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Joel Nystrom

#64 · Defence · Carolina Hurricanes

Born May 14, 2002 in Karlstad, SWE (age 24) · 5'11", 178 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 219th overall in 2021 by CAR (round 7)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2025-26. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Max Crozier TBL · 10 P in 35 GP Noah Juulsen PHI · 10 P in 52 GP Alexander Petrovic DAL · 10 P in 54 GP Cole Hutson WSH · 10 P in 14 GP Spencer Stastney EDM · 10 P in 66 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2025-26 CAR 38 1 9 10 6 6 43 10 0.26 $925K
1 season Career 38 1 9 10 6 6 43 10 0.26

2025-26 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
38 1 9 10 6 6 43 10 0.26 2.3 15:11

Contract

$925KCap hitends in 2026, then extended to 2030
$93KCap dollars per point10 points in 38 games
$642KCap dollars per goal above replacement1.4 goals above replacement
$2MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$1.1MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 715 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Carolina Hurricanes on May 7, 2024, as an entry-level contract: 2 years and $1.85M, beginning in 2024-25. It runs through 2025-26, so this is its last season, and his extension takes over. His next contract is already signed: an extension with the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec 12, 2025, 4 years and $4.9M at $1.225M a season, beginning in 2026-27.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2024-25 $925K $833K $93K $925K
2025-26 $925K $833K $93K $925K

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Dec 12, 2025 Carolina Hurricanes Extension not begun 2026-27 to 2029-30 4 $4.9M $1.225M
May 7, 2024 Carolina Hurricanes Entry-level 2024-25 to 2025-26 2 $1.85M $925K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2025-26 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2025-26 analytics

Rating

+1.4Goals above replacement416th of 715 skaters, 118th of 239 defencemen
+0.2Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.5Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 239 ranked defencemen: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence+0.5 73rd percentileEven-strength defence-0.9 39th percentilePower play-0.1 54th percentilePenalty kill+0.2 69th percentilePenalties-0.3 67th percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among defencemen. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player.

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

58.7Corsi for %591 attempts for, 416 against
+0.1CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
57.8Expected goals for %29.0 expected for, 21.2 against
+0.8xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
57.4Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
59.5Goals for %25 for, 17 against
101.2PDO9.3% shooting + 91.9% saves
108Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 615 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Alexander Nikishin · Joel Nystrom32217:3257.251.610-7
Mike Reilly · Joel Nystrom18110:0259.464.93-5
K'Andre Miller · Joel Nystrom1674:3771.470.16-3
Jalen Chatfield · Joel Nystrom1853:5352.354.02-1

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net.

1Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.5Expected goalsfrom 63 unblocked attempts
-0.5Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.15 expected goals per 60 minutes38th
Shot quality 2.3% chance per attempt10th
Finishing -0.5 goals above expected38thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 240 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.51Game 20Expected 1.5Goals 1

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 14, 2026 @ NYI W 2-1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 15:51
Jan 24, 2026 @ OTT W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 09:40
Jan 22, 2026 vs CHI L 3-4 (SO) 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 10:43
Jan 19, 2026 vs BUF W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 13:08
Jan 17, 2026 @ NJD W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 12:10
Jan 8, 2026 vs ANA W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 13:37
Jan 6, 2026 vs DAL W 6-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 16:17
Jan 4, 2026 @ NJD W 3-1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 12:11
Jan 3, 2026 vs COL L 3-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 12:56
Jan 1, 2026 vs MTL L 5-7 0 1 1 -2 0 0 1 14:59
Dec 30, 2025 @ PIT L 1-5 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 17:54
Dec 29, 2025 vs NYR W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 14:53
Dec 27, 2025 vs DET W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 15:43
Dec 23, 2025 vs FLA L 2-5 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 14:33
Dec 13, 2025 @ PHI W 4-3 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 13:49
Dec 11, 2025 @ WSH W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 12:05
Dec 9, 2025 vs CBJ W 4-1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 11:38
Dec 6, 2025 vs NSH W 6-3 0 0 0 -2 2 1 1 11:25
Dec 4, 2025 vs TOR L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 13:21
Nov 30, 2025 vs CGY W 1-0 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 13:29
Nov 28, 2025 vs WPG W 5-1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 13:20
Nov 26, 2025 vs NYR L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 14:21
Nov 23, 2025 @ BUF L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14:49
Nov 21, 2025 @ WPG W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 16:44
Nov 19, 2025 @ MIN L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 20:31
Nov 17, 2025 @ BOS W 3-1 0 2 2 2 0 1 0 20:01
Nov 15, 2025 vs EDM L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 18:10
Nov 14, 2025 vs VAN W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 19:07
Nov 11, 2025 vs WSH L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14:48
Nov 9, 2025 @ TOR W 5-4 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 19:29
Nov 8, 2025 vs BUF W 6-3 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 16:23
Nov 6, 2025 vs MIN W 4-3 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 18:12
Nov 4, 2025 @ NYR W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 15:35
Nov 1, 2025 @ BOS L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17:31
Oct 30, 2025 vs NYI W 6-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 18:23
Oct 28, 2025 vs VGK L 3-6 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 15:19
Oct 25, 2025 @ DAL L 2-3 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 17:57
Oct 23, 2025 @ COL W 5-4 (SO) 0 0 0 -2 0 2 0 16:02