few of them. But there was one when I was like 14, we had a pretty good team and we lost one game 14-1 and got beat out in the quarterfinal. I never forget that loss."

Favorite Vacation Spot: "I like to go to Italy and France."

Favorite Athletes To Watch: "Tennis, like Federer - unbelievable player. Soccer players, big games like World Cup is lots of fun. See the top players from each team play, it's great. (NHL?) Ovechkin is fun to watch, he was really fun last year watching him."

Personality Qualities Most Admired: "Honesty."

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